This article sort of popped full formed into my brain at the TransWorld Snowboard Industry Conference at Whistler in April. It happened in an elevator. A kid carrying a skateboard got in (Shows you what kind of lousy winter it was in Whistler). As the door closed, I asked him how often he replaced his deck. He said, “I’ve […]
Strategic Planning; Questioning Our Most Cherished Assumptions Read More »
It doesn’t seem fair. Okay, after the 90s, some economic slow down was inevitable and most industries are having to deal with it. Skateboarding, after a few years of simply spectacular growth was due for a consolidation, and we’re getting it in spades. War, of course, isn’t good for already soft consumer spending- too many people staying home to
Consolidation, War, and a Lousy Economy;Skateboarding Will Be Fine, Thank You Very Much Read More »
Flying in from ASR in Long Beach, where the consensus was that the number of retailers was down significantly, it was a relief to get to the SIA show in Vegas and see the place jumping. It was simply the best show since some time in the mid 90s. Not just by energy level but, in my
Hey! Look at All the Retailers! Good News From Vegas Read More »
Well, maybe not a new business model. Expense control is always important. But somehow, in every industry I’ve ever seen, it’s always assigned a lower priority when you’re selling everything you can make. Cash flow makes it easier to not worry so much about how you’re spending your money. You’ve no doubt noticed that skateboarding (especially in hard
Focus on Expense Control; A New Business Model for Skateboarding Read More »
It’s 2002 and I think the five biggest snowboard companies, in alphabetical order, are Burton, Gen X, K2, Rossignol, and Salomon. Gen X is owned by Huffy and Salomon is part of Adidas, so maybe I should change the alphabetical listing. But the point, and I hope this helps me think of a subtitle, is that
Wherever You Go, There You’ll Be. I Can’t Think of a Subtitle Read More »
Sometimes I get accused of being too much of a pessimist. Maybe sometimes I am. On the other hand, maybe the correct question is whether or not my occasionally pessimistic outlook is justified . I’d prefer to think I’m just taking a hard look at real business issues. For a change, I’m going to let somebody else
Reality Check; Input From the Outside World Read More »
Slowing growth, or a decline in year over year sales if that’s what your company is experiencing, was inevitable in skateboarding. Sure, we would rather it didn’t happen. But since we all knew it was going to happen, it might as well be sooner rather than later so it’s less painful. What I didn’t see
Hype, Technology And Trade Shows; Not Enough of Some, too Much of the Other. Read More »
Your first reaction is that they must be crazy. Starting a new brand when the snowboard market is dominated by five companies fighting to take market share from each other, pushing distribution to every corner of the retail world and, to some extent, using price as a weapon in the battle doesn’t seem to make a
You Did What !!?? Starting a New Snowboard Brand Read More »
William of Occam was a Fourteenth century logician and Franciscan friar born in the English village of Ockham and, yes, somehow I’m going to get this back to snowboarding without claiming that he invented the first one. He’s the author of what’s become known as Occam’s Razor. It states, in its original form, “Entities should not
Resort Retention and Occam’s Razor; Keeping it simple makes a lot of sense. Read More »
“Now, this is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning.” Overall, Vegas showed signs of being the end of the beginning of the snowboard industry’s consolidation process. Which is convenient, since I’ve always wanted to use that quote. The first person who identifies
The End of the Beginning; Observations from Glitter Gulch Read More »