General

[stevedavidson]

BE didn't 'streamline' because K2 was a company that built its share value on acquisitions.

Jarden has been looking to rid themselves of this white elephant thing called 'paintball'; if they could have acquired K2 without taking BE, they would have done so.

Now, Jarden is 'downsizing' as they figure out a way to keep the 'value' of the 'brands' on their books, while cutting actual costs.

With four plus paintball brands in their hopper (JT, WGP, VL & BE), there's no need for a President/CEO for each, VP Sales for each, etc., etc.

A SMART someone working on this over there would: keep them all under one roof and consolidate brands - guns from WGP, loaders from VL, masks from JT and accessories from BE (or entry-level from BE); make each one mean something again by having a flaship product in each line.

My prediction? They'll chop and shave and then find somone silly enough to buy the new 'lean, mean, cash-generating machine' from them, after which it will die, because distribution to the big chain stores is drying up.

If you are a field/store owner and have a stasis machine you can step into, set it for five years from now. When you emerge, paintball will be back down to specialty store sales only, and you might be able to make a living.

[Walking_Target]

Not true man.

Paintball has become too mainstream to just go back to a cottage industry, or even go the way of RC (boats, planes, etc.)


moreover, i doubt they will re-brand each of their subsidiaries so quickly.

WGP will be 'producing' guns and gas systems

JT will continue producing masks, pads, soft goods and probably one or two markers.

VL will continue their current lines as well

BE will still by synonymous with 'Crap' or 'Vandalism'

they'r just reorganizing how these four companies are run and managed; any significant changes to what they actually produce will be at least two years down the road.

[Horizon]

With falling sales they need to cut costs to stay in the black (or get back into the black if they are already operating in the red). I think you are right in that they will sell their paintball division once it's consolidated and it appears to be making money again. Right now, the parts would have very little value and they would take a big loss. I think overall, they will still be taking a bath on it. They made most of these aquisitions when paintball was in its hayday, now it's not.

[CrazyBoy78]

I just think it's interesting how back in the day, companies thought they had to be huge to be successful. Now that economics have caught up, they're realizing the error of their ways and have downsized. Ahh, consumerism...

[Horizon]

Maybe they will just amalgamate all the administrative departments into one location and then contract manufacturing of products to overseas companies like everyone else seems to be doing. We'll all rejoice because their products will get cheaper.

[mobiusmorte]

And then we all cry because the quality get's even worse...

except for all of us "Vintage" gun owners who rejoice as our quality made guns become even more valuable... muhahaha

But then again even we start crying, as we realize how much more it is going to cost to keep feeding our habit

[Walking_Target]

all i know is that when the zombies take over, I'll still be able to scavange CO2 and paint, then go paintball against Zack with my AGD Automag. (or failing the paintball part, at least club him with it)

[skweegi]

The JT/BE/WGP/VL monster pushed hard into the big box retailers for the last few years with heavy discounts and profit garuntees. It was a gamble to make the sport bigger and they would be in position to reap the benefits.

It kinda worked for a while, not particularly profitable for them, but they sold a lot of stuff. Now it's time for the payoff as the sport expands.....and they stumbled right into a recessionary period.

Now the industry is in a retraction period (we've been through this before and will again) and they're gonna pull back on their commitment to walmart, target, sports store chains etc.

No one in the sport has a lot of sympathy for a big business like JT/BE/WGP/VL and we all think their product is junk, but they did help expand the entire base of players during their heavy push into the mass retail market.

They'll still have paintball junk at walmart, but a smaller selection and less shelf space.

[Harbinger[TG]]

link is dead now

[fossilhead]

Originally Posted by skweegi

No one in the sport has a lot of sympathy for a big business like JT/BE/WGP/VL and we all think their product is junk,

Have to say though, I still think the Flex is the best mask on the market, the new SR Autococker is pretty good, and the Vlocity loaders are good.

Perhaps they will concentrate on the few quality products they have that they can actually sell.