Vanishing ski manufacturers

Yesterday, we began a discussion on ski industry suppliers that have vanished from our radar screen and we tried to understand the reason for their demise; today, we’ll be focusing on ski manufacturers that have been struggling more than others.
Generally speaking, the most vulnerable have been the small-volume makers, the one that didn’t have the means to pay for their future, be it investing into R&D or distribution. Here is a quick review of which ones stumbled and why…

Authier, Hexcel, Molnar, Volant:
These ski companies fell prey of a proprietary design concept that was intellectually attractive but hard and costly to produce, wasn’t that easy to sell, and only brought marginal benefits, if at all.
Authier, Dynamic, Kästle, Lange, Pre, Olin:
The typical “bastard children,” those were the number 2, 3 or 4 in the “family” and couldn’t get the unique product, the positioning, the funds as well as the love and the attention they needed to survive. In the case of Lange and today, Nordica skis, it’s hard to slap a brand on a ski and hope it should get instant notoriety.
Dynamic, Kneissl, Spalding:
Some famous brands believed that racing victories alone would do it for them. With names like Killy (Dynamic), Schranz (Kneissl) and Thoeni (Persenico-Spalding) the market had to buy the product, period. It didn’t and the company didn’t understand that a full business mix had to be satisfied.
Authier, Lacroix:
There appears to be little room for “luxury goods” in the ski business; these brands tried it, but it didn’t work too much and for too long. A “bread-and-butter” product like the Dynastar Omesoft, the Pre 1200 or the Rossignol 4-S that could pay the bills and carry the company along…
Fritzmaier, Rebel, Sarner:
Some companies are just like missed satellite launches and don’t last for long, consuming the start-up fuel and never making it into a long term orbit
Kazama, Nishizawa, Ogasaka and Yamaha:
Isolation, small volume and one single (Japanese) market, did these players in…
Blizzard, Kästle:
Today’s warmed-up formula and hoping for some “resurrection”. Generally, there’s only one life…

If that new life lasts until tomorrow, we’ll see how ski boot makers have fared in comparison…