Yeti: The $200 Cooler

a $200 cooler should not exist. In 2006, Roy and Ryan Siders built one anyway. The first buyers were hunting guides in South Texas who needed ice to last five days in 100 degree heat. The brothers gave coolers to 50 fishing guides and let them talk. Within 18 months, every outfitter on the Gulf Coast was asking for them by name. The margin structure told the real story. Yeti sold wholesale at roughly 50% gross margin, which meant retailers made strong profit per unit while carrying fewer total coolers. A shop that used to stock 40 Coleman's now stocked eight Yetis and earned more on the same shelf space. Retailers prioritized the brand because the economics rewarded them.