Speculation on Adidas

[Discslinger12]

Any company or private equity fund that acquires Innova will likely move the bulk of mfg (particularly for chain store sales) off shore. It's very low hanging fruit.

Now, if the owners of Innova are genuinely concerned about the potential of someone getting killed by a disc in a multi-use park (as we grow, the odds only increase) and the negative resulting impact of public parks pulling courses because case law will 'quantify' their liability.... I would guess they'd be looking to sell sooner rather than later.... just speculation...

 

[93EXCivic]

Think about how much people will complain about molding variations when it gets to this point...

Country of origin has no effect on the quality of molding. I have gotten ****ty molded parts for the USA and amazing molded parts from China and vice versa. The worst mold house I have ever had the misfortune of working with was in the US.

 

[PWaggoner]

Lets take a look from innovas side.

They are quite frequently said to own the pdga/ pdga favors them/ 3 series convo.

What would people say if adidas owned innova? They actually have the money to really push things threw, such as changes to the specifications of discs.

I think innova would know letting big money into disc golf could change the future of disc golf forever. Im sure some good and some bad.

Id rather adidas not buy innova.

 

[ryanwilli7]

I really like the thought process of the OP. Eventually a large player like Adidas or a Nike are going to get in the disc golf business. It is a growing sport with easy potential to make money. If you are one of those big companies who are you going to look to get in the game with? Innova is the by far the king of disc golf, and how easy would it be to buy them up and build off of their foundation. Purchasing a company like that is small potatoes for them, and there are tons of directions they could go once purchased. Obviously they could move manufacturing and make great profits on margins, or maybe they just would be happy to have their name on what Innova is already doing and just let it grow at the rate it is now.

I believe Adidas is using Paul McBeth to get a sense of what exactly their part in disc golf should be. Do they want to stick to apparel, do they want to get in on the discs manufacturing? What better way to find out than sponsoring the biggest name in the sport right now. What their sponsorship entails really doesn't matter (its great for McBeth), but all it does is get their name associated with the best in the game right now. There has got to be bigger things in mind than just sponsoring a disc golfer. Even though he is the champ, just that one sponsorship alone isn't going to bring in substantial profits. I am interested to see how it all plays out.

 

[allinpflop]

This thread is insanely stupid....I know you all think disc golf is huge but come on.....get out of your little dgcr cubicle for a minute and take a look at the real world...for all anyone knows Paul may get 3 pairs of free shoes and that's it.....anything else is just pure speculation

 

[Pbmercil]

This thread is insanely stupid....I know you all think disc golf is huge but come on.....get out of your little dgcr cubicle for a minute and take a look at the real world...for all anyone knows Paul may get 3 pairs of free shoes and that's it.....anything else is just pure speculation

Yeah for sure. It's just fun speculation. But the conversation is actually very interesting, even if the hypothetical being discussed is not going to happen.

 

[KGroff25]

Well the first word of the thread title is speculation. So I don't know what else you expected.

 

[ryanwilli7]

I don't think disc golf is huge, but it is growing. And like I said, the sponsorship is really meaningless, Adidas is in it for something other than Paul McBeth.

 

[PWaggoner]

This thread is insanely stupid....I know you all think disc golf is huge but come on.....get out of your little dgcr cubicle for a minute and take a look at the real world...for all anyone knows Paul may get 3 pairs of free shoes and that's it.....anything else is just pure speculation

Do your really think PAUL MCBETH who makes six figures is going to accept 3 pairs of shoes or even $500 worth of shoes as a sponsor?

He can buy his own shoes...

 

[Pbmercil]

Do your really think PAUL MCBETH who makes six figures is going to accept 3 pairs of shoes or even $500 worth of shoes as a sponsor?

He can buy his own shoes...

He would as an "In" with a big company and the opportunity to promote them well and potentially build a much more lucrative relationship down the road. He was just a 17 year old nobdy had heard of when he took Innova sponorship for the first time and that worked out pretty well for him.

 

[allinpflop]

Do your really think PAUL MCBETH who makes six figures is going to accept 3 pairs of shoes or even $500 worth of shoes as a sponsor?

He can buy his own shoes...

Actually to get a sponsor as well known and as large as adidas....yes I think he would

 

[PWaggoner]

I think i would feel slighted and call nike. And wear those shoes for free.

 

[DanJon]

All of this speculation is predicated on the idea that Dave D and Harold actually want to sell.

Do either of them have children?

 

[Cgkdisc]

Wouldn't surprise me if some of the up-and-coming managers/owners like Jussi, Ferrans, Poole involved with Innova might be offered a transition/buyout of the original Innova partners at some point, maybe just one at a time, before a bigger company like Adidas comes calling.

 

[luckless_pedestrian]

No big deal. They sponsor my dog, too.

 

[discRabbit]

I know everyone wants disc golf to grow and be seen by bigger companies are worthy of their dollars, but I just don't see this.

I don't want to see this. Additionally, I am confident that I am not alone in this sentiment.

 

[biscoe]

All of this speculation is predicated on the idea that Dave D and Harold actually want to sell.

Do either of them have children?

Harold does, no idea on Dave.

 

[IDGC_SUPER]

Or Adidas was set up next to Innova and Chris Brophy at a trade show, they got to talking and Brophy and McBeth got sponsored. After posting their sponsorship Adidas sells enormous amounts of shoes over night, more than usual and attributes it to disc golf.

You have a good theory but it is not how it happened, could it happen down the line? sure? has disc golf been on Adidas radar before Brophy made friends at a trade show? Prob not.

 

[ToddL]

No speculation on Adidas vs McBeth vs Innova vs PDGA, but I've always thought it would be pretty interesting if a big name company like Adidas or Nike were to get interested in disc golf. Imagine if they threw some actual money at some actual engineers to design new plastics and new molds. If they ever really wanted to, I bet they could dominate the market within a couple of years. The problem there is that the market is small, and even if they were able to own 50% of it, is that enough income to hire a team of qualified engineers and production experts?
It'd certainly be interesting to see what they'd do if they threw some real money behind the sport.

 

[tbird888]

No speculation on Adidas vs McBeth vs Innova vs PDGA, but I've always thought it would be pretty interesting if a big name company like Adidas or Nike were to get interested in disc golf. Imagine if they threw some actual money at some actual engineers to design new plastics and new molds. If they ever really wanted to, I bet they could dominate the market within a couple of years. The problem there is that the market is small, and even if they were able to own 50% of it, is that enough income to hire a team of qualified engineers and production experts?
It'd certainly be interesting to see what they'd do if they threw some real money behind the sport.

You make it sound like the current/past mold designers are just kids playing in a sandbox.