We're Making Skis! A look at PMGear

Just watch the vid. PMGear is dripping with authenticity and passion. Hard not to root for these guys to keep on growing.

Wish the "big guys" could show us passion like this once in a while. [sigh]



Curious to know if any of our readers are skiing the Bro Model? Chime in with a comment if you are and let us know which model you're on and how they ski.

1 comments

Bluehouse Skis Delivers

It's not likely that the owners of Salomon, Dynastar or even LINE are going to be knocking on your door any time soon to deliver skis to you, one of their valuable customers.

Ok, ok, so Salomon and Dynastar and the other "big guys" only sell through retailers. But wouldn't it be cool if the owner or CEO of Salomon did show up at your door to hand deliver the skis you had ordered? You'd be blown away. Or you'd be wondering what happened to the UPS guy.

Perhaps the CEO of Backcountry.com should hand deliver an order or two. I know, he's a busy guy but so are the rest of the other CEO's. I smell an opportunity for some PR.

But when you're a young independent ski company from Salt Lake City like Bluehouse Skis you have the ability to be nimble and to do things a little different. Not to mention you may have a little more time on your hands.

Aside from some designing some great looking skis with nice shapes, the owners were fulfilling some ski orders the other day - the old fashioned way.

0 comments

Free Coleman Cooler With Your Next K2 Seth Pistol Purchase?

First they sack up for an Everest expedition but that was chump change compared to the $1.2 Billion (yep, that's a B) that Coleman's parent company (who, as Rocky at The Goat pointed out, sells just about everything in your house so why not own your garage too with buying K2?) is sacking up to buy K2. Are there that many car camping folks out there to fund the machine? Wow.

Stepping back a bit to see the big picture reminds me of those Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom nature films I watched as a kid. You know the one - where that "big" fish goes around gobbling up all the smaller fish. Yea, he's got mad respect in his neighborhood, strutting around making those other smaller less tasty fish that he passed up feel oh so small. That is until the moment in the film, which only camera man sees, when the great white comes out of nowhere and BAM! he's not feeling so big anymore.

Perhaps K2's acquisition rampage over the past few years was part of a bigger plan. You know, buy up a bunch of companies, sell the investors on the idea and then sell to a bigger fish in the pond? Unlikely theory? Not so much me thinks.

More to come on this deal...including if you'll be seeing a mini cooler or a grill next season as your "Gift With Purchase" when you buy the Seth Pistol or Pontoons from K2.

Edit: Added link to The Goat and clarification about Coleman's "Parent company"

0 comments

Vive la Ogden!?!

According to Ogden City Mayor Matthew Godfrey, Nidecker Snowboards will move all of its North American distribution to Ogden. Nidecker becomes the seventh snow sports company to move to Ogden, Utah, in the last two years. "This substantiates why Ogden has been dubbed 'The Hub' for the snow sports industry," stated Mayor Godfrey. In 1983, Nidecker became Europe's first snowboard manufacturer. And here I thought that only thing Ogden was dubbed 'The Hub' for was the Utah meth industry. What do I know?

For the past five years, Nidecker's North American distribution has been run out of San Diego. But owner Courtney Boyer changed all that with this move to Ogden. "The icing on the cake," said Boyer, "is Ogden's proposed gondola project which will run from downtown right to the top of Milan's Basin. It's incredible to think of taking a few runs over my lunch hour, but more important to the company is the closeness of the mountains and local resorts for accomplishing product testing."

With recreational opportunities from skiing and snowboarding to rock climbing and kayaking, all within minutes of downtown Ogden, city officials have been targeting the snow and outdoor recreation industry with incentives to attract investment. With a proposed new resort that backs to Snowbasin, Ogden is proposing a gondola that would link downtown and Weber State University to the slopes.

The Nidecker move is the latest in a series of similar moves. November 2004, Descente moves North American operations to Ogden.

December 2004, Goode Ski Technologies moves corporate headquarters from Waterford, Mich., to Ogden.

January 2005, Kahuna Creations announces new headquarters in Ogden.

September 2005, Scott USA consolidates assembly, warehousing and distribution of their product line in Ogden.

October 2005, SnowSports Interactive moves its North American operations base to Ogden.

August 2006 Amer Sports announces Suunto and Atomic will move to Ogden.

Curt Geiger, vice president, Descente North America, stated, "It is very possible that Ogden will become the Milan of the ski industry. A retailer from anywhere in the country can land at 9 a.m. and be in our office by 10 a.m. From there, you work for two hours and get on a gondola from downtown to a nearby ski resort and go skiing. You come back down, catch a late flight home and that's all in the same day. You just can't do that anywhere else in the world." the Milan of the ski industry, in Odgen? Perhaps that's a bit of a stretch but there are more than one ski biz companies who are willing to pull their weight to make it happen.

0 comments

Roxy Launches Ski Division

Roxy Joins Forces with Dynastar for High Quality, High Performance Skis Marking First Major Joint Project between Newly-Merged Quiksilver and Rossignol. Backcountry.com will be carrying Roxy Skis along with other Roxy product.

(Huntington Beach, CA) August 3, 2005 --- Roxy, a division of Quiksilver, Inc. (www.quiksilver.com), the leading outdoor sports company, today announced that it has launched Roxy Ski, a new division with a full line of alpine ski products designed specifically to meet the style and physique of women. Adding to an already developed and thriving snow program, Roxy and renowned ski brand Dynastar have come together to create truly functional ski technology for women. Roxy Ski marks the first major joint project between Roxy parent company Quiksilver and Group Rossignol.

Roxy Skis are made to be light and agile, providing female skiers of all skill levels with greater stability and control. Using Dynastar's Autodrive® technology that adapts to a woman's physiology, Roxy Skis are 25% lighter than most unisex skis, delivering greater maneuverability. The Roxy Ski features a raised heel and increased ramp angle to create better balance and control with less effort, placing most of the ski’s power exactly where women apply muscular pressure and, as a result, provide better grip and efficiency.

”We are extremely excited for the global launch of Roxy Ski,” said Bernard Mariette, President, Quiksilver, Inc. “Roxy has an established reputation for innovation and leadership in the women’s surf and snowboarding markets and, by utilizing our relationship with Dynastar, Roxy introduces premiere equipment for women from the company who created ski technology for women. This new collection clearly demonstrates the progression of Roxy’s snow program, and the overall growth as a leading women’s lifestyle brand.”

“With Rossignol now part of the Quiksilver family, it was a natural progression to draw upon the expertise of Dynastar to expand the Roxy brand into the women’s ski market,” said Steve Tully, Global President, Roxy. “Given the great number of women who snowboard and also ski, combined with the enthusiasts for both sports, this is a terrific way for Roxy to deliver products that women want. Today, female skiers are the fastest growing segment in the sport and we believe that Roxy and skiing is yet another outdoor lifestyle experience for Roxy females of all ages.”

Developed in the Chamonix, France region, the debut collection of skis, bindings, poles and boots combines the highest quality in technology with Roxy attitude: fun, lively, daring and confident. The collection reflects the spirit of Roxy with vibrant florals and playful polka dots providing a wide range of product to skiers of all proficiencies.

About Quiksilver

Quiksilver, Inc. (NYSE:ZQK) is the world's leading outdoor sports company, which designs, produces and distributes a diversified mix of branded apparel, wintersports and golf equipment, footwear, accessories and related products. The Company's apparel and footwear brands represent a casual lifestyle for young-minded people that connect with its boardriding culture and heritage, while its wintersports and golf brands symbolize a long standing commitment to technical expertise and competitive success on the mountains and on the links.

The reputation of Quiksilver's brands is based on different outdoor sports. The Company's Quiksilver, Roxy, DC Shoes and Hawk brands are synonymous with the heritage and culture of surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding, and its beach and water oriented swimwear brands include Raisins, Radio Fiji, Leilani and Island Soul. The Rossignol, Dynastar, Lange, Look and Kerma brands are leaders in the alpine ski market, and the Company makes snowboarding equipment under its Rossignol, Dynastar, DC Shoes, Roxy, Lib Technologies, Gnu and Bent Metal labels. The Company's golf business includes Cleveland Golf, as well as Never Compromise putters and Fidra apparel by John Ashworth. Gotcha is the Company's surf-based European brand addressing street fashion.

The Company's products are sold in over 90 countries in a wide range of distribution, including surf shops, ski shops, skateboard shops, snowboard shops, proprietary Boardriders Club shops, other specialty stores and select department stores. The European headquarters are in St. Jean de Luz and Voiron, France; and the Asia/Pacific headquarters are in Torquay, Australia. Quiksilver's corporate and Americas' headquarters are in Huntington Beach, California.

0 comments