Success of Shred

Hello bloggers,

What are the keys to creating and marketing a successful business in the ski industry, in our current economy? Shred Optics is a great example of a company, who has been able to thrive in the competitive industry. Shred was founded by it’s owner, Ted Ligety in 2006. Ted is an American alpine ski racer, who has been the top skier and face of the U.S ski team for some time now. Ted’s rise to the top of ski world was a rough one to say the least. He never saw success in skiing until he was eighteen, which is late compared to athletes around him. Once he made it to the U.S ski team he won the olympic slalom in his first olympics ever. Ted currently has three olympic medals, six world championship medals, and 26 world cup wins since his debut in 2003.

Ted was always known as the racer who brings the most style to ski racing. Before starting Shred Optics Ted noticed that snowboarding and free riding had stolen some of what he called “the cool factor” from traditional skiing. Ted told The New York Times, “There was a big disconnect, and skiers were seen as old school,” Ligety said. “I knew that didn’t apply to me, so I wanted to show that we could merge the two worlds. I wanted kids to know that it’s cool to be in a ski race in the morning and to go play in the terrain park in the afternoon. It’s not one or the other.”
                                                        

Ligety started to wear brightly colored outfits and ended his races with a signature trick moves in the snow to bring more style into the sport. Ted’s radical style and oddly colored cloths were starting to gain attention quickly. Ted discovered a niche in the market and capitalized on it. With a European business partner, he started Shred in 2006 and aggressively marketed what were in then, radically designed helmets, goggles and other goods in florescent pink and orange. From then on Shred has flourished, and with the help of the free skiing and twin-tip movement, ski participation has made a comeback as the percentage of snowboarders on the slopes has declined.

Through Ted’s success as a rising star on the World Cup, he has only taken his company up with him. He's marketing his company every time he is on the slopes or in a race. Even with the pressure of competing on the top level in the World Cup Ted stays involved with all of Shreds operations. Ligety tells The New York Times, “I did it to make money, too,” he said with a chortle. “I’m very involved in Shred, constantly checking in on something. It takes a lot of time. But it has let me leverage who I am as an athlete into a product.”

Ted is an innovator in the ski industry and has taken his company Shred to new levels by doing radical things everyday.