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I'm back to TLD!
Shark (street helmets)
Nolan (street helmets)
Bering (street apparel)
Segura (leather)
Cairn (E-bikes)
The skeptic in me says these moves are rarely if ever good for the customers or employees. The list of excellent companies going downhill after getting acquired is long both in our industry and outside of it as well.
I hope Troy made a fortune , because he deserves every penny of it. He has a long history with the sport , and will be missed if he decides to step away completely.
I'm wondering what the future is going to be like for the race team , and also all the apparell line , and the quality of that line over the next few years. Man , this is bummer news.
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Oakley did things the old way. The company started as garage-based company selling custom made moto grips out of the bed of a pickup truck. The money earned was spent on developing moto goggles and other moto accessories. As the company grew even more it started branching into non moto categories like sunglasses and ski goggles until it eventually went public, later being bought by luxotica group. The company sought growth outside of motocross and eventually lost it's identity as a moto company. Oakley still makes good goggles, but there is nothing "core" about them.
The new way is the direction that Fox went. In the early 2000s and 2010s Fox had started the same process of branching away from moto into lifestyle products and other action sports. This is when Fox "went to the mall" and lost some of its credibility among moto buyers that it has since worked to repair. When Altamont Capital bought fox in 2014 they already owned Billabong and Dakine. They took the approach of refocusing Fox on moto and mtb since they had other companies in the portfolio that could pursue surf and ski markets. In the years since fox has rebuilt some of its reputation in moto and grown in the more similar (in terms of buyers and products) space of mountain bike equipment.
I'd imagine TLD's buyer is taking an approach closer to that of Altamont. I didn't see their entire portfolio but I suspect they have a number of other sport divisions. Private Equity consolidators aren't doing the LBO gutting jobs they did in the 80s or the same type of soul sucking brand name exploitation they did in the 90s/2000s. These days they buyout multiple different brands serving various niches and focus those brands within their respective space instead of trying to put that brand name on every type of product they can. TLD should do well at this.
I'll also point out that my background is in sell-side M&A so I understand the private equity industry pretty well but the moto industry to a much smaller degree. If someone who has more experience in that realm can let me know if I'm out of touch here I'd appreciate it.
Casual wear? That's it and the MX gear.
Are they big outside of MX in casual wear?
Off topic, but check out the Troy Lee store if you happen to be in Laguna. It’s a fun time.
Has your avatar ever been associated or related to TLD?
SBJ had been co-owners for years with Troy so I wouldn’t expect much to change since TLD had been operating in this co-owner environment for years now.
Pit Row
The typical process is to acquire multiple businesses to grow your portfolio(no organic growth), gut said businesses to lower operating costs, lower the quality of parts, raise prices, and then sell said businesses in 5-7 years.
To me, it's from the 70's and was a US Peace symbol of hippy days.
Funny
the White Bros sale was also on the heels of the huge growth of the sport in the mid 00's, but I think the economic recession hurt them in addition to shitty leadership from MAG.
Including alot of family friends of Ray Currie as well. Thought that was weak.
Dave, I've been wondering when this would come to a point of discussion...it took longer than I'd expected.
#goanal
Not a single person was laid off during the split of Currie Enterprises and Rock Jock 4x4. Some people moved over to Rock Jock 4x4 with John Currie. Also, Ray Currie is still with Currie Enterprises even though Casey is now running more of the day to day.
Post a reply to: TLD sold to a (different) private equity firm