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 to buy a book. There’s no price difference, at least on the books I bought last More…
Archive for 1999
Snowboarding the Internet; Taking the Tour at 26.4
Tuesday, December 7th, 1999Competitive Challenges; Four Things You’ve Got to Do Better
Wednesday, December 1st, 1999In 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 business decisions, but things kept getting worse financially. I suggested that their business models More…
Four Competitive Challenges; Things You’ve Got to Do Better
Friday, November 26th, 1999In the August 1999 issue, 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 business decisions, but things kept getting worse financially. I suggested that their business models just didn’t work under emerging competitive conditions, then ended the article with More…
Numbers, Numbers Everywhere And Who Knows What They Mean
Wednesday, November 3rd, 1999I 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 out of the industry. Using this experience to get a handle on the snowboard industry More…
Changes in Market Focus; The New Snowboarding Reality
Monday, October 11th, 1999Most 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 bunch of brands going away. It was about companies pausing, taking a deep breath, and recognizing More…
What I Learned at ASR: Products, Movies, Cooperation, Culture and Hype
Friday, September 24th, 1999I 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 the new movies A focus on culture that goes beyond individual sports The industry’s continued More…
Good News And Bad News; Ride Reports Third Quarter and Preseason Orders.
Wednesday, August 4th, 1999It must suck to be the only public, pure snowboard company left standing. All the other snowboard brands are suffering from some of the same industry issues as Ride, but they can equivocate about it with impunity. But Ride’s management wouldn’t want to do that anyway. Like the title says, there’s good news and bad news. The good news is the improvement in the income statement and the More…
Chasing the Demographics; Pacific Sunware Focuses on Youth
Thursday, July 8th, 1999There’s got a way to make this story exciting. Oh the injustice of making me write about a company with a strong balance sheet, growing revenue and earnings, no meaningful litigation, and an experienced management team with a clear strategic focus. I’ve got to stir up some drama somewhere if there’s to be any hope that people will make it all the way to the end of the article. The drama is More…
Beset by Opportunities; How Can We Take Advantage of Them?
Tuesday, May 11th, 1999There are sixty million kids people in the United States between the ages of 5 and 20. Over half of them haven’t entered adolescence yet. It’s the biggest demographic bulge since the baby boomers. Every large, mainstream company in this country from Levis, to JC Penney to Fidelity Mutual Funds needs credibility and brand recognition with at least some piece of this generation. It’s not an over dramatization to say that their More…
Fat Lady Sings. K2 Buys Ride
Sunday, March 21st, 1999K2’s purchase of Ride, announced on July 22 and expected to close within 100 days, is as close as we’ll ever get to a capstone on consolidation. We all were intellectually aware of consolidation, but this makes you aware in your gut. Burton and K2 now control what I’d estimate to be 65 percent of the U. S. snowboard hard goods market. Add Salomon and Rossignol and the number jumps to north More…
