Well yea... it has to be. No way most ski companies can even turn a profit due to high production costs (European ski pressers, who are the best in the world, particularly Austria and France, and way more expensive than what can be done in, say, China), particularly "core" brands that cater to a smaller market demographic (us). Those guys in Europe are the best, though, and deserve the premium cost they carry with them.
That's why you see consolidation. Not necessarily a bad thing... these "core" companies get capital they can invest into making more high quality skis with a wider product breadth (instead of a park ski and a pow ski only, they can have a wider product offering. Anyone remember line like 7 years ago? much smaller breadth of offering). Sure, there is pressure from the top to make Wall St. margin expectations, but the best way to do that is to listen to your customer and make what they want (see: Armada).
These Travelling Circus skis are a great example of that, I think, and should sell well, and are a good expression of who we are. Good things all around.
So many people get so scared of corporations being these evil puppet masters behind the curtain, but in most cases, they're simply trying to please their customer, so they can make money (happens at the same time, not a 1 2 punch in the long run). Plus, they employ a lot of people and invest a lot of money to make that happen around the world.
Cheers to Line, K2, and Jarden Corp. for making these skis, T-Wall's full tilts, the HellBent's, Obsthed's, and some dope goggles and helmets coming out this year. All possible because of the larger company.
#knowledge
