The snowboard industry is changing so quickly that I find myself looking back at articles that haven’t been published yet and wondering if I’ll agree with what I wrote by the time it’s in print. When Adidas buys Salomon, Quicksilver buys Mervin, Elan talks about putting its own name on a board, and Nike makes a […]
Snowboard Industry Evolution; Is It the Survival of the Fattest? Read More »
I guess you can start by congratulating yourself. Though the snowboarding industry is still relatively small ($800 million at wholesale?) it’s continuing to grow at a rate most industries can only dream of and is clearly here to stay. You’ve been a part of that. But now, you are face to face with the results of
Now What Do We Do? Living With the Industry’s Success Read More »
It all kind of came together for me at the industry conference at Banff, though I couldn’t say if it was on the lift, in the spa or at the bar. Probably at the bar. The time is over when a small or medium sized independent player in this industry can just focus on getting from one
Hard Choice Time; Strategies for Success in the Snowboard Industry Read More »
I seem to remember from my first economics class that if supply goes way up and demand doesn’t keep pace, prices can be, well, negatively impacted. When I look back at the 1994-95 season, I am disturbed because it appears that there were more boards produced than were sold to retailers; maybe a lot more. Below,
Where Have All the Snowboards Gone? The Apparent Imbalance Between Production and Sales Read More »
It happened to skate boards and surf boards. Now, it’s the snowboarding industry’s turn. The transition from a fast growing, hot trend to a mature industry is about more than consolidation to fewer players. It means lower margins, slower growth for many companies and aggressive competition increasingly based on price and service, not to mention savvier consumers
The Joys of Consolidation; Managing the Transition from Growth to Maturity Read More »