Spyder Active Sports Essay
TEM
Spyder Active Sports
5/3/2011
DFK
Discussion Questions
Key Players / People
Case Summary: David Jacobs founded Spyder Active Sports in 1978 as a mail order producer of high-end ski sweaters. In the early days of the company, Jacobs sold his stock in Spyder to Hanson Industries. When Hanson faced financial distress in 1982, Jacobs was forced to join forces with his Japanese contract manufacturer Tsunehisa Shimokubo to save Spyder. Positioned as a premium producer of skiwear, Spyder developed proprietary fibers and, in 1988, secured sponsorship of the U.S. Ski Team, which gave the brand great visibility. By 1995, sales growth was relatively flat, and there was no decisive growth strategy. The company had been virtually the only player in the niche high-end ski gear market, but management began to see competitors entering this space. …show more content…
A deal was struck with CHB Capital Partners (a private equity fund with a “low-volume, high-touch” strategy that billed itself as competing with its expertise, not its money). (See page 6 for details of the deal.) Several key organizational changes followed the partnership with CHB: (1) The company invested in a state-of-the-art IT system; this was critical for helping the company transition to bigger accounts. (2) John Walbrecht was hired as the senior marketing executive; Welbrecht was critical to the company’s success and helped transition Spyder to a marketing-driven firm. (3) Spyder developed a “fixture program” with many of its retailers through which its products were given dedicated floor space in department stores. (4) The firm developed a much more rigorous strategic planning
Spyder Active Sports
5/3/2011
DFK
Discussion Questions
Key Players / People
Case Summary: David Jacobs founded Spyder Active Sports in 1978 as a mail order producer of high-end ski sweaters. In the early days of the company, Jacobs sold his stock in Spyder to Hanson Industries. When Hanson faced financial distress in 1982, Jacobs was forced to join forces with his Japanese contract manufacturer Tsunehisa Shimokubo to save Spyder. Positioned as a premium producer of skiwear, Spyder developed proprietary fibers and, in 1988, secured sponsorship of the U.S. Ski Team, which gave the brand great visibility. By 1995, sales growth was relatively flat, and there was no decisive growth strategy. The company had been virtually the only player in the niche high-end ski gear market, but management began to see competitors entering this space. …show more content…
A deal was struck with CHB Capital Partners (a private equity fund with a “low-volume, high-touch” strategy that billed itself as competing with its expertise, not its money). (See page 6 for details of the deal.) Several key organizational changes followed the partnership with CHB: (1) The company invested in a state-of-the-art IT system; this was critical for helping the company transition to bigger accounts. (2) John Walbrecht was hired as the senior marketing executive; Welbrecht was critical to the company’s success and helped transition Spyder to a marketing-driven firm. (3) Spyder developed a “fixture program” with many of its retailers through which its products were given dedicated floor space in department stores. (4) The firm developed a much more rigorous strategic planning