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Fancy swedish helmets coming to a ski slope near you by 123wert sdfsf
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Fancy swedish helmets coming to a ski slope near you |
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Business,Business News,Business Opportunities
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(Corrects sales figure in first paragraph.) Outdoor sporting goods maker Black Diamond ( BDE ) announced today that it is buying Swedish helmet company POC for$43.5 million, to be paid in Swedish kronor, and about 460,000shares of common stock. The price does not include $12.5 million inperformance incentives for POC s management. With the deal, POCbecomes the third brand under the Black Diamond umbrella. Thecompany s namesake brand makes mountain gear ranging from cramponsto ski boots to hiking poles. Gregory Mountain Products, whichshares a campus with Black Diamond on the east bench of Utah sWasatch Range in Salt Lake City, specializes in backpacks.
The twocombined for $146 million in sales in 2011. POC, whose offices willremain in Stockholm, makes helmets and other protective gear forskiers and cyclists. Black Diamond Chief Executive Officer PeterMetcalf, who will continue to run the company, says privately heldPOC had sales of $22.5 million last year, up 35 percent from a yearearlier. The deal marks the latest stage in the evolution of a company thattraces its roots to Yvon Chouinard s anvil and hammer in 1957.Chouinard, best known as the founder of clothing maker Patagonia,first went into business making pitons, carabiners, and picks forfellow climbers in Yosemite National Park. The clothing line grewout of a few rugby shirts he imported from England in 1970.
Hisfirst venture, Chouinard Equipment, went bankrupt in 1989 afterbecoming a target for liability suits. Metcalf and other formerChouinard employees founded Black Diamond from its assets. Twoyears ago, private equity investors Warren Kanders and RobertSchiller merged Black Diamond with Gregory and took the combinedentity public. Black Diamond decided to pursue POC, says Metcalf, for economies ofscale, access to new markets, shared intellectual property, and the very clean, aesthetically pleasing, industrial design look ofits products.
POC is substantially stronger in Europe than it isin North America, he says. We are strong in Europe but notnearly as strong as we are in North America. As with the other two Black Diamond brands, POC will develop andmarket its products in-house, while the parent company will handlemanufacturing, shipping, and other back-office functions. Metcalfsays he aims to offer goods for use in every season and for justabout every trip up or down a mountain. Our customers are alwaysgetting outside.
If there is no powder, then they are on ice. Andif there is no ice, they are on granite, red-rock, or dry mountaintrails. Surveys by the Outdoor Foundation suggest that participation inoutdoor sports may have peaked with declines among childparticipants and flat-lining among adults in the last five years.But enthusiasts are still spending. According to Leisure TrendsGroup, sales of outdoor products climbed 20 percent from 2009 to2011, with the average retail price rising 8 percent.
LeisureTrends retail analyst Elisabeth Stahura says consumers are willingto spend extra on products they are convinced will last. Metcalfsees POC customers fitting into this trend toward low-end luxury.They may be too spooked to buy a car, or fancy Armani outfit, orBogner ski suit, he says, but they are ready to drop 200 bucksfor a helmet or 90 bucks for a pair of goggles. I am an expert from Home Supplies Agents, usually analyzes all kind of industries situation, such as cotton pad dispenser , cotton wool pads.
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