Entries by jeff

Benefiting from Recent Industry Initiatives; It’s Up to Each of You

By now, you should all have seen SIA’s study “Growing the Snow Sports Industry” and NSAA’s growth model for the resort business. They don’t claim that any industry initiative by a trade association is the salvation of the winter sports industry’s issues of participation and profitability. They say, if not exactly this way, “It’s up to each […]

Tulips

I walked out of ASR feeling positive about skateboarding and its market and will discuss why below. Still, when things look too good to be true, it’s been my experience that they usually are and I’m as susceptible to the hype as the next person. Let’s start, then, with this cautionary tale from Edward Chancellor book “Devil […]

“I Don’t Think We’re In Kansas Anymore, Dorothy.” Skate Retailers in the Lifestyle Market

Let me start by telling you, in no particular order, some things you already know.   1)            Margins on hard goods suck, but carrying them draws customers in and legitimizes you as a skate retailer. 2)            Truth be known, hard goods from different brands are pretty much the same. You may have some brand loyalties, but […]

Quality Financial Planning for Every Action Sports Retailer; No Accounting Degree Required

Rarely, but once in a while, I come across something I want to plug. Not too long ago, it was the new Board Retailers’ Association ( www.boardretailers.com . If you haven’t joined yet, get moving.  Opps, there I go plugging them again.).   This time, it’s some inexpensive, easy to use, financial planning software that the Retail […]

Public Wisdom, Maybe; Comparing the 1999 and 2000 Buyers Guides

I hold in my hand the Transworld Skateboard Buyers Guides from 1999 and 2000. Everything you could possibly want to know about decks, trucks, wheels, and bearings are in these guides.  Well, okay, Transworld exercises some discretion in which brands make it into the guide and which don’t.   All the product from each brand isn’t necessarily […]

Snowboards from Afar; The Potential Impact on Retailers

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, […]

Using Consumer Data for Marketing Decisions; “Yeah, We Ought to do More of That.”

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, […]