So it seems a company called Implus has quietly been building a war chest of endurance sports brands…and has just bought Fuel Belt.
Implus is majority owned by Berkshire Partners, a Boston-based investment firm. FuelBelt is the third brand acquired by Implus since Berkshire’s investment in April, following its purchases of Balega Socks and Trigger Point. Its brands now include Sof Sole, Yaktrax, Apara, Airplus, Sneaker Balls, Sof Comfort, Little Hotties, Perfect, TriggerPoint, ICETrekkers, FuelBelt and Balega.
That is quite a portfolio…and I’d be lying if I said the rapid expansion / acquisition of this many brands / companies wasn’t a little disconcerting. Seen this many times before and seems to rarely turn out well.
Yeah, I’ve seen rapid consolidation like this before. Knowing nothing about Berkshire (any relation to Warren Buffett?) I can’t predict. But what I usually see happen, is that the new owner is interested only in extracting cash… innovation often falls by the wayside… catalog shrinks, leaving fewer options without going fully customized.
I’ve got no skin in the game on FuelBelt. I’ve never really gotten it, but what do I know? Lots of slower runners use it
Yeah, I’ve seen rapid consolidation like this before. Knowing nothing about Berkshire (any relation to Warren Buffett?) I can’t predict. But what I usually see happen, is that the new owner is interested only in extracting cash… innovation often falls by the wayside… catalog shrinks, leaving fewer options without going fully customized.
I’ve got no skin in the game on FuelBelt. I’ve never really gotten it, but what do I know? Lots of slower runners use it
Yup! This is where I have to point out that I didn’t say no fast runners use them.
I’ve tried using waist-mounted bottles and have always had some complaint: ejections, bouncing, chafing, too fiddly. Then I go back to handhelds for shortish runs and a camelbak for the long ones where I can’t refill.
So it seems a company called Implus has quietly been building a war chest of endurance sports brands…and has just bought Fuel Belt.
Implus is majority owned by Berkshire Partners, a Boston-based investment firm. FuelBelt is the third brand acquired by Implus since Berkshire’s investment in April, following its purchases of Balega Socks and Trigger Point. Its brands now include Sof Sole, Yaktrax, Apara, Airplus, Sneaker Balls, Sof Comfort, Little Hotties, Perfect, TriggerPoint, ICETrekkers, FuelBelt and Balega.
That is quite a portfolio…and I’d be lying if I said the rapid expansion / acquisition of this many brands / companies wasn’t a little disconcerting. Seen this many times before and seems to rarely turn out well.
Most of these items are impulse-buy accessories that you would see on a display close to the cash register in a sporting goods store. To build a portfolio of these makes sense if you were trying to control the highly desirable ‘front-end’, and I would bet that most of these items have healthy margins for the retailer compared to bigger ticket products like shoes and bikes. All kinds of opportunities to leverage this. Interesting move.
From the perspective of someone who buys from these companies, I can see it going either way in the long term. So far, Implus has been very easy to work with. It’s convenient, especially for a smaller store, to be able to pick up socks, rollers, and inserts on the same order (Balega, Sof Sole, and Trigger Point). That helps with shipping costs, which are becoming a bigger and bigger expense, and makes it easier to always be in stock. We sell more Trigger Point than we would otherwise, and we added Sof Sole as a second insole vendor partially based on the fact that it would be easy to always have in stock. We decide what new products to carry in our shop based on customer request, product quality/benefits, ease of working with a company, and value: price point vs. quality/benefits. If a company sucks to work with, we don’t deal with them. If a product is way overpriced or sucks, we don’t sell it. We’re not big enough for that to have any effect on the companies we buy from, but we don’t think it’s worth the frustration dealing with companies that make it hard to work them. The Implus acquisitions result in fewer smaller orders, lower overall shipping costs, and better product availability. Those are all good things for retailers and end users (through reduced cost and better availability of wider selection).
The negatives are also out there as possibilities, and we’ll see in a few years if they play out.
We do also sell Nathan, and I like their products-I run with one of their handhelds. I also like Fuelbelt and Camelbak. There’s a lot of preference involved, but I don’t think I’ve ever had a quality issue with anything from those 3 companies.
Yeah, I’ve seen rapid consolidation like this before. Knowing nothing about Berkshire (any relation to Warren Buffett?) I can’t predict. But what I usually see happen, is that the new owner is interested only in extracting cash… innovation often falls by the wayside… catalog shrinks, leaving fewer options without going fully customized.
I’ve got no skin in the game on FuelBelt. I’ve never really gotten it, but what do I know? Lots of slower runners use it
Cheers!
No kidding eh? What a sloth
Hmm, a pro wearing a sponsor’s product? Means absolutely nothing and does not refute the statement that “Lots of slower runners use it.”
Maybe now Fuel Belt will be able to develop a hydration belt that lasts more than three months.
I’ve had one of their bottle carriers for a decade. It’s an older design, but similar to their current ‘Crush’ model; http://www.fuelbelt.com/Crush-Bottle-Carrier. I haven’t had occasion to use it much the last 3 years, but the 7 years before that I used it pretty much daily for XC skiing December-March. The zipper still works fine, the front velcro is solid. Overall I’m a 100% pleased customer.
Yeah, I’ve seen rapid consolidation like this before. Knowing nothing about Berkshire (any relation to Warren Buffett?) I can’t predict. But what I usually see happen, is that the new owner is interested only in extracting cash… innovation often falls by the wayside… catalog shrinks, leaving fewer options without going fully customized.
I’ve got no skin in the game on FuelBelt. I’ve never really gotten it, but what do I know? Lots of slower runners use it
Cheers!
No kidding eh? What a sloth
Hmm, a pro wearing a sponsor’s product? Means absolutely nothing and does not refute the statement that “Lots of slower runners use it.”
You think he would wear something in a race which could be detrimental to his race just because they are a sponsor?
And you are correct about the statement. I was broad stroking…my bad.
You think he would wear something in a race which could be detrimental to his race just because they are a sponsor?
And you are correct about the statement. I was broad stroking…my bad.
I’m sorry…can you tell me what bike sponsor logo that it is? Can’t quite read it…
You think he would wear something in a race which could be detrimental to his race just because they are a sponsor?
And you are correct about the statement. I was broad stroking…my bad.
I’m sorry…can you tell me what bike sponsor logo that it is? Can’t quite read it…
/pink
He probably wouldn’t be able to read the pink anyway what with World Champion in his eyes.
You think he would wear something in a race which could be detrimental to his race just because they are a sponsor?
And you are correct about the statement. I was broad stroking…my bad.
I’m sorry…can you tell me what bike sponsor logo that it is? Can’t quite read it…
/pink
Too funny! I remember years ago when compression socks came out and one top pro stated (and I’m paraphrasing off ancient memory) that they looked dorky and he would not wear them unless he was paid good money to do it. Well, he’s been looking like a dork for many years. Pros have to make a living, but the rest of us should take their recommendations with a giant grain of salt. Refer to the thread on whether pros add value if you want more on this.
