Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Monday, January 5, 2009
New Question
What do you think is the secret to running a successful brand such as Consolidated and keeping it around for as long as you have? Where do you see the industry heading in the next 5-10 years and how can we keep the corporations from raping our lifestyle?-Harry P
I think the secret to keeping it around so long is you just gotta be into it. Consolidated is small and always has been. We're in it because we love it. We have been around for 16 years but it for sure isn't always smooth sailing. When things are good, we put all the money into Consolidated. And when things get bad, we need to shrink back. Consolidated just always comes first. We will get side jobs if we have to, to keep shit going.
I think the industry is headed down a sketchy road. The same road that so many other businesses have gone. All the outsiders are figuring out how to infiltrate and take over. The mall chains are beginning to dominate and put the core shops out of business. The skater owned companies that sell to the mall chains are stuck now, because these chains grew to be such a substantial portion of their sales. If they pull out they are fucked. So all of a sudden these mall chains are actually in control. They can decide who and what they want to carry. Pretty soon the box stores are gonna control it all unless people wake up. Diversity is the key to a healthy environment. If we want it to thrive, we gotta bring back the diversity. Lots of small companies and core shops all thriving and competing. Same in business as in nature. Here is an example.. Nike is a 18 billion dollar a year company. That equates to 180 one hundred million dollar companies. Imagine how many riders, magazine ads, shops, employees, etc, that 180 one hundred million dollar companies would support.
The diversity has been declining rapidly in every industry and the surf, skate and snowboard industry was one of the last refuges. But it too is now being severely affected. We are just trying to spread awareness because the consumer ultimately has the power. People can control everything just by what and where they spend their money.
I think the secret to keeping it around so long is you just gotta be into it. Consolidated is small and always has been. We're in it because we love it. We have been around for 16 years but it for sure isn't always smooth sailing. When things are good, we put all the money into Consolidated. And when things get bad, we need to shrink back. Consolidated just always comes first. We will get side jobs if we have to, to keep shit going.
I think the industry is headed down a sketchy road. The same road that so many other businesses have gone. All the outsiders are figuring out how to infiltrate and take over. The mall chains are beginning to dominate and put the core shops out of business. The skater owned companies that sell to the mall chains are stuck now, because these chains grew to be such a substantial portion of their sales. If they pull out they are fucked. So all of a sudden these mall chains are actually in control. They can decide who and what they want to carry. Pretty soon the box stores are gonna control it all unless people wake up. Diversity is the key to a healthy environment. If we want it to thrive, we gotta bring back the diversity. Lots of small companies and core shops all thriving and competing. Same in business as in nature. Here is an example.. Nike is a 18 billion dollar a year company. That equates to 180 one hundred million dollar companies. Imagine how many riders, magazine ads, shops, employees, etc, that 180 one hundred million dollar companies would support.
The diversity has been declining rapidly in every industry and the surf, skate and snowboard industry was one of the last refuges. But it too is now being severely affected. We are just trying to spread awareness because the consumer ultimately has the power. People can control everything just by what and where they spend their money.
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