Over the last month, I’ve stopped by eight or ten snowboard retailers in the Northwest. I talked to the owner, manager, or whoever was around and not too busy to talk with me. The number of stores I went in probably isn’t large enough to be statistically significant, the stores were picked based on my personal biases, and I didn’t ask the same questions every where. I told them I wrote for Transworld More…
Archive for 1997
Specialty Snowboard Shops and the Industry Consolidation; Who Are They and What’s Happening to Them?
Sunday, December 7th, 1997Snowboard Industry Evolution; Is It the Survival of the Fattest?
Friday, October 17th, 1997The 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 deal for hard goods with DNR, last month’s immortal truth can become this month’s fatuous More…
The Financial Impact of Consolidation; Why Is It So Hard on Smaller Companies?
Tuesday, September 2nd, 1997It’s conventional wisdom that smaller companies are having an especially tough time meeting their financial needs, or even surviving, in the snowboard industry shakeout. It’s so conventional it’s taken for granted; even chanted like a mantra at times. And it’s true. But why exactly? What are the specific changes in the financial operating environment of smaller companies that’s made life so difficult for them? It’s 1993. The glory days when a snowboard company More…
Market Niches; Gimme One! Now! But How?
Thursday, July 10th, 1997Last issue I took most of this space to discuss some tactical measures businesses could take to respond to the extremely difficult competitive conditions in the snowboard industry. I went on to say in what may have seemed like an after thought that none of those measures mattered if you didn’t have a way to compete. That is, a market niche you can succeed in. Then I ran out of space. More…
Winter Resorts and Snowboarding; Why Does It Seem Like an Arranged Marriage?
Tuesday, July 1st, 1997The Medici family of Italy rose to commercial prominence during the renaissance at least partly because of their ability to make or receive payments in widely dispersed geographic locations. Lacking a wire transfer system, they arranged marriages between family members and other prominent merchants in commercial centers that gave them the ability to move money or goods through somebody they could trust. There was no love lost, but the commercial opportunities were More…
Now What Do We Do? Living With the Industry’s Success
Friday, June 27th, 1997I 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 your own success. The consolidation we knew would eventually come is here. Three years ago, it was More…
Orders; I Got to Get Some Orders! The View From Las Vegas
Friday, April 11th, 1997Many snowboard companies came to Las Vegas this year knowing in their heads it could be tough to get orders, but hoping in their hearts that oversupply in all product areas wouldn’t stifle retailers’ demand for new, branded product. There are prominent exceptions, but a month after the show, it looks like some heads were right and some hearts broken. Companies at all levels of the sport have experienced disappointing preseason orders More…
How a Brand Makes Money In the Snowboard Business
Tuesday, March 11th, 1997Don’t get too comfortable. This is a short article that won’t take long to read. It’s a direct result of that moment in Vegas when I finally decided I wasn’t dreaming and that there actually were a bunch of new snowboard brands and new factory capacity. What makes it even worse is that some of these companies appear to be backed by financially solid parent companies, and can afford to lose money for More…
Hard Learned Lessons; You Can Do Everything Right and Still Get Screwed
Friday, February 21st, 1997This is the industry. Snowboarding. Some are in it to make a buck, some because they love the sport and just want to make a living doing what they love. Occasionally, the two collide and the golden rule prevails; the one with the gold makes the rules. When there’s a business lesson to be learned that might help some others, I get involved. My name’s Harbaugh. I carry a pen (well, actually a key board). I More…
