The specialty shop in Vienna was all snowboards and snowboard products. It was mostly last year’s stuff and was all on sale. Word was that financial problems were preventing them from getting new stuff. Over at a big Intersport store, there was just as much space devoted to snowboard products and the deals were just as good. I’d estimate that roughly the same amount of space was devoted to snowboarding. Thought under construction for More…
Archive for 1998
Hung Over, Jet Lagged, and Sleep Deprived; A View of the Industry from 37,000 Feet
Saturday, September 26th, 1998Reality Bites; The View from ASR
Saturday, September 19th, 1998There was a keg at the IASC hospitality suite at ASR the first evening of the show, and I was drinking a beer with Miki Vuckovich of Transworld Skate and Jim Fitzpatrick of IASC. Into this fairly typical trade show experience walks the comedian Gallagher with his entourage of one. He sits down with his own beer and ten minutes later we’re talking about his new line of educational toys for children More…
Life in the Real World; Hoisted by My Own Petard
Sunday, August 9th, 1998I’ve had the luxury, over the last couple of years, to be able to dispense advice and commentary from the relative safety of an observer’s perch. Suddenly and, amazingly, of my own choosing, I’ve given up a perfectly comfortable life style to reenter the snowboard management fray. I must be out of my mind. I’ve done this at a time when the snowboard industry consolidation, if measured by the number of companies, More…
News from the North; Lessons for the Snowboard Industry from Canadian Resorts
Saturday, August 1st, 1998Last April, I headed to Tremblant for the Canadian Ski Council’s annual symposium on the state of the Canadian resort industry. Naturally, my naïve anticipation of great snowboarding had nothing to do with my decision to go. Groomed hardpack with mud and rocks sticking through on narrow runs wasn’t what I’d expected. Thanks El Nino. At least it motivated me to go to most of the seminars and presentations. Nor did I miss a More…
Building a Business; Issues for Would be Skate Entrepreneurs
Friday, June 5th, 1998When a market gets hot, people start companies. Where the capital costs and entry barriers are low, they start more rather than less. When there’s enthusiasm for the industry and the lifestyle, they often start them for all the wrong reasons, and without adequate or any business planning. It looks like easy money, but it usually isn’t. Well, God bless naïve, enthusiastic entrepreneurs because if everybody understood the risks and stresses More…
Just Who Are We Anyway? Perceptions of Market and Industry Evolution
Thursday, May 21st, 1998One day, a few years ago, we looked up and had become “the snowboard industry.” Growth, friends, good margins, optimism, an endearing naivete about the future and a quotient of bullshit was all part of what made it fun. The boundaries were clear. We were on the right side of that boundary and knew what was up. If you were on the other side, you didn’t. It was simple. We sold snowboards to snowboarders. But fast More…
Future History; What’s the Price of Success
Wednesday, April 22nd, 1998Originally, it was enthusiast driven. People started companies because it was an important part of their lives and they wanted to be part of what was happening. It wasn’t just about a sport- it was an attitude and a lifestyle. At first bigger companies in related sports weren’t interested because the market wasn’t large enough. When they got interested, they couldn’t figure it out because they just weren’t close enough to it. When the More…
