BrozakBy cutting out the middle man, he gives you a better product at a cheaper price, that is how it works. And of course Armada has more sponsored skiers, they are a much bigger brand. You probably support FIS, and you're calling me naive lol
I think your argument is oversimplified and takes marketing at face value.
Larger brands benefit from economies of scale. Their production runs are obviously larger than J Skis. Saying it would cost $1000 for a competing brand to a comparable J Ski is false. Sure if larger brands tried to use his strategy of making production runs of only ~75 skis and sold them through their traditional channels, they would probably end up with a ski retailing at $1000 to make appropriate profit, but that is a poor business strategy. In summary, does the difference in size of production runs automatically mean J Skis is a superior product and thus he delivers a better value to consumers in terms of ski quality and construction? The jury of consumers can decide that, and I've never held a J Ski. Nonetheless, what J's doing is different and certain consumers value that style. There's certainly a place in the market for J Skis.
However, the point is that these are two different business strategies that ultimately get us to the same place. Larger brands complete massive production runs, which reduce the per unit (ski) costs. After the brand and distributors "middle men" earn their appropriate profits and determine price points relative to competitors, we end up with a ski priced at $500. J Skis business model makes a small production runs for a particular ski and graphic combo, which carry higher costs per ski relative to larger brands. He marks up his product appropriately considering his production costs and the price point he believes will sell relative to competitors. I think to say you're getting a BETTER product in terms of build quality is debatable, but you're certainly getting a DIFFERENT product.