Sims Spins Again

Will this corporate restructure really set themapart?

Sims Snowboards isn't the same company itused to be. The organization has gone through an extraordinary transformationin the last six months with the hiring of new top management. The companyhopes to take what was once the number-two snowboard brand in the worldback up to the top of the pack.

Ofcourse, we're talking Sims here. Someone said the brand is like that uncleeveryone has-you love him, but he just keeps getting into all kinds oftrouble. Besides being one of the oldest snowboard brands in the industry,Sims has been, at times, one of the least reliable. In a recent retailersurvey, fourteen percent of retailers said the line had worsened somewhator greatly in the last year, eighteen percent said the product needs technicalimprovement, and 30 percent said the customer service is poor and needsimprovement.

The company's history is well known by thenew management team, and they're going to do everything they can to winback the confidence of the core shops and customers.

With a restructured corporate hierarchy,new office, reemphasis on the team riders, and a total commitment to producinginnovative product backed by strong marketing, the management says stayingfocused on business will lead to success. Here's a rundown of the changesat Sims-time will prove their merit.

A New Corporation

The recent restructure is actually a mergerwith Sims' former North American distributor and licenser since 1991, SimsSnowboard Corporation. With this merger, much of the marketing, graphicand product design, engineering, sales, and operations moved from New Westminster,B.C. to Seattle, Washington, where the new company-Sims Sports-is based.

Tom Sims is the principal shareholder ofthe new entity, Sims Sports, Incorporated. Other investors include KeenPartners, a Boston investment firm; and Jack Gill, principal of Sims SnowboardCorporation.

Through the formation of Sims Sports, Tomhas given sole responsibility on all aspects of product development, design,sourcing, and marketing to the new corporate organization. All of the Simshard- and softgood designs will come from Seattle, with the exception ofwhat Tom comes up with at his Santa Barbara design lab.

Sims Sports is discontinuing its relationshipwith its European licensee, DNR see related story "Sims tries to dumpDNR" on the web page.

"I am committed to continuing to leadthe industry in product development and innovation," says Sims. "Wehave the team in place, the necessary resources, and the internal structureto allow us to create the most progressive product line in the industry."Jim Weber, Sims CEO and chairman, sees this as an important step to rebuildingthe company: "This signifies an aggressive new direction for the Simsbrand. We are a company that will be driven to develop innovative, qualityproducts, delivered to the market on time and with energy."

To house the new team that will make allthese changes happen, Sims has moved into a 46,000-square-foot office,warehouse, and distribution center in the Mill Creek/Thrasher's Cornerregion of Seattle. While the offices are slowly set up and remodeled, thewarehouse in back has several areas that are being converted into an R&Dlab and quality-control area.

All-Star Management

Weber, former president of O'Brien International,heads up the new management team. Under Weber is an all-star cast assembledfrom some of his past employees, people who worked at the merged Canadianoffice of Sims Snowboard Corporation, and some former employees of othersnowboard companies. Weber has tried to balance between bringing in talentedmanagers from other industries and genuine snowboarders, to keep the focusof the company. "Retailers can smell it over the phone from 2,000miles away if a company isn't into the sport," he says.

Working directly with Weber is Maria Gaos,who has taken the job of COO. She had previously worked as vice presidentof operations at O'Brien, in addition to stints at Intel and Motorola.Also in senior management as vice president of sales and marketing is MikeBross, who was vice president at JanSport before joining Sims.

To head product development, Sims has hiredHub Zemke as the vice president of engineering. His previous experienceincludes product engineering for O'Brien, and the creation of the famoushoneycomb ski for Hexcel. Coming down from the Canadian organization isengineer John Moore, who was recently promoted from operations assistant.Also working on development is Lars Pak, a veteran of Sims who is now thehardgoods product manager.

Gina Gotch is the new softgoods productmanager. She will be working with designer Jeff Page to create the snowboardapparel.

Chuck MacLaren, Sims Northern Californiarep, is now the national sales manager. MacLaren will be working on organizingSims' participation in regional demos across the land, and making surethat all of the dealers are receiving the best service possible.

Steve Dewar continues as Sims internationalsales manager, splitting his time between the Mill Creek office and theCanadian warehouse and operations.

The customer-service group will have threepeople dedicated to assisting retailers. "In the past, the Sims' customer-servicedepartment wasn't only focused on snowboarding," says Weber. "Nowthat we're only a snowboard company, the group will focus on that."

Also working with retailers will be Sims'new credit manager, Cathleen Doran, who previously worked at Mervin Manufacturing.Rounding out the retailer-assistance department is Rick Roberts. He willbe heading the warranty division.

In the marketing department is Jay Stevens,a former regional promotion and sales rep, and now promotions marketingmanager. Jay will be in charge of organizing events, shop promotions, andtrade-show festivities.

Debbie Murphy will also be helping out inthe marketing department as advertising and public-relations marketingmanager. Debbie had worked in promotions and public relations at Ride.Lastly, in the marketing department is Scott Rouse, team manager. Withthe people in place, the company is focusing on three things: product,marketing, and the Sims team.

Product

"The most important thing for the companyto remember," says Weber, "is that Sims is a snowboard company.We need to focus on the development effort and bringing new, innovativethings to the market." He notes that there was nothing really in thedevelopmental pipeline when the new management came in. In addition, themarket was crowded with similar product that's difficult for dealers tosell: "The dealers say all the boards on their walls are alike."

Weber asserts that there are two areas wheretrue product innovation comes from: process and materials. "We haveto come up with a new approach to put snowboards together, or come up withnew materials. You're going to see that a lot in our line." The newproduct department under Zemke will have that task.

Weber knows this won't be easy: "We'rethe only top-five snowboard company that doesn't have its own factory.But we are an engineering company. We'redesigning product in-house. The disadvantage is that we don't have thatlearning ability of manufacturing boards in the manufacturing environment."

There are several things that Sims is doingto overcome its obstacles. The company is implementing the Thrasher's CornerR&D Lab, in the back of the offices, which will test every productdesigned to ensure it performs for the consumer."

We've created this technology center witha CAD-CAM system called Pro Engineer," says Weber. "It goes astep further than traditional 3-D model-design programs. It can take aproduct designed on screen and then substitute that product's materialsand run tests on it. The system will also test different weights, strengths,and do sophisticated modeling. We want to go further with our productsand materials, and take them to a new level."

Sims is also increasing its commitment toproduction quality with a major expansion of vendor qualifications. They'veplaced expectations high above the norm for every piece manufactured. "Weare establishing a supplier-qualifications network program," he says."We will have multiple sources for supplies."

In its quality-control lab, the companyplans to sample test every lot of products that comes into its warehouse."We have a new testing machine that will essentially destroy boards,"says Weber. "It will be able to perform peel, slap, and insert pull-outtests, as well as perform cycle-testing on boards, bindings, and otherproducts."

Although the lab will be able to work onmany different areas of research and development, Sims is not planningto open a factory in the near future. "It's not anything we woulddo any time soon," says Weber. "We don't have ten-million dollarsto invest in one right now." For now Sims will continue to have productmanufactured at the Volkl factory in Germany and in another in Austria.

The product department has already beenworking hard. According to Weber, within four months, the entire '97/98line has been put together and will be ready for delivery to reps by January1. "Our sample line is as big as some companies' entire board production,"he says.

Weber emphasizes the importance of thisdelivery: "You only get one chance. This is a seasonal business. Ifyou miss anything, you blow it."

The new company already appears to be impressingretailers this season. According to informal surveys by SNOWboardingBusiness, Sims was one of the first companies to ship to many retailersthis season, and retailers were excited. That's just what Weber is lookingforÑbuilding the excitement around the brand: "We have to getback the confidence of the dealers. Sims' market share has not grown inthe last five years."

But one good delivery isn't enough. "Agood business does a thousand things right," he says.

Improving the product is one of those thousandthings. Having the marketing and team to promote the product and move itout of shops are two others.

Marketing

"We're covering it from A toZ," says Weber of Sims' marketing programs. "A lot of it dependson how fast we get it done. So much of it is delivering the basics."

The basics include a strong advertisingcampaign, team tours, event sponsorship, and an in-store presence.

In-store marketing efforts will be increasedfrom past years. The company will be placing spec stickers on every boardto be used as shelf talkers. There will also be increased POP programs,posters, stands, and other things retailers have come to expect from amajor player. "We actually have significant promotional budgets withreps this year as well."

But neither the focus of the company norits efforts have changed. "The sport is about having fun, and thefreedom of the ride. We want to be associated with what the sport is about.It's part of the lifestyle." The company will try to emphasize thiswith several programs.

"We want to expand Sims' presence onthe hill. We'll be setting up demo centers at different mountains. We'retrying to get them at Blackcomb, Stevens Pass, and several others,"says Weber. In addition, the company will also be highlighting its B-teammore than it has in the past.

Of course, it's not a good winter if theteam doesn't go out on the road for a dealer tour. Plans are for Tom himselfto go along on the tour to shops and resorts across the country.

Team

One priority of the new management was tomaintain the strong team riders who've been with the company for severalyears. "One of the greatest sins in marketing is to invest a greatdeal of money in a team and then not promote them," says Weber. "Itdoesn't do anyone any good. They are a large investment for us. We havebuilt strong relationships with the team members."

In fact, Sims just went through the roundsof renewing all the contracts of the main team riders. And just about everyonesigned back up. Of course, they'll have to work a little bit more underthe new management. "We're getting them excited about the company.They've participated in the designs and graphics for next year's line."

Building Excitement

Weber sees this as an investment year forSims. "We're going to get all our cylinders firing. Next year, theproduct will speak for itself."

But he wants those cylinders rolling tobuild the brand. "We want a sense of energy in the market," saysWeber. "People are excited and that will spread through word of mouth.Ads play a role. Kids who come into shops will see products, and riderswill see it on the hill. Dealers expect an aggressive effort to generateexcitement.

"Any brand seen as a leader must bea leader with the enthusiasts of the sportÑnot with the recreationalpeople." By reaching those people, Weber believes Sims will attainthe ultimate: "Our goal is to make Sims the number-one brand in theworld. Sims never had a good business model. The total focus of the companyis around building the brand. The product line for next year is all new.We're going to be putting the marketing behind it. It starts with a greatproduct at the enthusiast level, driven by great product. It's really simple,we're not creating a new formula."

By next year, we'll know if Weber and hisall-star crew have accomplished their goal of taking Sims in a new, positivedirection. Can they reform that crazy uncle? We'll see.

—Story and photos by John Stouffer.