Ride Restructures
Tim Pogue resigns. Hall announces major changes.

Three weeks after taking the job as Ride president and CEO—weeks filled with "talking to management and traveling around the country asking reps and retailers about Ride"—Bob Hall instituted a sweeping restructuring of Ride Inc. on September 11, a change that company management hopes will enhance its customer service, design capabilities, and production.

On October 9, another development shook Ride and the snowboard industry. Tim Pogue, former president of Ride who had been named president of Ride Development under the restructuring plans, resigned to pursue other interests. While this was in no way part of the restructuring plans, Pogue says his decision to leave Ride was influenced by the recent developments at the company. So, what sort of company is left in the wake of the barrage of change?

SNOWboarding Business visited the Ride offices in Preston, Washington the day after the restructuring announcement was made to find out the staff’s reaction, and why this change was necessary in the first place. We also interviewed Hall and Pogue on the day after Pogue announced his resignation.

In A Nutshell

Under the new arrangement, Ride will have six divisions headed by division presidents, all of whom report to Hall. These divisions will include: Winter Sports and Administration, Development, Manufacturing, Apparel, International, and Finance. Ride will also sell the excess inventory segment of CAS Sports International to a management-led group of CAS Sport employees.

Why The Change Was Made

"I traveled to Toronto, Boston, Burlington, Chicago, Los Angeles, and San Diego in my first three weeks at the job," says Hall. "I wanted to visit dealers, reps, and the other Ride offices to hear from them about the company’s strengths and weaknesses.

"What I heard was that there is a great opportunity in the snowboard industry," he continues. "Looking throughout the industry, the level of service isn’t good, the technology of product generally isn’t great, and the sophistication of marketing is usually poor. This is a wonderful opportunity for us. We aren’t claiming we’ll be master at each of these aspects of business, but we’re sure going to try."

Tim Pogue, commenting on the restructuring shortly after it was announced and before he resigned, says the restructuring is only a small part of the positive developments at the company. "The board of directors knew that we had to make a major change in the structure of the company, but we wanted to wait until the new CEO was brought in to make the changes.

"The simple fact is, the company grew so big, so fast, that for the first four years it was all we could do to hang on to the reins of the crazy stagecoach that was Ride," continues Pogue. "We really needed to bring in a high-level individual who has the experience and education to take Ride to the next stage."

Hall says that the structure of Ride when he took control was representative of the company’s acquisition past. "The structure was not optimal for Ride’s future," he says. "What we needed was core competency in each division. Functional specialists in each discipline, all dedicated to offering superior retail service. Buying and selling other people’s closeouts doesn’t fit that model."

A Look At The Divisions

• Ride Development. Under the restructuring, Pogue was named president of Ride Development. In the days after this was announced, some retailers with whom SNOWboarding Business talked to questioned Pogue’s new role. After all, he’s one of the founders of Ride, and until just recently, its president.

Shortly after becoming president of Ride Development, Pogue said: "It’s definitely been a little bittersweet to hand over the reins, but a relief as well. I would much rather do this than be arrogant, say I could do it all myself, and fail."

When asked about whether the restructuring caught him by surprise or was against his wishes—as a few retailers playing armchair analyst surmised—he became adamant: "I’m a member of the board of directors and helped make the decision to bring this guy [Hall] on. I also had a direct role in devising this [restructuring] plan. It’s what I want to do with my life. I need help—lots of help—so I can do what I do best: work in development and do the big thinking about the future of Ride."

So, why did he decide shortly thereafter to leave? After all, Hall says he and Pogue had numerous long talks in the week leading up to Pogue’s resignation during which he tried to convince Pogue to stay. Says Hall: "‘Tim, don’t go,’ I told him. ‘You now have the best platform [under the Ride restructuring] to recreate the magic of the early days of Ride.’ However, at the end of the day, it’s his decision, and I respect his wishes. We’ll miss his spirit and excitement, and we’re glad that he will serve as a consultant to Ride through the end of the year."

According to Pogue, his decision to leave has been a long time coming, but was certainly influenced by the restructuring. "I want to do what I did in the early days of Ride," says Pogue. "I want to be running things. I’m a leader. The position Bob [Hall] wanted me do was incredible—I certainly don’t want to belittle it—but it wasn’t leadership. I don’t think it maximizes my skills."

Pogue also says that he’s not at all nervous about the change: "I’m not nervous for Ride—the company has a bright future. I’m also not nervous about my future—I’ve made a lot of money, friends, and contacts. I’m happy about this, and not bummed at all."

Pogue says that at this point, there really is nothing that could get him to stay at Ride. "I wanted to stay," he says. "But I wanted to stay in a leadership capacity. I don’t want to be the guy to throw a wrench in the new CEO’s plans. He has a position and a role. There can only be one leader at every company, and Bob’s the leader. I respect him—we get along very well."

Pogue will act as a consultant to Ride through the end of the year. "I won’t be in the office every day," he says, "but I will be on call if they need me to come in. I will still be overseeing the product-line development, and helping with team stuff—product and marketing." Pogue says his other short-term plans include "snowboarding at Jackson Hole every day this winter."

As for the future, Pogue says that snowboarding is where his soul is and he expects to stay within the industry. Hall points out that Pogue signed a non-compete contract lasting "two years or more" after he leaves the company, but Pogue declined to comment on how this contract would or would not affect his future plans.

According to Pogue, Hall will assume the duties of Ride Development until Pogue’s replacement is found.

• Ride Winter Sports and Ride Administration. Perhaps overshadowed by Pogue’s departure is the arrival of Bruce Manke, a sixteen-year veteran of the winter outdoor industry, to the Ride team. Manke was named president of two of the six Ride divisions: Winter Sports and Administration.

"Bruce is the kind of guy lots of snowboard companies need," says Hall. "He can convert the ideas and energy of the industry into products that work. He worked with me at Salomon and Vaurnet, and I was incredibly impressed with his skills."

Manke was previously vice president of operations at Salomon/North America and executive vice president of Allegra, Inc. d.b.a. Vaurnet-France. Just prior to joining Ride, Manke lived in Russia and Poland, managing the Polish American Trade Group, a company that fosters trade between the two countries.

"Manke has a big job," says Hall. "As president of Ride Winter Sports, he’ll have the product managers of boards, boots, and bindings reporting directly to him. He’ll be responsible for all the sales and marketing efforts at Ride Winter Sports for boards, boots, and bindings. In addition, he’s also the president of Ride Administration, which includes managing our MIS, physical distribution, customer service, and traffic departments."

A year from now, Hall hopes that Manke will be president of one, not two, divisions. "It’s really a job for two people. However, we need to hire people who can really deliver results to the company, and those types of people aren’t inexpensive or easy to find."

• Other Division Changes. Under the new arrangement, Dave Janes will continue as president of Ride Manufacturing, turning out Thermacap boards and equipment at the Ride Snowboard Factory (formerly Thermal) in Corona, California.

Robert Marcovitch, former president of CAS Sports, has become president of Ride Apparel and Ride International. According to a company release, "Marcovitch will manage Ride’s rapidly growing international sales, in addition to leading the SMP and Cappel apparel business."

Terry DeLeo, of Ride and Cappel, and John Gothard of SMP Clothing, will continue in their sales-management positions. Mark Brasier, former vice president of sales for CAS Sports, has become Ride’s strategic accounts manager for North America. Scott Stewart will continue as Ride CFO, and Kathleen Meek will continue as credit manager.

Greg Cook has become president of Ride Canada and will help the company expand into this market. Ride Canada will be the company’s foreign subsidiary.

Tim Hall has left the position as marketing manager to pursue other interests in a mutual decision with the company. Ride is looking for someone to immediately fill this position.

Contrary to rumors, Jamie Salter remains on Ride’s board of directors and is the single largest shareholder of Ride stock. "He’s on board 100 percent," says Pogue.

Doing The CAS Shuffle

Off the record, a few retailers with whom SNOWboarding Business talked to said selling the CAS excess-inventory business is a great strategic move for Ride. "It’s hard to see how CAS has been a positive influence for Ride—or for the industry for that matter," said one retailer who asked to remain anonymous.

However, Pogue is quick to point out that CAS-bashing seems to be a favorite pastime of some people: "Everyone loved to hate CAS until they needed us, then they’d show up at our door asking for help."

So why sell the division? "Excess inventory can be the death of an industry, but with our current direction, that part of the business isn’t what Ride needs to concentrate on," says Pogue. "It taints Ride’s focus. We need to focus on developing, manufacturing, marketing, and servicing the best snowboards in the world—not worrying about other company’s inventory problems."

However, Ride will retain the OEM portion of the CAS Sports business. "That was about 50 percent of the CAS business—making private-label snowboards for large sporting-goods chains or other clients," he says, adding that this portion of CAS will move from Toronto, Canada to Preston, Washington. "Because of this division, we’ll be able to service retailers on many different levels," he says.

Moving Forward

Hall says that the key to offering enhanced service to retailers is sticking to the basics. "It’s simple blocking and tackling," he says. "Three weeks ago, a retailer on the East Coast had to wait until 11:00 a.m. Eastern time to call with a customer-service question, because that’s when our customer-service department opened in Preston. Now, we open at 6:30 a.m. Pacific time. These are the simple things that make a big difference. In the future, retailers will see better invoice tracking, better computer systems, better packaging; every month a basic service issue will be improved.

"Retailers will see a bigger emphasis on the Thermal plant," continues Hall. "That’s a state-of-the-art factory, but we haven’t told the story of the plant to consumers.

"We’re also going to launch a series of demo vans across North America. We’re going to bring customers who are predisposed to buy Ride product in through the doors of retailers. If customers are fine, retailers will be fine. If retailers are fine, we’ll be fine. If we’re fine, the stock will do fine. That’s the way things should be, but in the past, we may have gotten the order backwards."

Hall says he hopes the restructuring and subsequent improvements it represents will change the way many people view Ride. "In the past, there was this impression that Ride was a financial play—that it was a financial vehicle for financially motivated people," says Hall. "What I’ve found is a staff that loves the sport. They’re riders to the core. Are there some people who have made money? You bet. If they had the foresight and luck to recognize an emerging sport, then good for them. I think it’s unfair how Jamie Salter was vilified by some people for making a profit. We’re a public company, so the information [on compensation] is there for everyone to see. Has Jake Burton made money from snowboarding?

"What I’ve heard in my travels is the perception that Ride is not a responsible member of the snowboard community," says Hall. "That incorrect assumption has been partially our fault. We need to put organizations like TransWorld on top of our PR list—not The Wall Street Journal. In the next months, retailers will get to know the real Ride."

It’s been a busy month for Hall since he took over at Ride. "I’m glad it’s a young work force," he jokes. "It’s been a big change—and lots of change—and they’ve shown themselves to be remarkably adept at coping with new challenges. People have been impressed with my speed. Time will tell me if my accuracy is worth a damn."

--Sean O’Brien