BRIEF STORY OF GI JOE SURPLUS
We were born in 1986 as a small business in the “Camel Galleries” of the city center, so we called ourselves “Warcelona”, we were the first store in Spain to have a direct recolection of surplus of foreign armies around the world, the first to bring “Alpha” products with Our Dollar friends. The first to have a “candem styled” business.
During those first years we opened even more stores in Barcelona and Reus.
In 1990 we became military auctioners , the only international ones in Spain and began contracts with the defense ministries directly around the world. Our First client was the UK, then different NATO countries.
During the fall of the Soviet Union and its satellites states, we became great managing the immense stocks of these countries. Buying and reselling large lots to third countries. We bought in Moldova / Transnistria, Russia, Ukraine ...
In 1991 we became representatives and official distributors of Edelman / Midest and Sturm / Miltec in Spain. The first was the largest surplus company that existed until its disappearance in 1995. The second is known worldwide.
At that time we lwent through many historic events, such as the purchase of surplus material from the US Army weeks after the end of the Gulf War in Kuwait city or the auction of the British army in Honk Kong that the British forces abandoned since the land was returned it to China. Great times, great trips, unique experiences.
In 1992 we became the first Spanish company to be invited, excluding arms manufacturers, to the “shot show las vegas” sharing stand with Edelmann / Midest Europe.
That same year we became the first distributor of "Dickies", the famous American workwear company in Europe. Which we were for 2 years.
During the 90's and early 21st century, as wholesalers, we were present at fairs such as Ifema, Denim Barcelona, Who is next Paris, Bilbao Arms Fair, Fashion Portugal with our recycled fashion proposals. We were pioneers in understanding that military clothing was fashion. We dyed in 14 colors, we printed t-shirts, we made skirts with jackets, bags with blankets. We had our own infrastructure.
We had customers from all over the world and even did a sales tour of Japan with our German partners to sell the new collections.
With the disappearance of the great armies, the end of the mandatory conscription military service and the reduction of the size of them at the end of the century, the drought of material arrived, since there were no eternal amounts we reinvented ourselves again emphasizing the opening of new selling spots.
We opened new spaces in Madrid in 1998. in the new “Mercado de Fuencarral”, an alternative space and perfect for us. A great experience for 17 years, until it closed.
In 2006 our boss got the diploma in "appraisal, authentication, cataloging and expertise" by the Antiquaris de Catalunya school and we started working on a new section of "military antiquarian" focused on the genre WWII, Vietnam, conflicts of the twentieth century. We have cataloged more than 7500 “unique” pieces today and we can say with satisfaction that more than 95% of them have been sold.
We are always looking beyond... our parent company is registered as "Vintage and Retro" since 1999. Long before these two words have become essential for the world of fashion.
In 2011, and after 20 years at our headquarters in the Hospital de Barcelona street, a benchmark for the world, we moved to a new location on Ronda Sant Antoni street. Much more functional and modern. They are 200 square meters full of gender to explode.
We opened a website in 2006 after a 10-year phase of selling by catalog with great success and ... in June 2017 we took another step ... the new website.
We invite you to browse through what we hope will be the website of the most complete and largest original and unique military articles in Europe in Spanish and English.