Who owns ‘freeskiing’?
Well the short answer is that behind almost every one of your favourite ski brands is a massive corporation.
Why does that matter?
From August ‘13 to January ‘14 sales of ‘twin tip’ skis totalled $55million in the US.
This is a company that after only 10 years has the famously anti-corporate skateboarding scene by the balls.
Possible brand collabos to be modelled by every noughties teenage boy’s favourite hotel heiress.
Electric x Gucci Collab?
Jarden (USA, Market Capital: $7.9 billion)
Everybody’s favourite US conglomerate.
Well they mostly focus on a dazzling array of household goods brands from Breville to Spontex.
See the full list of Jarden brands here:http://www.jarden.com/brands
Can you spot the ski brands?
With an estimated investment value of $3bn this is not a small company.
They also own, among other things,Helly Hansen, a pharmacy chain and an investment bank.
They dabble in everything from used cars to designer furniture but more relevantly to us they ownDakine.
Vision Service Plan, USA
The largest provider of vision insurance in the US, they acquiredDragonin 2012.
Now based in Switzerland and owned by businessman Beat Zaugg.
They also make Tennis rackets and stuff.
Tecnica Group, Italy
They started out making the infamous Moon Boot then went on to launchTecnicaBoots and acquireBlizzardandNordica.
But seriously, Moon Boots…
So there you have it, the ‘freeski’ industry in a big, bank-vault-in-Switzerland sized nutshell.
