Tippmann, BT and Ben

[Al_Steel]

there are approximately three stories that have come out of the TS/BT incident:
1. ben and family did it once they knew summit was going to buy in so that they would have a mfg channel that remained their own
2. BT had arguments with other family members and sought his own outside investors
3. outside investors approached BT to set things up when they heard what was going on
...
Regardless, we're here and the situation is the way it is, which is a good case in point for where the industry has been going since at least last summer. The 'friends network' of dollar spending in the industry is going bye bye in favor of smart business moves.
...
Back to tippmann and summit partners. Go to their page and check out the pattern in their portfolio of companies: look at the year they invested and where that company is
now...

All very good points. What I see is the capitalization of our sport. It's a sport that is now beginning to come of age. It's been legitimized. It's out of the backwoods and into the general public. Along with that comes major manufacturers, corporate sponsorships, sports personalities, and televised events with large audiences. The only thing missing is a major sports complex devoted entirely to paintball and you can bet that's coming. No longer are paintball players viewed as camo wearing, gun toting, survivalist nutjobs, but legitimate athletes that are establishing an audience and a consumer base.

As a direct result key players in the industry are making stategic moves to make the most of the direction this sport is headed. It's visionary, forward thinking, and fianancially sound. I'll grant that and I never meant to imply that Tippmann isn't making a wise business decision. To the contrary I believe it's very advantageous and prevents them from becoming a victim of their own success. However, the Tippmann that the industry grew up with is gone. Will the new Tippmann be better or worse from a consumer product standpoint? Only time will tell. Will it be better for Tippmann as a company? Almost certainly.

I completely agree that smart business moves are what this industry needs to stay alive. Fields around me are closing at an alarming rate (3 have closed and another may close soon). A lot of those fields were opened b/c a son or friend played paintball, they had some land that wasn't being used for anything else and decided to open a field. It really had little more forethought than that. Those type of fields are almost doomed to fail eventually; the "if you build it they will come" philosophy rarely works in the real world. To further cement their marketplace, corporations may begin to sponsor or even franchise fields. This will further homogonize the paintball landscape (you can bet you won't see AGD or Kingman markers for sale or rent at a Tippmann sponsored field).

I like the fact that our sport as a whole is growing and gaining momentum. I don't like the fact that bubble pack, s-mart style consumers will eventually make up the larger paintball playing public. In that marketplace you eventually have 2 or 3 very large manufacturers that will dominate with made for the masses products and provide little to no customer support. There will always be a market for high-end products but those represent a very small portion of the whole. Established and new manufacturers in the middle or low end market will struggle to maintain a loyal following and attract new buyers. Innovative new companies will likewise struggle to gain marketshare or be acquired by the larger companies once they begin to show promise or present a threat ("death by acquisition", the Microsoft way). This could very well happen in the current environment and it's typical as an industry matures. Just look at consumer electronics, computers, software, etc. for good examples.

BTW: I did read Summit Partners bio and list of companies. It's a very impressive list and reads like a "Who's Who" among successful organizations. In fact, my company has managed contracts for three of the companies listed. Again, I NEVER said that it was a bad move for Tippmann, just that it signals a major shift in the industry in terms of consumer support.

[Lohman446]

Our sport is not gaining momentum, its actually loosing it. Granted its part of any growing process, but it doesnt make near the sound byte

[rabidchihauhau]

Our sport is not gaining momentum, its actually loosing it. Granted its part of any growing process, but it doesnt make near the sound byte

We are definately in a 'recession'. The way out of it is to grow the market. That means investing in promotion that reaches the world outside of the industry.

[Al_Steel]

Our sport is not gaining momentum, its actually loosing it. Granted its part of any growing process, but it doesnt make near the sound byte

I respectfully disagree. Every annual event that I have attended has seen and increase in attendance, marker and paintball equipment sales has recently outpaced the sales of equipment for several other major sports. Paintball is regarded as one of the top 3 extreme sports with nearly 10 million participants and over $4billion in annual sales in 2005, exceeding that of basketball or football equipment. Most paintball players continue to play well into their 20's and 30's however, the average age for a paintball player is 20. That is huge growth potential. Add to that the worldwide market for paintball which is just now starting to take hold. I have watched more pro-shops opening and witnessed the addition of paintball markers and equipment to almost all major sports retail outlets. How is that loosing momentum?

Granted fields may be closing but not because of poor attendance but b/c of poor management and developers buying up the land. 100 acres in Northern Va is worth a lot more developed than it is as a paintball field.

[Lohman446]

I'm not disagreeing with growth. I am disagreeing that the momentum of that growth is gaining. The gains, in terms of percentages, were far better in the last decade than they were in the last years. Growing, yes. Gaining momentum, no

[Al_Steel]

I'm not disagreeing with growth. I am disagreeing that the momentum of that growth is gaining. The gains, in terms of percentages, were far better in the last decade than they were in the last years. Growing, yes. Gaining momentum, no

If you mean to quantify momentum as the rate of change of growth then I will have to check my statement with some stats:

All I can really lay my hands on without shelling out bucks for a copy of a recent report are excerpts. So...

The Superstudy on Sports Participation conducted by American Sports Data, Inc. (which monitors sports activities) showed that from 1998-2001 there was an overall increase in paintball participation of 29.6% (5.93 to 7.68million). If we examine a 4 year period and extrapolate it out to known figures for 2005 which is 9.7million participants we get a 26.3% increase.

Alright so that's a negative rate of change (albeit a slight one. -3.3% or a 11% drop.. not quite a recession though) when we examine 2 consecutive 4 year periods. Growing yes, gaining momentum, no.

Technicality point awarded, have a beer. :)