Nike Snowboard is no more

Fattes

Looks like Nike Snowboarding is no more, with reduced sales and participation numbers across the globe in the sport, is it time for a revolution in boarding?

http://www.boardworld.com.au/forums/viewthread/17719/

cormee

Fattes wrote: »

Looks like Nike Snowboarding is no more, with reduced sales and participation numbers across the globe in the sport, is it time for a revolution in boarding?

http://www.boardworld.com.au/forums/viewthread/17719/

Where does it say about reduced participation & sales?

AlternateID

I always felt that Nike hadn't really broken into the snowboard market.

Would it not be far to say the snowboarding has had an increase in participation this year since the Olympics?

cormee

AlternateID wrote: »

I always felt that Nike hadn't really broken into the snowboard market.

Would it not be far to say the snowboarding has had an increase in participation this year since the Olympics?

I think it's probably impossible to buy the sort of loyalty that would be required to survive. It sounds like they just pumped money into it and hoped they would get critical mass.

If I was in the market for a board or gear they would have been way down the list

Fattes

cormee wrote: »

Where does it say about reduced participation & sales?

Not in this article, but when I home home I will link some stuff in, K2, Atomic have stopped selling boards in recent years due to declining sales and Burton dominance, but even Burton has seen a drop in sales.

Also most Board schools are dropping numbers and instructors due to demand

AlternateID

cormee wrote: »

I think it's probably impossible to buy the sort of loyalty that would be required to survive. It sounds like they just pumped money into it and hoped they would get critical mass.

If I was in the market for a board or gear they would have been way down the list

I've only ever seen one pair of Nike boots for sale. Never seen a board for sale. Wonder if there's bargains to be had.

Fattes

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2013/11/28/what-behind-snowboarding-drastic-drop-popularity/FAkg6xIGM0PitZem5TT2uL/story.html


http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_24797292/snowboarding-declining-stats-coolness

http://www.si.com/more-sports/2013/02/12/snowboarding-recession

It's been a concern in the industry for a while, some kind of new energy is needed in the sport, as it would be a shame to see it lose its edge and for participation levels to continue to decline at the rates they are.

cormee

Fattes wrote: »

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2013/11/28/what-behind-snowboarding-drastic-drop-popularity/FAkg6xIGM0PitZem5TT2uL/story.html


http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_24797292/snowboarding-declining-stats-coolness

http://www.si.com/more-sports/2013/02/12/snowboarding-recession

It's been a concern in the industry for a while, some kind of new energy is needed in the sport, as it would be a shame to see it lose its edge and for participation levels to continue to decline at the rates they are.

Doesn't seem to be suffering as badly as skiing http://www.snowsports.org/Retailers/Research/SnowSportsFactSheet

Fattes

cormee wrote: »

Doesn't seem to be suffering as badly as skiing http://www.snowsports.org/Retailers/Research/SnowSportsFactSheet

Kind of the numbers in the US are twisted by one big factor outlined below. Sales of Skis, and related equipment are up about 4-5% since 2009 in both the US and Europen! While snowboard sales are going the other way, the number of unique ski days is dropping in the US but increasing in Europe.

The reason for this is the rise of US mega resorts and a large number of small local hills closing, so now were some families would ski every weekend now it is every 2nd or 3rd weekend or once a month, due to resort closures and amalgamations & the increased costs associated with skiing at your mega US resorts.

In Europe ticket sales have been increasing steadily since 2009 and are outstripping previous peak numbers. Sadly the number of people availing of snowboarding lessons, and the stats on snowboarders on the hill is currently in quite a negative slide.

AlternateID

Have you seen the prices of ski passes in the US? Just googled whistler. $690 for 6 day pass. $412 if you book early online.

Fattes

It's not just the lift pass prices of mega resorts in N.America, the price of food on the hill, the 2-3 hour tail backs in the likes of Aspen and Vail, the distance from Major cities 3/4 hour drives minimum!

However, all things being equal there is still a larger drop on the board side of things versus the skiing! When thee head of Burton is saying something needs to be done it must be bad

cormee

Fattes wrote: »

However, all things being equal there is still a larger drop on the board side of things versus the skiing!

Are you honestly serious? Have a look at this. You can explain it however you want, but the evidence is there, in that graphic for you to see, skiing participation has dropped by about 23% in the US, snowboarding by about 13%.

http://www.snowsports.net/images_13_14/participation/2013_Participation_WebImage1.jpg

Anyway, that's my last comment on the subject. I've no interest in a pissing contest over whose sport is more or less popular.

stevire

It's hard to see how they are going to revolutionize Snowboarding. All board industries die out over time, it's happened to skateboarding and surfing.

If you look at skateboarding, it has peaked every 10-15 years. Started around the 50s, peaked and died 15 years later. Dogtown emerged around '75, peaked and died mid-80s around the time of the Bones Brigade. Then 10 years later, mid-90s came the vert revolution and birth of the X-Games. Over the last 4 years it looks like its dying a slow death again.

Surfing had a similar history and even from looking at our own country it's dying off again. Nowhere near the same crowds at surf spots around the country from my own experience. Not to mention Billabong's financial troubles.

Snowboarding looks to be in a similar vain, it will re-emerge in years to come. Like all board sports the market became saturated over a short period of time and the number of people on top became less like a pyramid (look at how many snowboarders can now do a cab double cork, similarly skating/surfing followed this pattern also). Snowboarding use to have a freestyle edge over skiing but with the emergence of freeskiing in the last decade no doubt affected this. I think it's just a natural cycle for board sports now, but it's tough on companies and individuals depending on it.

On a side note, Nike did make some decent short movies. I do like some of their gear so I'll be keeping an eye out for the sales!!

Fattes

You know I can do both and started as a boarder right.

It's not about which is better or more popular, it's about cold hard facts, the number of companies producing boards and boarding equipment is shrinking, the number of instructors employed to teach it is shrinking, and the participation numbers globally are either stagnate or shrinking, the value of the boarding industry is contracting. At nearly double digits


I am just back from a coaches conference in the UK, were I picked up the original link, and one of the seminars was solely focused on snowboarding and was entitled "reversing the decline and increasing participation in snowboarding" here are some of thee nuggets from they power point

Espn feb 2013
"Sales in 2011-12 fell between 19 and 31 percent, depending on the region of the country studied. Participation fell 7.5 percent nationwide."


"Today, there is every indication that the growth in snowboarding we took for granted has stalled, and visitation from snowboarding is headed toward a path of substantial decline," wrote Nate Fristoe, RRC Associates director of operations, in the National Ski Areas Association Journal"

"Under 14's snowboarders accounted for 28% of visits in 2012 a drop from a peak of 42% in 1998"National Ski Areas Association Journal"

The number of ski day visits has risen by 16% since 1994"National Ski Areas Association Journal"

"UK snow domes have seen a decrease of 4% in snowboarding lessons since 2009"


Obviously the fact that Nike, K2, Atomic and other companies have ceased to make snowboards while expanding their ski range, the fact that most Ski/board schools are hiring less instructors for boarding and the fact that the largest board company in the world has plummeting sales is no indication whatsoever!

By the way the graph you posted if you include freesking which is currently the fastest growing segment of snow sports shows a net growth in skiing. Also there is huge growth in urban Jibbing in the US which again is warping stats.

Fattes

I should also add that IMHO from non scientific observation, I would say Ireland is an exception to the rule with a high participation first time rate amongst 18-24 year olds, I would say 70% of lessons taken by college socs are snowboard based

Also looking at the US alone is not reflective of the whole industry based on the size comparison to European markets