Burton Snowboards has increased its market share from
30% to 40% over the past five years, according to Rekha Balu
of FAST COMPANY, who writes the company has "garnered those
impressive numbers by focusing on one objective: to provide
the best equipment to the largest number of snowboarders."
When Burton "wants to find out what customers think, it
turns its attention" to pro snowboarders, a "market segment
whose influence far exceeds its size." A group of about 300
pro riders, 39 of whom are on the company's sponsored team,
"help develop virtually every" Burton product. In design
meetings, product features "live or die depending on riders'
preferences -- even when they contradict those of the
designers." While this "relentless focus" on pros "could
create challenges" for the company, as the "needs of
recreational snowboarders [may conflict] with those of the
pros," the company "rarely encounters such situations"
because "apparently, meeting the pros' needs produces the
highest-quality products" (FAST COMPANY, 5/2000 issue).
