Tian Waters
Flat Fitty hats has experienced rapid growth in the action sports realm due in large part to the ability to market across the board and bike. CEO Tian Waters elaborates on how the company has been able to focus on a variety of action sports including traditional boardsports, bike, and moto, and why it is profitable to do so.
Do you see these different sports as part of one larger action-sports umbrella or do you market and target these sports differently?
It is pretty clear that the lines are blurring with Motor Sports now taking some of the same marketing tactics from more true Actions Sports segments. The AS Industry has done an incredible job of marketing to, not only the core participants, but now middle America. With the downturn it’s on every CEO’s mind of how to expand sales outside of their core reach without devaluing their brand. That sometimes means deviating slightly from what they know so well. Flat Fitty will continue to do one thing well, headwear, and that is cross functional with many different youth and lifestyle industries, so we can stay true to one thing, high quality headwear. But you are seeing skateboard distribution companies bringing in Surfboards, Electronics, and pure Skate companies launching headphone lines. Everyone is looking to add more revenue, especially those that expand their margins and earnings. There’s no real right or wrong way, most are predicting that the new generation is more accepting of this blur. Motor Sports isn’t any different in the way they are looking at the downturn, isn’t entirely in line with what ASI is doing in general. They are adding diversity thru heavy user exposure, Fuel TV, Internet, XGames, Energy Drinks. They are being smart … bringing more participants into their sports, adding future generations of participants that were once not in their reach for that matter even on their radar before the downturn.
A few of Flat Fitty’s partners
What are your thoughts on the best ways to remain a legitimate, “authentic” brand in both categories and how do you mitigate the dangers of alienating some of your “too cool” customers on either side?
In my opinion selling out is not what it used to be in the 80′s or 90′s, everyone has the hustle harder mentality, and that mentality stems from the need to survive the economic downturn in many cases. You are seeing a kinda “look the other way mentality” from a lot of the core users now towards their favorite brands. You still will see some older brand evangelists unhappy with what their favorite brand may be up to, getting involved in MMA, Music or Moto, but ultimately I think the core customers see it as a way for their favorite brands to stay standing and relevant when the dust settles. Brands will take the opportunity to position themselves for Middle America’s buying dollars, when they do come back, so some brands may consider it a perfect time to diversify a little and supplement missing ASI revenues by crossing over into the malls. In the end the person embracing the brand is your customer, no matter where they live or buy, so it’s smart business to make the customer the brand’s focus. If you continue to run the brand for the customer and the athletes, not the upper echelon of management, then the brand will have success no matter how much they ultimately crossover. Knowing what your customer ultimately needs, and more importantly, who your customer will be in the future will allow these brands to stay authentic thru proper planning, no matter who the user base expands to encompass.
What opportunities do you see for growing in both of these realms versus just focusing on one?
The one thing that all Action Sports, Motor Sports, MMA, and Lifestyle really have in common is Energy Drinks. A strong case can be made that it’s not so much the consumers or brands that are blurring the lines of Moto, Surf, Skate, Snow, Music and Art, as it is the Energy Drinks. You see energy drinks sponsoring anyone and everything, to their credit they are signing powerful and influential athletes and events; from Plane Races, to Rally Cars, from Snowboarders in the Olympics to local rock bands. Energy drinks have been instrumental in the blending of the lines and the cultures, not only in Action Sports, but now into mainstream America. On one hand it is great for user participation in Action Sports and the exposure and connection it offers is unparalleled. To have a kid in Indiana drink an Energy Drink, making a connection to Shawn White and then want to try Snowboarding is awesome for that industry. But on the other hand it seems the major Energy Drinks have unlimited marketing dollars, and as the reach of these dollars continues to penetrate new and emerging industries, events, cultures and regions it will continue to assist in blurring the lines that define our lifestyle from mainstream America.
