Situational Analysis, Easton Sports
[pic] Situational Analysis Easton Bell Sports, Inc. APRIL 20, 2011 [pic] [pic] *OVERVIEW* Easton Bell Sports, Inc. is a leading designer, developer in sporting good products and accessories. Easton provides products from youth levels to professional athletes, who want innovative and top of the line products.
Easton’s design and technology of Composite, Aerospace Grade Fibers, Scandium and Aluminum Alloy’s has led them to be one of the best in cutting edge performance equipment. Easton’s dedication to research and development has brought many new and innovative products, which have set new standards of performance in many different sports.Easton Also believes in expanding and consistently improving existing products is also a major key to their success. Easton Bell Sports channels of distribution are as follows: Specialty Retailers National and Regional Sporting Goods retailers Educational and Athletic Leagues and Associations Major Retailers that focus on Entry to Mid-Level Products *Products* The following products are sold under the brands below: Easton® – Baseball, Softball, Ice Hockey Equipment and Accessories Bell® – Cycling, Action Sports Helmets and AccessoriesGiro® – Cycling, Snow Sport Helmets and Accessories Blackburn® – Cycling Riddell® – Football, Baseball, Softball Equipment and Reconditioning Services Savasa – Fitness Products *Mission Statement* Our Mission is to create the need for our brands by providing innovative sports products that inspire athletes to excel. The mission statement, lead to the creation of our Seven Core Values which are: People – People are our most valued resource.
We endeavor to develop, retain and attract the best people and provide them with opportunities for personal and professional growth.Respect – We will recognize the efforts of others and treat each other with integrity, sensitivity and courtesy. We will Honor the Decisions of the team by being in alignment with our message. Teamwork – We recognize the power of working together to achieve common goals. We encourage open communication and will empower our people to enhance performance and effect change.
We act with integrity and treat others the way we would like to be treated. Product – We design and market high-quality, innovative products that provide the best performance to our athletes and customers. We are proud to use and recommend our products and brands.Service – We recognize the importance of our athletes, customers and business partners and strive to exceed their expectations for service, support and reliability. Our goal is absolute satisfaction.
Accountability – We honor our commitments to all stakeholders and partners while always up holding our values. We recognize that we are responsible for our actions and will hold each other accountable to ensure our success. Continuous Improvement – The greatest gains come with risk. By taking risks and avoiding complacency, we push ourselves to achieve innovation and continuous improvement. *Competitors*Easton having produced so many quality and high performance products has caused many competitors. For the baseball and softball industry, there are six top competitors.
With having twenty plus years experience with baseball/softball to the College and World level, and witnessing the changes in the industry’s technology, I would place competitors in the following order. Starting highest to lowest: (1). Miken Sports, (2). Worth Sports, (3). DeMarini, (4).
Mizuno (5). Wilson and Nike. Within the last four years, Nike has started focusing on developing and manufacturing baseball and softball equipment.Nike is making progress in their research and development, but equipment is still far in fearer to Easton.
*S. W. O. T* *Strengths* Innovation: *Easton’s ability to design superior equipment. They have changed the game of baseball and softball with their Integrated Matrix Technology, Single System Technology, Carbon Nanotube Technology, Scandium Alloy and the CXN “Two Piece” Technology.
Seasonality: *There is no seasonal effect for Easton. They provide and succeed in both summer and winter sporting products. Their ability to offer such a wide range of products, gives them a far superior edge.Service: *Service is a key strength for Easton. Their Customer Service and Independent Repasenatives take care of your needs on a personal level.
Not many companys in today’s marketplace take the time to address all of your questions, concerns and consumers needs on this type of level. Easton’s service has helped them retain the cutomer loyalty. Product Warranty: *Easton Provides the best warranty and return policy’s for their baseball and softball bats. Easton provides a four hundred day warranty on their bats with two return limits. Most Competitors offer a one year warranty with one return.Technology and new materials have brought better products to the market, but life spans of bats are much shorter these days.
Easton knows this and provides this extra security on your investment. Corporate: *Easton Brings on many former professional athletes that have the abilities to market, connect and expanded the company. They have access to many different resources that most of us do not. This provides them with a larger market and more endorsements for their company. *Weaknesses* Economic Decline: *Economic conditions play a major role in products. If conditions worsen, consumers are more likely to wait for price reductions on products.
Association Regulations: *Many new products, especially baseball and softball bats are subject to many different bat regulations. If bats exceed association limits, bats will be banned for play for that association and becomes one less market to fill a need for. Testing Equipment: *Easton uses in house testing equipment. There accuracies could vary from what associations use for their testing, which could cause a high cost reproduction of a product that has already in the stages of manufacturing. Deaths Related to the use of Composite Bats: *There have been many deaths due to the use of composite bats.New composite technology has provided the game with better performing equipment, but as also raised concerns.
Composite bats create faster ball speeds off barrels and less reaction time when fielding. Another negative for composite bats is that they can be altered or shaved, which cause faster ball speeds off the barrels then allowed for association limits. Associations have considered eliminating composite bats from the game, which would greatly affect Easton, since there are known for their high-quality composite bats. *Opportunity* Easton has separated themselves from their competitors.Within the last six years, they have made many acquisitions. Easton has brought on Bell, Giyro, Riddell and Blackburn.
These companies have been established for awhile, and greatly widens Easton’s customer base. The companies have had World Wide exposure and have strong roots with the MLB, NFL, Colligate, winter and Summer Olympics, Tour de France, X Games and NASCAR. *Threats* Since Easton has acquired these new Companies, they are also at a greater risk. Acquiring many companies also brings significant debt. If Easton cannot meet customer demands or economic downturn occurs, they become high risk.
They have become vulnerable to industry and economic conditions. It will be hard for Easton to react if industry conditions have a significant change. References Easton Bell Sports. ( n. d.
). Retrieved from http://www. eastonbellsports. com/investor Relations Easton Bell Sports. (n. d.
). Retrieved from http://www. eastonbellsports. com/brands/easton-baseball-softball Annual Report. (2011) Annual report pursuant to section 13. (Form 10-k).
Washington, D. C Company Histories. (n. d. ). Retrieved from http://www.
fundinguniverse. com/company-histories/easton-Sports-Inc-Company-History. html
