K2’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 […]
I’m not entirely sure what the title of this article means, but I’m pretty certain it applies to the skateboard industry. Conditioned as I am by the snowboard industry consolidation, I went to ASR expecting to observe a similar process. Subjectively, it seemed like the show wasn’t quite so crowded, and things were more business like, but […]
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 […]
There 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 […]
I’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 […]
Last 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 […]
When 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. […]
One 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 […]
Originally, 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 […]
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, […]
