Head Ski

Head Ski

Head ski found a market for their skis where, despite their high prices, their products appealed to a lot of people and skiers who considered their products a status symbol. Their main goal was product quality along with service and they made sure that the skis they sold lived up to the expectations of their customers. They kept updating their equipment to create superior products and hence their customers trusted their products in spite of their high price. Head ski had been serving the ski market in the high price segment. Their emphasis on quality extended beyond just product quality to dealer and service network and sold only through limited number of franchised dealers. They also offered extensive after sales service. They were selling their products through a small, but efficient distribution network that they carefully selected. This process had been successful because they had experienced skiers to sell the skis who could help their customers choose the right products. All these features along with their brand name and the trust their customers had in their products led to their success in the current industry.

The US metal skis category was gaining faster than the other categories. The price and quality of the ski equipment are experiencing an upward shift and the ski specialty shop business is gaining faster than general sporting goods outlets. The ski market was growing in dollar value even though it was not growing in physical volume. Customers were willing to spend more on the same products they once spent very less. Ski business had moved just beyond leisure activity to a place where customers wanted to have ski equipment and skiwear that were trendy and looked good and hence more high priced high quality ski products were in demand. People were looking to buy fashionable products and hence they were willing to spend more.

Acquisition target:

Head ski has been looking to diversify beyond the ski market. Their first diversification was to ski poles with highest standard of quality and style with features unavailable on other products in the market. Head ski had introduced the ski poles in the high priced segment and were successful. This success encouraged them to look at other products.

They considered diversification into skiwear and felt that their skiwear was better than their competitors’ products.