Escalade Sports is the wholly owned subsidiary of Escalade Inc. that manufactures and distributes archery equipment. Escalade has a number of strengths in the archery industry, starting with the strong brand identity it has developed since its 1927 origin as the Indian Archery and Toy Co. Escalade acquired Bear Archery Inc. and its full line of archery equipment in 2003, Bear being the nationÆs top brand for youth and institutional archery; this elevates it above companies that attempt to refit adult bows for youth (1). The youth niche also provides a way of promoting future growth, as youngsters interested in archery as children are likely to engage in the sport as adults. The Bear Archery acquisition was the primary reason for sporting goods revenues that were 9.9% higher in 2003 and 5.1% higher in 2004 (2). Escalade also owns Jennings Archery, a brand that features advanced compound bow technology innovations such as Carbon Kinetic chamber limbs, carbon fiber construction, the Shock StopÖ, and the SwingArmÖ Cable Guard (1). Compound bows are very popular in the archery world. ôIn 1999, a survey of archers conducted over the Internet showed that 82% of the responders were in favour of its admittance as a separate class at the Olympic Games. This is currently under consideration by the WOC and FITAàö (3) Furthermore, Escalade has established relationships with major retailers such as Sears, allowing it to bring new products to the market cost effectively (2).
The archery industry offers excellent opportunities for EscaladeÆs success. Globalization is producing greater exposure, and an increasing number of countries are becoming interested in archery. ArcheryÆs popularity in the Olympics has grown since a new format called the ôOlympic Roundö was introduced in 1992; this unpredictable format ôpits archers against each other in a sudden-death format in six separate rounds of matchesö (4). I
...