Two different Outdoor companies

[Kirby]

As part of a busniess class I am taking through my high school, I need to conduct a SWOT(strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) analysis. I have to choose an industry, I chose outdoor gear, and I need to choose two companies within that industry to analize. What I need is two companies that are in the outdoor industry, but are completely different in size, their intended market, and their overall goals.

Just start listing outdoor gear companies, large and small.

Thanks,
Kirby

[Lone Wolf]

Campmor, REI, EMS, Sierra Trading Post, L.L. Bean

[Manach]

MSR and Mo-Go-Gear.

Coleman and Hennessy.

[Flush2wice]

There's a bunch of them on Google.

[Creek Dancer]

Are you looking for outdoor gear manufacturers, or outdoor gear retailers?

[Kirby]

Are you looking for outdoor gear manufacturers, or outdoor gear retailers?

If you give manufacturers, give two so that I can compare them, I can easily compare manufacturer's and stores, unless a store is a manufacturer, such as LL Bean, North Face, and Patagonia.

Kirby

[Kirby]

* I can NOT easily compare them.

Typo,
Kirby

[rafe]

You could contrast big-name manufacturers against their cottage-industry competitors. Eg.

• Gregory or Kelty versus Granite Gear or ULA.
• Shires Tarptent or Gossamer Gear versus Eureka or Sierra Designs

[Creek Dancer]

Here are two for each that I think are very different with respect to type of gear, market, branding and maybe things like focus on world issues.

Manufacturers - Pantagonia and Columbia

Retailers - Dicks Sporting Goods, REI

[Flush2wice]

Walgreen's and Rite-Aid.

[Kirby]

Thanks everyone, I like the idea of comparing Pantagonia and Columbia, thanks for the idea Creek Dancer.

Thanks again everyone,
Kirby

[dessertrat]

Try something like Coleman versus Go-Lite, or REI versus Granite Gear. There can't be much more difference.

[Kirby]

Patagonia is either owned by someone else or is not publicy traded because they are not listed on the NYSE.

Kirby

[rickb]

Private. Owned by a famous climber with a French-sounding name that I won't try to spell. Very cool.

[dessertrat]

It appears that Patagonia may be owned by Lotus Designs, Inc. They have a message on their website mentioning a Lotus Designs recall of a PFD, and when I try to put lotusdesigns into a web address, it redirects to Patagonia's website.

[YeOldeBackpacker]

Patagonia, as well as go lite doesn't build anything, they farm it out, Patagonia socks are made by a small mill in NC far an example, and Timberland build some of the Go Lite shoes

[YeOldeBackpacker]

Which there is nothing wrong with, they are just a label they don't have their own production facilities

[Appalachian Tater]

What Terrapin said. A cottage-industry gear maker with a similar mass marketer. Henry Shires TarpTent vs. Eureka. The cottage industry guys seem to concentrate on and perfect products in a niche, usually lightweight gear, sometimes one type of lightweight gear, and it seems the bigger guys can't really compete or don't try, in the niche.

Another interesting comparison would be Feathered Friends and Marmot or Western Mountaineering.

The internet and independent outfitters are very important to the small guys.

Which there is nothing wrong with, they are just a label they don't have their own production facilities

Few companies do.

[Appalachian Tater]

Private. Owned by a famous climber with a French-sounding name that I won't try to spell. Very cool.

http://www.patagonia.com/web/us/pata...o?assetid=3351

[YeOldeBackpacker]

What Terrapin said. A cottage-industry gear maker with a similar mass marketer. Henry Shires TarpTent vs. Eureka. The cottage industry guys seem to concentrate on and perfect products in a niche, usually lightweight gear, sometimes one type of lightweight gear, and it seems the bigger guys can't really compete or don't try, in the niche.

Another interesting comparison would be Feathered Friends and Marmot or Western Mountaineering.

The internet and independent outfitters are very important to the small guys.



Few companies do.

That is correct, I was just using that as an example, Wenzel for example builds tents for a lot of the Big Box shops. Just as a private label, that is why some parts are interchangable.