Funny Interesting article in
CNN Money/Fortune Small Business about Black Diamond. Aside from the typical, "outdoor company run by hardcore white guys" drivel it includes both business insight (Metcalf wants to take the company from $90 to $180 million in 5 years) and personal anecdotes. Some examples:
- Hard Core White Guys Quote - "The standing joke among the staff is that the white-water,
adventure-sports, and climbing champions on the payroll are better at
their sports than most of the expert climbers and skiers who come to
Black Diamond looking for sponsorship deals."
- Another Hard Core White Guy Quote - "We only want employees whose lives have been forged by competitive
sports, who are passionate about the outdoors and damn good at what
they are hired to do."
- Yet Another Hard Core White Guy Quote - "The strategy made perfect sense once I had spent a few days climbing,
skiing, and hiking with Metcalf and the rugged outdoorsmen on his
payroll."
- Oh Wait, Is That Another Hard Core White Guy Quote: "While I was visiting Black Diamond in mid-August, 11 climbers died
while scaling K-2 in northern Pakistan. Not a single person at the
company thought it worth mentioning. While that might seem callous, it
really shows that the threat of death is central to Black Diamond's
culture and business model."
- Matt Hyde, REI EVP, Dumb White Guy: "It's unlikely that Black Diamond could be a successful public
company," says Matt Hyde, executive vice president of REI, the
outdoor-equipment retailer based in Kent, Wash., and Black Diamond's
biggest customer. "They're just not that profitable. But they make
terrific products, and our customers respond to that. Black Diamond is
a great brand in our stores."
Author of the article,
Jonathan Blum, did everything but blow the
rugged outdoorsmen BDEL guys. Good for them, though. Press is press.
