THE COMPANY
Marker International is the leading marketer of alpine ski bindings in the
United States and Germany and one of the three largest in the world. Since being
acquired in 1984 by Henry E. Tauber, the Company's Chairman and President,
Marker has focused its strategy on developing strong brand awareness and loyalty
through high quality, technologically advanced design, production and sales
capabilities. From 1984 through the 1996 fiscal year, sales have grown from
$16.0 million to $87.9 million, a compounded annual growth rate of approximately
15%. Marker's market share has also increased as industry surveys currently
estimate the Company's share of the United States, German and Japanese ski
binding markets at more than 45%, 40% and 16%, respectively.
Having established itself as a leader in the alpine ski binding business,
the Company believes that it is well positioned to diversify its business into
other winter sports markets. In seeking such diversification, the Company
expects to capitalize on its existing design and production capabilities as well
as its distribution and sales organization. Whether in its traditional alpine
ski binding markets or in newer markets, the Company's objective is to produce
and market products recognized for high-quality and high-performance.
THE SNOWBOARD INDUSTRY
The Company views the snowboard industry as a winter sports market with
significant growth potential. Snowboarding is a relatively new sport that began
to attract a broader following in the early 1990's and has continued to grow
steadily to date. This growth in overall popularity has led to an increase in
the sales of snowboarding equipment. According to the International Snowboard
Federation, 1.27 million snowboards were sold to retailers in the 1995/96
snowboard season, which ended March 31, 1996. The Company believes that
snowboarding is developing from a sport for young males between the ages of 12
and 24 into a mainstream sport that has growth possibilities with respect to a
wide range of consumers. One indication of the increased acceptance of the sport
is that snowboarding will be included for the first time as a full medal sport
in the 1998 Olympic Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. The Company expects that the
increased exposure of potential consumers to snowboarding through the 1998
Olympics and, later, the 2002 Olympic Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah, will
further enhance the popularity of the sport. |
