Ok, let's play.
Salomon, Nordica and Dynastar are all owned by larger companies (Amer sports, Tecnica and Rossignol in order). In that list Salomon is the only one not owned by another ski brand.
So the argument of a smaller company owned by a larger company is out the door. Even the "small" argument is out, as previously proven thanks to sales figures.
The argument of K2 running Line can also go out the door right now as well. Go ahead and ask your M.r Line_skis guy and he will let you know that just like Nordica or Dynastar that they run independently, therefore as a separate entity they are responsible for creating stand alone products.
In terms of "highly specialized products" could you not say the same thing about most companies? After all most skis are specialized for something. Yes, Line only sells twintips, but they also sell clothing, poles and bags where as some companies sell only skis, like Dynastar. Would a company only selling skis be more specialized than a company that sells skis and "insert something ski related that isn't more skis"? Yes they do target a specific ski niche but you could say the same thing about Armada if you really wanted to.
On a more thread related note I wonder if he will have a pro model, and if he does I can't wait to see what it looks like.
