I’ve been chanting for the last few months, and maybe longer, that our current economic environment represents a great opportunity for new and smaller brands. At an ASR seminar in September, somebody actually, finally, asked me, “What do you mean by that exactly?” My answer was that if you were a specialty retailer, and were still standing, you weren’t likely to succeed by relying on big, national brands as much as More…
Posts Tagged ‘Brand Management’
Opportunities for new Labels and Small Brands. What, Exactly, Should You Do?
Wednesday, October 21st, 2009What’s Happening to Core Retailers? Things We Won’t Argue About- and What They Mean
Thursday, April 6th, 2006Not long ago, I finally came up with a definition of core retailer that I liked. I was really proud of it because it had taken me about 13 years to settle on one I thought was accurate and useful. Now, not all that long after I accomplished that feat, I’m not sure it really matters. I’ve begun to be concerned that the traditional concept of core stores is of diminishing importance More…
New Stuff to Do More; New Strategies are Critical as the Snowboard Industry Evolution Continues
Tuesday, August 30th, 2005I remember when this was a simple business. Or at least I thought it was a simple business. You had a pro team, ran some ads, built relationships with core shops, sold C.O.D. or on 30-day terms, and were thrilled if you could get enough product to fill orders. With supply shortages, the fact that quality wasn’t always very good was less crucial. Margins were better anyway. Your team is still valuable, More…
Small Brands Are Cool! How Can They Stay That Way?
Monday, February 21st, 2005Actually, the question is not how small brands can stay cool. It’s how they can stay at all. As in stay here- alive, in existence, solvent. Not toast. I have been so encouraged by the number of small brands I’ve seen in snowboarding recently. I love them. There was a bunch at the SIA show in Vegas. There were some of the same ones at ISPO and some different ones that I’d never heard of. At ISPO More…
“Jeff, This is a Hard Business!” Why Is That and What Can You Do About It?
Wednesday, September 15th, 2004That unsolicited quote is from the President of a snowboard brand that you all know and that’s been around for a while. It would generally be considered successful. I consider it successful. It’s not the first time I’ve heard the comment. I’ve responded by agreeing and by explaining why it was true. Over the years I’ve had some suggestions as to how you could work to counter, it but I’ve never really had a More…
