[Dynamic] 2020 Dynamic Discs Business Strategy

[aphilso1]

There was a lot of talk over the off-season regarding Trilogy's (and DD's in particular) position in the sport. Sales appeared to be falling after Discraft took a larger piece of the pie. Coupling that with the breakup with a lot of touring pros and OOP'ing a bunch of molds, and it was easy to see things heading in a bad direction for DD. Fast forward half a year though, and things seem to have stabilized. From the outside looking in it appears the current business strategy is:

1. Don't flood the market with molds. Each of the Trilogy brands really cut back their introduction of new molds this year. That plus the slashing of the poor selling existing molds has really decluttered their lineup.
2. Staggered release of Tour Series discs. In early spring, they released a simple Lucid-X version of each Tour Series disc. Then last month they released a Glimmer Lucid-X run with unique player-inspired stamps. And there is a third run planned for later in the year, again with a unique stamp and special version of Lucid-X. The first two runs have sold very, very well.
3. New Release Thursday. Every week DD announces a couple of new releases. But rather than being new molds, most of the new releases are really just a unique stamp/plastic combo or something similar.
4. Focus on content creators rather than touring pros. They've been doing this for a while (which seems to be why a lot of traditional disc golfers hate DD), but it is more pronounced after losing their best player (Paige P) and cutting ties with a bunch of other pros.

Personally, I think the business strategy is well thought out and cohesive. They're clearly going after new players with all of the beginner-friendly youtube content. And thinning the lineup makes it less confusing for newbies. They also are doing a great job of selling to their core audience, by focusing on unique plastic/stamp offerings among the fan favorite molds. It seems they've abandoned trying to lure existing Innova/Discraft/Discmania throwers over to DD, which is also probably smart. Most guys who have been throwing a long time don't really care for Trilogy, so best not to focus too much time and money in a non-fruitful market segment.

So…thoughts?

 

[elmexdela]

better than mvps current strategy of cutting a bunch of molds and plastic options and then having no substitutes

 

[wolfmandragon]

No, it's not that they are focusing on content creators, it is the general attitude, from owner downwards, of DD.

Let's just say that their brand image does not jive with me.

That is the nicest way I could think of saying that.

 

[discerdoo]

So…thoughts?

No Trilogy in my bag, a couple Sparks in storage.

 

[GoobyPls]

I really like the new strategy they're rolling out this year. I never understood why they needed to have so many molds the last two years, especially since they're co-owners of Westside and are the US distributor for all the Trilogy molds. They're making money on every Trilogy disc sold in the US, so why have three different molds that all do the same thing in the exact same plastic?

Instead, they seem to be focusing on making already popular molds available in special plastics, and both DD and Lat64 have been successful there. The Chameleon, -X, and Glimmer stuff in particular has been a hit, and they've been using it on their most popular molds (Felon, Harp, River, Judge, etc.).

Targeting newer players is probably a good idea as well. Many older players have already made up their minds about what they want to throw, and they don't buy discs in the same volume as newcomers. Why expend resources trying to convince them to change when you can have the likes of Danny Lindahl or the Oakleys push beginners (many of whom don't yet have brand loyalty) toward their stuff?

Bottom line, as much as older hardcores may not like it, I bet DD has done better for themselves lately.

 

[aphilso1]

No, it's not that they are focusing on content creators, it is the general attitude, from owner downwards, of DD.

Let's just say that their brand image does not jive with me.

That is the nicest way I could think of saying that.

Have you met Rusco in person and found him unlikable? Not sure what there is to hate based on what I've seen of him in videos.

 

[wolfmandragon]

Have you met Rusco in person and found him unlikable? Not sure what there is to hate based on what I've seen of him in videos.

No, I have not met him, he may be a nice guy in person from all I know. It is the image that he, and his company, projects that I do not want to be associated with.

 

[elmexdela]

sad to see team trilogy wasnt included in the strategy

 

[GoobyPls]

sad to see team trilogy wasnt included in the strategy

I'm sure Eric Oakley made plenty off the Glimmer Felons.

I'm also surprised nobody picked the Harp as their tour disc. Somebody would have made a killing from those

 

[Moose33]

Don't know what to think of them really. I throw a lot of Westside, but one only newer mold. Don't really like their media strategy, but I can't say that I am enamored with what any company is doing right now.

It seems like we are being flooded with a lot of mediocre content and short runs of discs at inflated prices... I dunno maybe I'm just depressed.

 

[elmexdela]

Don't know what to think of them really. I throw a lot of Westside, but one only newer mold. Don't really like their media strategy, but I can't say that I am enamored with what any company is doing right now.

It seems like we are being flooded with a lot of mediocre content and short runs of discs at inflated prices... I dunno maybe I'm just depressed.

market def is the short/le runs at inflated prices

and people buying them at the higher prices to secondhand resell at even higher prices

hilarious

 

[wolfhaley]

I throw the most Westside out of the 3. It's getting hard if not impossible to find my main throwers now so I had to move to other brands for those spots.

And the glimmer and chameleon look amazing but they're so damn expensive and a lot aren't in ideal colors. I'll probably pick up an X Stag but that's it for now.

 

[wolfmandragon]

market def is the short/le runs at inflated prices

and people buying them at the higher prices to secondhand resell at even higher prices

hilarious

That means that the manufacturers are not selling at the clearing price (Which may be intentional) or this would not be happening.

The market is over saturated with manufacturers so artificial demand must be created.

 

[wolfmandragon]

(Cont, edit timed out)
At this time, I think the market can only really support 2 ... maybe 3, primary disc manufacturers; Everyone else will either be novelty or boutique producers.

As much as I like MVP, for example, I am not seeing them move into the big 3 spot and they look like they are becoming more novelty, like DD, whilst I would prefer them to return to their boutique roots.

 

[aphilso1]

(Cont, edit timed out)
At this time, I think the market can only really support 2 ... maybe 3, primary disc manufacturers; Everyone else will either be novelty or boutique producers.

As much as I like MVP, for example, I am not seeing them move into the big 3 spot and they look like they are becoming more novelty, like DD, whilst I would prefer them to return to their boutique roots.

I agree with this. There are definitely two alpha dog manufacturers right now, and the gap is widening rather than shrinking. Innova and Discraft have the luxury of selling discs to all corners of the market...they really don't need to think about carving out a niche. Everyone else though? Not so much. Looking at the top brands listed at the top of Infinite's site just reiterates that everyone else is going after a niche market.

Discmania - capitalizes on the popularity of the Smash Bros with sales of pro-level molds to good players. Trying to break into the new player market with new product lines. Still not big enough to manufacture its own discs, so relies on multiple manufacturers to bring its products to market.

Dynamic - already discussed.

Gateway - putter specialists. Doesn't appear to care too much about growing the brand, happy to stay niche.

Infinite - Using Dynamic's model from a few years ago, namely trying to capitalize on its name recognition as an online retailer to start up a product line while using an existing manufacturer.

Lat64 - Europe-focused sales. Relies on business partnerships with other companies to distribute in North America. Added revenue streams via manufacturing other companies' discs.

MVP - not trying to be a jerk, but I frankly have no clue what they are trying to do.

Prodigy - Same as MVP, I can't figure out what their business strategy really is.

Westside - subsidiary company co-owned by Lat and DD. Given how few new releases WS has had since the buyout, it appears that Lat/DD are focused on maintaining existing WS products while not investing too much in new developments.

 

[wolfmandragon]

...

Gateway - putter specialists. Doesn't appear to care too much about growing the brand, happy to stay niche.

The ultimate botique maker. From what I gather, if you have the money, Dave will make you anything. Want a disc impregnated with carbide crystals to take out that Iron Leaf, give Dave a call.

MVP - not trying to be a jerk, but I frankly have no clue what they are trying to do.

They have, probably, the most advanced production facility in the business. The only question is, where either or not they can leverage that into sales.

Theoretically, they are the potential spoiler. Theory and real life doesn't always match up though

Prodigy - Same as MVP, I can't figure out what their business strategy really is.

Asian market, that seems to be their current focus. It could put them on the same footing as the big 2 or blow up in their face.

 

[Horsman]

As a vendor, competitor, fan of the sport, trilogy is just trying to do too much still. They still come out with too many discs every week. As a vendor we cant keep up and because of that we hardly buy from them anymore plus a lot of people just arent asking for trilogy anymore. Personally I think a lot of their sponsored players are rally really fake. Trilogy to me is like the Kids Bop of disc golf. I dont care for their plastic much to the point that I think it has made Discmanias brand weaker. Im not a fan of them putting a lot of USA things on their discs though they are made overseas. I know this is a lot of negativity from me about them but as time goes on there is just more and more for me to not like about them

 

[aphilso1]

As a vendor, competitor, fan of the sport, trilogy is just trying to do too much still. They still come out with too many discs every week. As a vendor we cant keep up and because of that we hardly buy from them anymore plus a lot of people just arent asking for trilogy anymore. Personally I think a lot of their sponsored players are rally really fake. Trilogy to me is like the Kids Bop of disc golf. I dont care for their plastic much to the point that I think it has made Discmanias brand weaker. Im not a fan of them putting a lot of USA things on their discs though they are made overseas. I know this is a lot of negativity from me about them but as time goes on there is just more and more for me to not like about them

I'm curious to hear a bit more from your perspective as a vendor. Most of DD's weekly releases are just a limited run stamp, or maybe a unique plastic/mold combo. Unless you're Infinite or Marshall Street, I would assume you just don't even worry about ordering those. Do they try to force you to order limited run stuff or less popular molds? Or can you just order the stock run items in their most popular disc choices? I had always assumed the latter, but I'm not a vendor so I don't know.

Regardless, it appears that they are trying to sell all these one-off runs primarily on their own website with an intended market of people who already bag those molds. In other words, they're trying to give the guy with a stack of 10 Truths in his basement an excuse to order 2 more because he "just has to have that stamp" or wants to try the mold out in a new plastic choice. That seems like smart business to me.

 

[Horsman]

I'm curious to hear a bit more from your perspective as a vendor. Most of DD's weekly releases are just a limited run stamp, or maybe a unique plastic/mold combo. Unless you're Infinite or Marshall Street, I would assume you just don't even worry about ordering those. Do they try to force you to order limited run stuff or less popular molds? Or can you just order the stock run items in their most popular disc choices? I had always assumed the latter, but I'm not a vendor so I don't know.

Regardless, it appears that they are trying to sell all these one-off runs primarily on their own website with an intended market of people who already bag those molds. In other words, they're trying to give the guy with a stack of 10 Truths in his basement an excuse to order 2 more because he "just has to have that stamp" or wants to try the mold out in a new plastic choice. That seems like smart business to me.

They don't try to force us to buy anything but it just gets old to get emails every week of new releases. We usually just buy a few of somethings if people are asking for them. Otherwise we just leave them be.

I look at what DD is doing as kinda annoying. Trying to get people to buy discs out of fear that they will be this amazing run and that people don't want to miss out on something potentially awesome. All the manufacturers do this and smartly so, but they just do it the most. Its also hard to want to stock any of these new releases when the old stock just doesn't sell. Right now they also don't have that big pro that can sell discs based on name alone. People like truths and verdicts and felons but beyond that there aren't too many blue chip items. Innova and discraft have their staples that people love and people also are loving the fact that discraft is bringing back a lot of loved molds in some great plastic. You don't hear too many people rag on discraft for the quality of the plastic while that's half of what I hear people talking negatively about with trilogy

 

[GoobyPls]

They don't try to force us to buy anything but it just gets old to get emails every week of new releases. We usually just buy a few of somethings if people are asking for them. Otherwise we just leave them be.

I look at what DD is doing as kinda annoying. Trying to get people to buy discs out of fear that they will be this amazing run and that people don't want to miss out on something potentially awesome. All the manufacturers do this and smartly so, but they just do it the most. Its also hard to want to stock any of these new releases when the old stock just doesn't sell. Right now they also don't have that big pro that can sell discs based on name alone. People like truths and verdicts and felons but beyond that there aren't too many blue chip items. Innova and discraft have their staples that people love and people also are loving the fact that discraft is bringing back a lot of loved molds in some great plastic. You don't hear too many people rag on discraft for the quality of the plastic while that's half of what I hear people talking negatively about with trilogy

I run a league and drop off turned-in discs at my local brick and mortar shop. That means I get to watch dispassionately what new discs sell, since the new/featured rack is right next to the lost & found.

Generally the limited run Trilogy stuff (like -X plastic, or the first run Chameleon Sapphires) seem to move pretty quickly. Not as quickly as the new Discraft/PMcB stuff, which is typically bought out on release by local scalpers and resellers and sold on Facebook groups. But Trilogy's new releases, most of which are now just new plastics for already popular molds, do seem to move faster than most new Innova releases. The First Run Lions, for instance, sat on the rack for months.

The one thing they seem to do that I don't understand, though, is insist on delivering high demand discs in low demand colors. When the AJ Risley Lucid-X Wardens showed up, over half of them were that dark purple nobody wants. They ended up selling the other colors within a couple of days, but as of last week they still had almost all the purple on the racks. The exact same thing ended up happening with the VIP-X Glimmer Harps and the First Run Sapphires. DD/Lat64 has to know most people who will spend extra for a limited run disc want it in a color they can find. I don't get it.