MARKET WATCH: Ringing The Nasdaq Closing Bell - Should I Laugh Or Cry?

Jeff Harbaugh

• November 05 2008
• 357 views
• 2 comments

Here I am at Discount Tire getting some new tires, which is kind of what you do at Discount Tire.  God bless ‘em for having free Wi-Fi.  The first thing I see when I open Transworld site, literally three minutes ago, is that U.S. skiing and snowboard athletes are going to ring the closing bell November 6th.  I hope it’s not a day when we’re down 600 points. I watch CNBC occasionally and see the opening bell more often than the closing, but I’ve always thought it must really suck to have to be up there and clap and look cheerful when the market has tanked.

It doesn’t seem that long ago when all we hoped for was that the board we wanted to buy would actually show up in the shop and that it wouldn’t blow an edge on the first run. Now, according to the release, Charles Schwab is the team’s official brokerage firm and Sorel is the official lifestyle boot.  It actually makes sense they are the lifestyle boot as I understand Sorel’s were really bad to snowboard in even though they were once your only choice.

I’ve decided to just laugh and think about where the industry has come from.  If you’ve thought about the evolution of industries at all, you knew that this was going to happen.  We were going, for better or worse, to become mainstream and, because of our demographics, attract the attention of really big companies, many of which would be outside the industry.  I’m not inclined to review here all the ranting and raving and bemoaning of this trend that has gone on over the years.

I certainly agree that it was all more fun when the industry was mostly small, young, organic companies who thought, perhaps a little naively, that the sky was the limit.  I mean, if people really understood what they were getting into when they started companies, nobody would ever attempt it.

I should also point out that if the industry hadn’t evolved like this, I wouldn’t be here writing this and you wouldn’t be reading it (which, hopefully, somebody does).  Think of all the “new” action sports products brought to the trade shows only to disappear. If we hadn’t grown, if we hadn’t attracted the interest and, frankly, the money of some of these companies, we might not be here at all.

Oh Lord, it just occurred to me that the team is probably going to be wearing their uniforms. I’ll bet they’ll all be just adorable. I have got to watch this now.

And I’ve got a couple of other suggestions. First, we need to sneak a skater in and they’ve got to Ollie off the rail of where the bell is rung and onto the trading floor. Second, if any of the team members are talking their boards onto the platform, it would be great if it was the Burton playmate boards. Yes, it’s true you’ll get thrown off the team, but somehow I’m sure your career will be made.

Jeff Harbaugh is a consultant for the action sports industry and works with companies to identify and focus on critical business issues and opportunities fundamental to the bottom line. For more information, visit www.jeffharbaugh.com.