...rebuild its brand. It’s a saga that has played out many times before in business: an iconic brand loses its way and has to struggle to regain its position in the market. For Prince, at stake is the future of a company that once had more than 130 employees and now is looking to add to its current staff of 50. Its strategy includes expanding its product line and bringing back some old favorites, being more active in social media, and continuing to help develop the next batch of top tennis players. Ballardie cited a number of factors that pushed Prince into bankruptcy last May, when the company had $55.2 million in assets and more than $77 million in liabilities. “It really was the perfect storm,” said Ballardie, a 10-year Prince executive who previously led Eastern Hemisphere operations. “A number of things collided. One thing was we were too insular with our technology.” In the mid-2000s, Prince introduced its O3 technology, which features oversized string holes, known as “O-Ports,” on the side of rackets. The O-Ports improve aerodynamics and, in turn, racket speed. By the end of the decade, Prince sold only O-Port rackets. Ballardie said tennis players who preferred more traditional rackets were forced to turn to other manufacturers. The downturn in the economy also slammed Prince. “Prince is, and has always been, a premium brand,” Ballardie said. “Our products are in the upper echelons of the market. Our performance-line rackets, which is what we sell in pro...
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...Prince Sports: Challenges in The Marketing Environment Brittany Pimpinella Empire State College Abstract Prince Global Sports started out as an unintentional creation of an oversized tennis racquet that Howard Head created all because the thought of simply larger tennis racquet because the game of tennis was too complex to him. His creation launched a money making company later to be known as Prince Sports INC. This company had grown so much they expanded into the footwear, tennis gear, running gear, accessories, sports bags and many more products that had competitors leaving the market. Prince had learned that creating items and selling them wasn't as easy as it was thought out to be, the constant struggle of needing newer product, better marketing skills, and finding loyal consumers were all challenges he faced. Luckily, Prince’s marketing team was able to reach out to the right consumers that had that annual making 64 million in revenue, but only for so long. Prince Sports: Challenges in The Marketing Environment All type of businesses face unique challenges. It is almost impossible to start launch a business correctly without time, effort, and dedication. A business is not built in a day neither is the workers nor product. Most business owners just have the desire to own a business not the drive to do so. They must find a way to start their business off right, by gathering their thoughts. Buying a franchise, an existing business, or looking to others for...
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...Prince Sports has been improving the lives of people through tennis since 1970. With their innovative product design, vast line of products, and wide range of consumers. Looking at current trends one could suggest that Prince may want to consider new tactics/marketing schemes. Reach out to a larger global market look at how this may benefit them in the future. In the 21st Century Prince Sports really should consider the current trends in marketing and how they could work for or against their success in the tennis industry. Considering, as stated by The Wall Street Journal, “Prince Sports Inc., filed for bankruptcy protection as it struggles to compete with better-equipped rivals.” (Benoit & Gleason, 2012). It doesn’t appear as though they have an issue with the products they deliver, since undergoing new ownership they are truly trying to rejuvenate their products and name. As noted by Forbes, “Prince is launching an entirely new product collection in the final months of 2013, which is a non-traditional move for a tennis brand. It has used the US Open to announce its launch of an “ESP” (extreme string pattern) racquet technology, along with new racquets and bags, T22 tennis shoes and performance Prince Tour eye-wear.” (Heitner, 2013) Consumers like new technologies and innovations and if Prince can continue to endorse tennis “Super Stars” such as David Ferrer, “the current world number five” (Long, 2012). They should be able to gain the attention and interest of a...
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...Prince Sporting Inc is a racquet sports company. Their company portfolio of brands includes, Prince which covers tennis, squash, and badminton. Ektelon which covers racquetball, and Viking which covers platform and paddle tennis-related items. Prince's tennis line of product has 150 racquet models, 50 tennis strings and over 50 footwear models. Prince also has countless types of bags, apparel and other accessories. Prince has had success in the 21st century thanks to social media sites like Twitter and Facebook, and internationally, sites like Hi5, Bebo and Orkut. With new technology, they have been able to create a synthetic gut for strings, natural foot shaped tennis shoe, long and oversized bodied racquets. A bad economy work against the success of Prince sports has it gives customers a limited budget. Competitors also work against Prince sports as it give consumers other options and they may be a cheaper alternative. To aid in growth of the tennis industry, Prince Sports, could hold city tournaments. They could sponsor or donated tennis rackets to a local recreational program to promote playing tennis. They could host junior tournaments, and sponsor a school tennis program.. They also could promote tennis and tennis-related products via web advertisements and make a presences in social media To gain distribution and sales, Prince Sports could focus on circulars which include ads in a Wal-Mart paper and Target paper. They could set up point-of-purchase displays...
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... Prince Sports is a racquet company that sells innovative tennis, squash, and badminton racquets. Prince is known for their many varieties of equipment as well as their new, innovative products. Prince invented the first oversize and long body racquets as well as the first synthetic gut tennis string. They were also the first to introduce the natural foot shape tennis shoe. Social Networking along with break-through technology have worked in favor of Prince Sports as well as segmenting and customizing racquets for specific players. They have custom racquets with shorter, slower strokes, moderate-to-full strokes, and longer, faster strokes. In 2012, Prince Sports filed for bankruptcy protection due to competition from competitors that were better equipped. Prince blamed the increased competition as well as the downturn in the economy as reasons for their downturn as well. In order to help grow the tennis industry, Prince can sponser tourniments at kid’s summer camps, donate raffle tickets for a free racquet, and even create a line specifically for women that might include racquets as well as sports clothing and shoes. In order to reach recreational and junior players, Prince can can hold in-store demonstrations, use web advertisments as well as social media. Prince can use wall displays, utilize in-store circulars, and sponser professional players to market their product within mass merchandisers as well as specialty stores. In reaching global markets...
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...Prince Sports is an original sports equipment retailer that offers many different products for tennis, squash, racquetball, badminton and paddle tennis. The companies’ tennis products consist of more than 150 racquets, 50 footwear models and 50 tennis strings, as well as bags apparel and other accessories. Prince Sports focuses on continuing to meet the needs of athletes of all levels and ages. There are many methods of marketing to various demographics and cultures with many contrasting variables that contributes to the increase or decrease in resulting sales. The key players involved in Prince Sports are Linda Glassel the vice president of sports marketing and brand image, Nick Skally the senior marketing manager and Tyler Herring global business director for performance of tennis racquets. The major challenges that Prince Sports is experiencing are trying to stay ahead of the curve in this fast passed changing marketing world. The 21st century delivers with it many changes to marketing strategies for businesses. Cultural changes and demographic shifts have led to a higher health consciousness; this then spurs widespread interest in many various sports such as tennis. For this company, technological and social trends have built new outlets for marketing such as online advertisements, social media and e-commerce. Outlets such as social media and new devices such as tablets, smartphones and other portable computers have led to a higher connection among users; therefore this...
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...Prince Sports Case Study Valerie Bodner Marketing Principles Dr. Awesome October 17, 2015 Abstract This case study explores different marketing techniques utilized by Prince sports. Research is conducted by utilizing marketing concepts retrieved from various publications as well as Prince sports website. Evolution in technology, joint ventures and adoption of different marketing techniques proved to be successful for Prince sports. There was an evolution of marketing all together at the height of Prince sports success with the introduction and adoption of social media in the marketplace. Prince sports ability to adapt and make changes based on consumer feedback showcased their ability as a company to bounce back after hard times and re-energize the brand. Organizations utilize technology in marketing strategies as a way to ensure that they are able capture all audiences. Social media marketing and innovation are essential components that organizations use today. In today’s society, social media is a given as a marketing tool to most companies. It increases more awareness about a brand as well as reaches a broader, more global audience. Successful organizations evolve their product or service to align with market trends and segments. Prince Sports is an example of an established company that has innovated its products, utilized grass roots marketing techniques and social media to target younger audiences...
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...lue johnson M-300 Video Case 9: Date: 04/12/2011 Synopsis The Video Case on Prince Sports, Inc.: Tennis Racquets for Every Segment is based on the fact that how the world is changing and how social marketing and social media has helped Prince Sports to reach younger consumers. Prince Sports sells racquets for tennis, badminton and squash along with footwear, bags, tennis balls, apparel and other accessories. Prince Sports is benefiting from the trend of increased tennis participation and it focuses on meeting the needs of all levels of tennis player. Prince Sports understand that all players have a different level of skills and abilities so it markets its products in three different segments which include the performance line, recreational line and junior line. Prince Sports solved a contradiction between racquet speed and sweet spot by implementing the O3 technology; however it faces some complexities in converting technology into a racquet with physical features that satisfy players’ needs. Prince Sports has its distribution channels in terms of mass merchants like Target and Walmart, sporting goods chains and specialty tennis shops. Prince focuses on advertising its products at the distribution channels, online marketing and also invests in teaching pro program to help consumers understand the product information. Prince also sponsors more than 100 professional tennis players to promote its products. Questions 1. In the 21st century what trends in the environmental forces...
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...the success for Prince Sports and the tennis industry are examples such as: • Social forces of the environment include demographic characteristics and the culture of the population (Pg. 62). a. The social force works for Prince due to the fact of the increased interest and popularity of tennis. People are attending and watching professional tennis matches and this is leading to more playing the sport. b. If interest goes down then this can and will work against the success for Prince Sports in their sales and marketing schemes. Their marketing schemes would need to be adjusted in order to pique people's interest. • Economic forces pertain to the income, expenditures, and resources that affect the cost of running a business and household (Pg. 63). - Macroeconomic conditions is a particular concern since this is an indicator of the performance of the economy such as gross domestic product, unemployment, and price changes (Pg. 63). - Microeconomic trends is another focal point concerning consumer income since a consumer's ability to buy is related to income, which consists of gross, disposable, and discretionary components (Pg. 63). a. If economy conditions are good along with consumer income then this is force works quite well for Prince in selling and marketing their product. Especially some of their higher priced range tennis racquets. b. On the other hand, if neither of these is up then sales are down and Prince needs to somehow...
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...PSG outlines multi-sport future Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) has signalled its intention to create a sporting empire modelled on FC Barcelona and Real Madrid in the latest demonstration of its growing ambition. The Ligue 1 giant on Tuesday announced the relaunch of the city’s handball team, which has existed in various forms since 1941 and has been associated with the club since the 1990s. The move is the initial phase of a bid to develop a multi-sport entity around the PSG brand, and could also see the launch of a basketball club. Barcelona and Real Madrid, along with a host of Europe’s leading clubs, have traditionally employed this model. “The idea is to rapidly create a large multi-sport club to promote the global project of Paris Saint-Germain,” said PSG director general Jean-Claude Blanc, according to Eurosport. “We will not stop at handball even if, for now, there is no specific list or timeframe of sports and deadlines.” The new strategy reflects the latest move by the club’s new owners in an era of great change. Qatar Sports Investment (QSI) in March acquired the remaining 30% stake in PSG in a deal that valued the club at Eur100 million. QSI had originally acquired a 70% stake from US investment firm Colony Capital in June 2011. Following the bitter disappointment of losing out on the 2011-12 Ligue 1 title to Montpellier on the final day of last season, QSI has signalled its intention to make an even stronger challenge at home and in Europe by embarking on a spending...
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...February 2013 The Five Forces Model – Cola Industry Soft drinks and ‘soda water’ have been around since the 1700’s. In 1835 the first bottled soda water was introduced in the US. In 1876, Root Beer was mass produced for public sale. The Soft Drink / Cola industry rapidly became a booming business. By 1920 the U.S. Census bureau reported more than 5000 bottlers existed. (Zmuda) In today’s modern world, the industry has only grown. In fact, competition is so fierce there are only a few key players strategizing for top positions in the industry. The sector is dominated by three major players, which together control nearly 80% of the global market. (Pepsico Inc.) Coca-Cola is king of the soft drink-empire and boasts a global market share of around 50%, followed by PepsiCo at about 21%, and Cadbury Schweppes (Dr Pepper and Seven Up) at 7%. (Prince) To better understand the cola industry, we will focus on Porter’s five forces affecting the industry. These five forces are potential competitors, rivalry among established companies, the bargaining power of buyers, the bargaining power of suppliers and substitute products. Potential Competitors New entrants are not a strong competitive pressure for the cola industry. There is a relatively new threat to the industry from companies that manufacture and sell soda making machines where consumers can make their own soda at home for less than half the cost of soda from one of the industry leaders. This concept of making your own soda...
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...Orenstein explains addresses the concept through her daughter being an example of such impacts. She expresses the worry that her daughter perceives her opposing view as not wanting her to be a girl instead of realizing “Cinderella as a symbol of the patriarchal oppression of all women, another example of corporate mind control and power-to-the-people”(Orenstein 2012). She also utilizes statistical research analyzing the 29% decrease in teen girls participation in sports after the transition from high school to middle school. The conclusion of this decrease is correlated with the idea and perception that sports is non-feministic for a female. If a princess stood as a positive role model for young girls, then perhaps in society’s eyes, repressing the desire to participate in physical activates due to outside interference is the first step in owning ones own white castle that comes complete with a diamond tiara. In order to raise the participation percentage back to a high, the idea that only non-feminist girls play sports needs to be drained from ones mind in the earlier stages of cognitive development. Thus, relating back to...
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...History, Politics, Society Home & Garden Law & Legal Issues Literature & Language Miscellaneous Religion & Spirituality Science Sports Technology Travel & Places Q & A ADVERTISEMENT Exxon Valdez oil spill Gale Encyclopedia of US History: Exxon Valdez AdsOil Spill Lawsuitwww.oilspillcourtcase.com Protect your right to recover money damages against Transocean. Miros Oil Spill Detectionwww.miros.no Advanced systems for the earliest possible detection of oil spills. Home > Library > History, Politics & Society > US History Encyclopedia Just after midnight on 24 March 1989 the single-hulled oil tanker Exxon Valdez ran aground on Blight Reef in Prince William Sound. Over the next few days 11 million gallons (270,000 barrels) of North Slope crude oil spilled into the sensitive subpolar ecosystem of the Sound and the Gulf of Alaska. Blamed on the negligence of the oil tanker's captain, Joseph Hazelwood (who was later acquitted), this was the biggest oil tanker spill in United States history, and it transformed this Alaskan region into a global symbol of ecological catastrophe. The immediate environmental impact of the spill was far-reaching: about 1,300 miles of shoreline was oiled (200 miles suffered heavy to moderate oiling and 1,100 miles light to very light oiling), while oil washed up on shores 470 miles away from Bligh Reef. An estimated 250,000 seabirds, 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 150 bald eagles, up to 22 killer whales, and...
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...located in suburban Bowie, Maryland, was founded by the Baltimore Association for the Moral and Educational Improvement of Colored People in 1865. Then known as the Baltimore Normal School, the institution’s goal was to train African Americans to become teachers. The Board of Education provided funding and assumed control of the school in 1908. The school relocated to Prince George’s County and received the name Maryland Normal School in 1914. The first four-year programs began in 1935 and the institution became a state college in 1963. The first graduate degree was in 1970 but Bowie State did not receive university status until 1988, when it became one of the first members of the just-established University System of Maryland. The school’s first doctoral program graduates earned their degrees in May 2005. Bowie State is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. The school’s mission statement includes the desire to “provide high-quality and affordable educational opportunities at the baccalaureate, master’s and doctoral levels for a diverse student population of Maryland citizens and the global community.” The...
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...On July 27, 2010 oil began leaking from a well off the coast of New Mexico. This spill, classified as an accidental spill, will greatly affect worldwide business and business practices. Before the conclusion of the oil spill, 4.4 million barrels of oil will have leaked into the Gulf of Mexico. This catastrophic event will have a clear negative effect on international business that will in turn people living and working throughout the world. The primary business that was affected by the oil spill was the seafood market. Many worldwide seafood distributers and restaurants rely on this region for the products that make their business successful. According to Jaquetta White, the spill has decreased the number of crabs, lobsters, and other types of ocean fish produced around the world. The area that was affected by the spill was extremely rich in crabs which were exported to the many worldwide businesses that needed them. According to Scott O'Connell, the other type of crustacean that was affected was shrimp. The Gulf region has an abundant population of shrimp that are exported all around the world but especially to Mexico. In addition to negative seafood sales across the world, was the impact to fishermen and their crews when they could not continue to capture their product from the oily waters. The economic interdependence of these businesses was greatly compromised from the fishermen at the ocean level to the worldwide businesses that did not receive their product (nola.com)...
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