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I'm not sure how many others here are business geeks like myself, but I found this article from the Harvard Business School to be interesting -- "How Kayak Users Built a New Industry":
http://hbswk.hbs.edu/item/5462.html
The model presented here is at least somewhat applicable to the ski industry, and PMGear in particular. I couldn't help but read it and think "yep, that's PMGear".
At one time I subscribed to HBR. Then I discovered that the rash and itching I was suffering from was a severe allergic reaction to business babble like this:
Q: Can you describe in general the pathways user innovations take in your model?
A: The process begins when an individual user opens up a new "design space." He or she does something in a new way that is exciting to other users. Very often, this is a datable event—people tell stories about "the first time Walt did a roll on that river."
Hmmm... I'll be sure to recommend this article to my friends in the whitewater kayak industry. They'll especially get a kick out of the ' "richness" of the design spaces created by an architecture' part. So how does one account for the design glut, flat sales, and lack of profitability that have led to continual buyouts and bankruptcies in the whitewater ndustry over past 10 years or so? :rolleyes2
Simple. The article talks about it, actually. Kayak design reached a plateau as the "design space" was "mined out." I.e., lack of new innovation is keeping the industry stagnant.Quote:
Originally Posted by MarsB