Big Companies and the ski industry

shitty

shitty

Member
Ya know sometimes I just don't get it. A lot of ski discussions have been arising as a result of the upcoming season. In just about every single thread concerning a selection of skis, there's always a "fuck the big companies, support the smaller companies" comment. Everyone is entitled to their opinions, but why give the big companies such a hassle.

Many people rant on here about how the industry needs to grow, we need more exposure, and more money in the industry. Who are some of the culprits for fueling this growth and exposure? Many can disagree with me, but i think some of these bigger companies have something to do with it.

To start out, diversity of ski brands...aka competition... is necessary for a great industry, leading to better research, new technology, and a better value for us the skiers. Boone, Line, Moment, fatypus, rocky mountain ski company(i think its called) and more have great skis and are doing great things for riders, as i have a few pairs myself. Supporting growing companies is good, awesome, terrific, but bashing bigger ones? let them do their thing.

Their is so much hate from some people on the bigger companies, "bent on making profits" and only caring about making money. How do you make profits? Well to start out with one way some companies are making big profits is.....a quality product..what a concept. Taking a look at Salomon, Head, and Atomic for example, while everyone has their own preference as to the attributes of a ski, no one can really say they make a shitty product....really. You can notice that bigger companies, like Salomon, have allocated a lot more of their resources and time to developing better freestyle products for us the riders. An argument against that is that yes, these companies have deep pockets for r&d for their products, but that's besides the point.

Sponsorship is a two way street for both the riders and the companies in the industry. These bigger companies have the resources to sponsor up and comers and assist riders in living their dreams of becoming a professional skier. How does is that hurting anything?

Sure, these smaller companies are at a disadvantage of not having the backing and resources of an older corporation, but in the whole scheme of things, how is a companies ability to sponsor people, events, and movies a bad thing?
 
yeah half my post got cut off, ill write the rest again later, then this post might make more sense..
 
I completely agree. No ski company is that "big" so it's always nice for them to get some more cash. K2 and salomon might be exceptions, but even so they make super sick skis. I will support any ski company that makes QUALITY product that fits me.
 
Congrats on the well thought out and nicely structured post. I actually agree with you.

While it's nice to support smaller companies, Big companies do more for our sport than people think, and most make a good product. K2 makes the best line of skis ever, and they own so much shit. They also support projects like Hunting Yeti, and pay people like Andy and Pep to not compete, and do what they do. That's badass.

Salomon has such a good Am riders project thing. It seems like there are tons of kids that are hooked up with Salomon. That's kinda sick.
 
I think that smaller companies try harder as far as customer service becasue they cant afford to lose customers or get a bad rep. Some companies lose that as they grow. But at the same time your right, many companies get overlooked. Plus newer companies are usually more progressive
 
Agreed ++++ Karma for a well written post. In my eyes I am stoked on how much Salomon gives back through the sport, whether it be their grass roots sponsorship program or the sponsoring comps all the way to the Jib Academy. That is a sick event that no one else comes close to matching
 
In my eyes, a good ski company is one that supports riders doing what they want to do and not just nabbing comp results.
 
for real dude. theres so many good skiers out there who dont compete cause they either dont like it, dont have money, or cant travel all over the place.
 
Small companies do a great job listening to their riders and giving them what they need, but they cant provide the financial support needed to take their riders to other levels. The more support you give to those companies, the more they can support their riders who may be you..... Pretty much that goes for any company, the more we support the industry the more money they have to give, but bigger companies put a good portion of that money into other areas of their r&d and production. Meanwhile smaller more core companies will put more percent of that money into newschool development and therefore giving you more return and support. you usually have better chances riding for those smaller companies too or they can relate to you better.

By NO means should people be hating on the bigger companies, this is just a one sided thought of mine...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top