In the early 90’s, when snowboards started pouring into the U.S. from the Austrian ski factories, there were claims that consumers wouldn’t accept boards labeled “Made in Austria.” Mostly, those claims were made by U.S. factories threatened by foreign production. If there was a marketing advantage to a board “made in the USA,” it didn’t last long, […]
Snowboards from Afar; The Potential Impact on Retailers Read More »
I girded up my loins (you’d think doing that would hurt) and sat down to research this story, fully expecting to have to visit dozens of web sites and to check each of them out utilizing my infuriatingly slow web connection. My web connection is, indeed, infuriatingly slow, but it looks like there may be
Skateboards on the Internet; “You Can Get Anything You Want…….” Read More »
It’s a bad idea to write something requiring you to talk to the marketing people at snowboard companies during the selling/tradeshow season. But the topic is a critical one. Most companies in this industry don’t do a good a job collecting and utilizing consumer information as they should. They understand that success in a tough market requires it,
Using Consumer Data for Marketing Decisions; “Yeah, We Ought to do More of That.” Read More »
This article sort of took shape the Monday the show ended. In the first place, I was flying back to Seattle on an Alaska Airlines MD80, which didn’t exactly put me in a positive frame of mind. Second, thanks to the ticket to the Sunday evening Gallas party Jeff Cutler gave me, I was suffering from the
Thoughts From the Action Shoe Retailer Show; Opps- Did I Get That Wrong? Read More »
Long, long ago in an industry far, far away (cue the heroic music), the sale of moss-covered, three-handled family gradunzels* had taken off. Now, gradunzels had been around for a long time, and they were manufactured by a dedicated group of companies, the founders and owners of which had been among the earliest users of
Sam And The Gradunzel-Eating Monster; It’s (hopefully) a fairy tale. Read More »
Slow connections suck. So while we wait for my 56k modem to connect at 26.4 kbs, consider this. All the dotcoms with money (typically from an egregiously successful public offering) are advertising like mad. On TV, on the sides of buses, everywhere. Why? Because there’s not much difference between Barnes&Noble.com and Amazon.com if you want
Snowboarding the Internet; Taking the Tour at 26.4 Read More »
In the August 1999 issue of SKATE Biz (Volume 11 Number 1), I wrote about two hypothetical skateboard factory owners, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Dr. Jekyll’s production was strictly OEM. Mr. Hyde had a successful brand and built his product at his own factory. They both made a bunch of perfectly logical and rational
Competitive Challenges; Four Things You’ve Got to Do Better Read More »
I do confess it. I was trained as a finance guy. I have an MBA, started out in international banking (Ask me about Carnival in Brazil sometime!), and did some corporate treasury and investment banking kind of work. Given the way things have changed, I decided it was okay to come out of the closet. Please don’t throw me
Numbers, Numbers Everywhere And Who Knows What They Mean Read More »
Most of us are in a different business than we were a few years ago. Retailer, brand, manufacturer, or even consultant, our customers have changed. There are only a handful of companies out there that can say they are snowboard companies. Others have adjusted their strategies, or aren’t around anymore. Remember the “C” word? Consolidation wasn’t just about a
Changes in Market Focus; The New Snowboarding Reality Read More »
I spent three days walking and talking. I suffered through the usual distraction and traffic jam at the Reef booth (why is it that no matter which way you try and go, you end up there?). In no particular order, I noted the following things: No major new products Snowboarders trying to do skate tricks in
What I Learned at ASR: Products, Movies, Cooperation, Culture and Hype Read More »