I was forwarded this article regarding a big snowboard brand, but thought this section might be of interest:

taken from:
www.mensjournal.com/adventure

Regarding re-modelling or closure of "program brands" including RED, Analog, Anon, Gravis, CI surfboards.

Transworld reporter:
With focusing most of your efforts back on snowboarding, why did you guys decide to leave Channel Islands unaffected?

Jake Burton
Channel Islands is very independent. It's not any kind of a distraction for us and it's something we're very proud of and it's viable in the long term.

Transworld reporter:
And performing well financially?

Jake Burton
It's not the size of Burton and I wouldn't say it's making money hand over fist, but to a certain extent it's a labor of love. It's such a good thing and I feel a commitment to Al [Merrick] and a commitment to the people there to perpetuate it. It's very independent and doesn't have the end result of taking our eye off the ball in any way.


thoughts??

Talk about ducking and weaving, reading between the lines they are in more trouble than what they are letting on.

big time...

"mega poker face" happening.

crazy to see what happens with CI

His comments on CI were interesting, but breif. Do Burton own CI outright?

I was under the imperssion that it was a 50/50 merger.

im unsure of the split, but if a board brand such as AL MERRIk is in trouble (not doing the best) then what does that say about the industry??

Ive looked at heaps of CI boards recently and they are on average the highest priced board on the market in PU construction. I saw a 6,5 semi pro for $900ish and my mate bought the same board in a 6,6 at around the same price, no fins.
There has got to be a fair even decent margin in these boards and they are still popular even at that price.
CI is also international so their market place is massive, how can they not be doing well?? They are the most well known boards on the planet.
I think some major foxing is going on with Burton as what he said really dosnt add up in my eyes.

I do not think he is foxing at all.....he made a lot of sense in that interview. My only surprise is that it took so long! Most other players in this space have been massively affected for years.

“Burton has experienced several years of income growth since the recession and paid out bonuses to employees over the last two years. That said, the economy has a voice of its own that we all have to listen to, and the message is clear: do what you do best and focus purely on it," said Jake Burton.

I think he is just playing catch-up to a certain extent. He also said that CI is fairly independent of what they do. It most probably has its own distribution setup etc so would essentially be operating like a stand-alone anyway.

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Ted the Kiwi said...
I do not think he is foxing at all.....he made a lot of sense in that interview. My only surprise is that it took so long! Most other players in this space have been massively affected for years.

The way I read it was that he was looking at down sizing some of the brands and letting people go and restricting some brands to specific markets. He wasnt comming out and saying it in a black and white way.
I really dont understand his comments regarding CI tbh. I guess they dont have alot to do with the day to day running of it.

alot of burtons "project brands" have been over taken in regards to market share by other newer more boutique brands. Burton itself will always be burton.

Regarding CI.

if you lined up 10 young surfers (14-40) on any day at cronulla, more then half would have merricks.
having reynolds, slater, wilson, machado, the list goes on, on your team surely appeals to the mainstream buyer and rider.

I do own a merrick but only one out of 5.

its interesting, id love to see their finical statement.

^ Its the same here as far as the amount Al Merricks that you see.
Last Sunday at Trigg I saw without counting at least 8-10 as I walked back to the car park.

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doggie said...

Ted the Kiwi said...
I do not think he is foxing at all.....he made a lot of sense in that interview. My only surprise is that it took so long! Most other players in this space have been massively affected for years.

The way I read it was that he was looking at down sizing some of the brands and letting people go and restricting some brands to specific markets. He wasnt comming out and saying it in a black and white way.
I really dont understand his comments regarding CI tbh. I guess they dont have alot to do with the day to day running of it.

He is essentially dropping some brands and restricting others as you rightly point out. He is focussing his business back on what Burton have historically done and done well - and thats snowboarding. Naturally the reporter asked about CI because its not part of that natural snowboarding fit either....but he stated clearly that it runs as a separate operation and its running well and is viable in the longterm.

Its like he is a pizza maker who is only going to sell pizza bases and toppings now and not napkins or soft drinks as those lines of business are not making as much money as he would like. He can not compete in them anymore. He will still sell napkins in Japan though as for some reason they love them over there. As for his pasta sauce range it will continue as it is a completely different business that is run independently of his pizza business and seems like it will remain profitable into the long run.

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JBFletch said...
its interesting, id love to see their finical statement.

You me and many many others.....this is something we will never get to see given its private ownership structure! I think he has done all right for himself and his partners over the years though