Joola bought Joola
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Topic: Joola bought Joola
Posted By: Simas
Subject: Joola bought Joola
Date Posted: 11/28/2018 at 6:02pm
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Joola bought Joola. Sort of... : "US-Based Sport Squad, Inc. Acquires Global Table Tennis Leader JOOLA Tischtennis GmbH Rockville, MD — Sport Squad, Inc. announced today that it has signed an agreement to acquire JOOLA Tischtennis GmbH, a leading brand in the table tennis industry. For the past 12 years, Sport Squad, Inc. was the US-based distributor and licensee of JOOLA Tischtennis GmbH for the North American and Brazilian market. The acquisition of JOOLA Tischtennis GmbH fits into Sport Squad’s strategy to expand its footprint in the global table tennis industry. This acquisition will allow Sport Squad to build on the JOOLA brand’s strong global reputation in the sport of table tennis. Sport Squad is already the leading ambassador of the JOOLA brand and will continue to spread brand awareness through creative marketing, strategic player and tournament sponsorships, and efforts to grow the sport in previously untapped markets. The JOOLA brand originated in 1953 and quickly emerged as a leader in table tennis under Michael Bachtler’s leadership. JOOLA was the official table sponsor for the 1996 Atlanta, 2000 Sydney, and 2004 Athens games. “This acquisition represents an important strategic opportunity to add to our capacity and geographic presence to grow the sport of table tennis both professionally and recreationally. I am grateful and proud that Mr. Bachtler has entrusted our company to take the JOOLA brand into the future,” said Richard Lee, President of Sport Squad, Inc. of the acquisition. Bachtler will be staying on for the next 3 years and continue serving as the Managing Director based in Siebeldingen, Germany providing his expertise and experience to help place JOOLA further on the path to long term success. “I have worked with Richard Lee as our distributor for the past 12 years and am excited to have a successor that’s passionate about table tennis and that I can entrust to continue building on my life’s work at JOOLA. Along with our dedicated and experienced team here in Germany, I am excited to have the young, creative, and energetic team at Sport Squad to usher in the next generation of table tennis,” said Bachtler of the merger. About Sport Squad, Inc. Established in 2006 and based in Rockville, MD, Sport Squad, Inc. was founded by Richard Lee out of a love for table tennis. Sport Squad eventually expanded to include 4 different brands dedicated to offering interactive and immersive games and gaming equipment. It is the parent company to JOOLA, iPong, Sport Squad, and Hit Mit. To learn more about Sport Squad, Inc., check out sport-squad.com." http://www.joola.us/2018/11/us-based-sport-squad-inc-acquires-global-table-tennis-leader-joola-tischtennis-gmbh/ It seems Americans see some potential in the future of TT
------------- Stiga Offensive Classic Legend DHS Hurricane Neo3 Donic Bluefire JP01 Turbo |
Replies:
Posted By: notfound123
Date Posted: 11/28/2018 at 11:21pm
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Can someone who has business background/understands acquisitions explain how this is even possible? From what I see that's publicly available, Sport Squad is a small business ... roughly 30 people, single office location. Buying a global business Joola, with affiliates in France, etc. Perhaps Joola (Germany) was acquired for cheap due to ...its debt? How's this all possible?
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Posted By: Purett
Date Posted: 11/29/2018 at 4:12am
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it had more debt then the company was worth ------------- rating solid 1000 moving up to 1001 |
Posted By: pingpungpeng
Date Posted: 11/29/2018 at 8:07am
Posted By: lineup32
Date Posted: 11/29/2018 at 1:51pm
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most likely Sport Squad had little choice as Joola probably was in a weak financial position that meant the end of Joola and therefore Sport Squad would lose it's American investment in the Joola Brand over the past 12 years and have nothing to show for there time and money. These ESN dominated brands basically all offer the same product the difference may or may not amount to much other then players loyalty to a brand but it clearly impacts margins so no matter that Sport Squad may inherit the Joola Brand by itself doesn't create any unique market appeal that can be transferred into stronger margins. |
Posted By: FruitLoop
Date Posted: 11/29/2018 at 7:08pm
| There's still blades, tables and importantly the recreational market. |
Posted By: Snakefish
Date Posted: 11/29/2018 at 8:55pm
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I'll take Joola over Killerspin anyday Joola needs more marketing resources ------------- Andro Treiber Z - fl FH: Tibhar MX-D max BH: Tibhar Quantum ProX-blue,max |
Posted By: icontek
Date Posted: 11/29/2018 at 11:06pm
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Does anyone else think that the table tennis market would be better off with fewer brands? What the brands do isn't really "competition". How much of their budgets are spent lobbying the ITTF for rule changes that cause people to abandon equipment that works? In my 20 years of recreational play, I have seen the following: 1995 Most Dangerous Speed Glue Ban 2000 40mm Celluloid ball 2007 All Speed Glues Banned 2009 All Boosters Banned 2011 40+mm Cellulose Acetate Plastic Balls 2013(?) 40+mm Poly plastic ball 2014 40+mm Seamless plastic ball 2016 40+mm ABS plastic balls Notice a trend? All of those changes caused waves of purchasing as players tried to find blades and rubbers (and glues and cleaners etc) that gave them an edge. And now that the ball must be "plastic", manufacturers are free to continue "evolving the game" by manufacturing different balls with different properties. From the T3 Technical Leaflet Terms of reference
The Laws of Table Tennis relating to the ball are as follows: 2.03 The Ball 2.03.01 The ball shall be spherical with a diameter of 40mm 2.03.02 The ball shall weigh 2.7g 2.03.03 The ball shall be made of celluloid or similar plastics material and shall be white or orange,
and matt
Regulations for International Competitions require equipment authorized or approved by the ITTF Here are all the approved balls - notice it says "plastic" not ABS or poly or cellulose acetate - all of those balls play differently... https://d3mjm6zw6cr45s.cloudfront.net/2018/11/Balls_2018_24.pdf" rel="nofollow - Nov 2018 list of approved balls ------------- http://bit.ly/vLMhuB" rel="nofollow - - RC1042 . OSP Virtuoso AC: PK50 + R42 |
Posted By: zeio
Date Posted: 11/30/2018 at 4:33am
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The speedglue ban was 1st passed in 2004, but in 2006 they had to push it back to Sep, 2008, citing strong oppositions from Asian and European countries, and that manufacturers were not ready. The seamless polyball that was pushed so hard between 2010/2011 by DHS/DFish never saw widespread adoption after the inventor, Zhang Huilun, had a run-in with the big boys. Zhang then approached Palio/Xushaofa to mass produce these balls, but Palio pulled out some time after DHS/DFish successfully secured the contract as sole ball suppliers for major ITTF events for 2016-2020. Since they couldn't back out, the 40+ standard that was already pushed back 2 years(originally after London Olympics) finally got adopted in July, 2014 and was the one made with cellulose acetate. A total disaster. Sales of table tennis rubbers were hugely and negatively impacted for all major brands across the globe. People were pissed by that sucker. Ironically, the Nittaku Premium 40+ released about the same time was already made of ABS, but failed to get the contract. The 40+ got such a bad rep that it was decided to be replaced starting Apr, 2017 by the ABS ball, first it was the Nittaku Premium 40+ that had already been on the market for years, closely followed by D40+ by DHS, V40+ by DFish, A40+ by Butterfly... ------------- Viscaria FL - 91g + Neo H3 2.15 Blk - 44.5g(55.3g uncut bare) + Hexer HD 2.1 Red - 49.3g(68.5g 〃 〃) = 184.8g |
Posted By: haggisv
Date Posted: 11/30/2018 at 5:36am
Really, that's new to me. I'm not saying it's not true, I've just never heard that. Why would rubber sales be affected negatively by poor quality balls? ------------- Smart; VS>401, Dtecs OX http://tabletennisshop.com.au/index.php?main_page=page&id=42" rel="nofollow - Tenergy Alternatives | http://tabletennis-reviews.com" rel="nofollow - My TT Articles |
zeio wrote:Posted By: achoomai
Date Posted: 11/30/2018 at 7:31am
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I heard that number of players in Germany are decreasing while some areas in the globe is growing (USA?). Also China players have morw income. If brands cannot penetrate into the growing area (let say keep focus in Germany market), they may face with financial problem. ------------- My feedback : http://www.mytabletennis.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=58844&PN=1#726094 |
Posted By: zeio
Date Posted: 11/30/2018 at 11:24am
I actually wrote a long thread that touched on this last year. People were really pissed by the 40+ balls breaking left and right. They cost even more than celluloid ones, which were already at an all-time high before the switch. The cost added up quickly. That's money that'd otherwise have been spent on rubbers. There were many posts of people complaining on this forum and Chinese forums. ------------- Viscaria FL - 91g + Neo H3 2.15 Blk - 44.5g(55.3g uncut bare) + Hexer HD 2.1 Red - 49.3g(68.5g 〃 〃) = 184.8g |
Posted By: icontek
Date Posted: 11/30/2018 at 1:48pm
So you're saying ball purchases are primarily budget driven, rather than from discretionary funds? That's interesting and probably true in some cases. But my assertion that people buy new rubbers (and blades) to compensate for the ITTF's ball changes is supported by actual market research. So it's fine that I can tell you that in the U.S., that TT sales have increased since the plastic ball and are forecasted to continue to increase, but I can also back it up with statements from people who are investing in these companies. https://www.statista.com/statistics/258665/table-tennis-equipment-wholesale-sales-in-the-us/" rel="nofollow - Sharp increase in US TT Wholesale purchases since plastic ball https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20160902005038/en/Table-Tennis-Equipment-Market-Witness-Dominance-Racket" rel="nofollow - Berkshire Hathaway predicts TT market increases TL;DR People in NA are spending more on TT, and I don't think it's all just on balls. ------------- http://bit.ly/vLMhuB" rel="nofollow - - RC1042 . OSP Virtuoso AC: PK50 + R42 |
Posted By: pgpg
Date Posted: 11/30/2018 at 2:18pm
First link is behind paywall and second, interestingly enough, has NOTHING to do with Berkshire Hathaway. It does contain such bits of wisdom as (published in 2016): Global table tennis racket market The table tennis racket market is expected to reach USD 380.8 million by 2020, posting a CAGR of over 2%. The table tennis racket, which is also known as paddle and bat, is the biggest segment in the table tennis equipment market, as the racket plays a key role in the game. The racket includes rubber and blades which can be replaceable. Innovation in the rubber and blade is one of the trends in the racket segment. In 2014, STIGA released a racket called Pro Carbon for advanced and professional players. It uses a variety of technology to increase the spin and speed. However, the segment has a slow replacement cycle for intermediate and beginner players. Clubs and pubs also give out rackets on rental, which is a major reason for the lack of ownership of rackets by casual and leisure players. Global table tennis ball market The table tennis ball market is the second largest segment in the market in 2015 with a market share of almost 20%. The ball segment is the second fastest growing category in the table tennis equipment market as the replacement cycle of ball is quick. On an average, the ball is replaced every 2-3 sets. Change in the ball regulations by ITTF has a major impact on its growth. According to the new rule, all celluloid balls are to be replaced with plastic balls of 40+ millimeter in all ITTF tournaments. ------------- USATT: ~1810 Butterfly Defense Alpha ST - H3 Neo - Cloud&Fog OX |
Posted By: BH-Man
Date Posted: 11/30/2018 at 8:58pm
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The market for core items like blades, rubber, balls, apparel, and accessories (NOT TABLES) sold by TT resellers in USA (like say Paddle Palace, BTY, Xiom USA, etc) to serious amateur TTers is around $50 Million USD tops. That is not a very big pie to go around. It COULD be much huger once we get more participation on even organized social recreational play. The market for TT tables is way huger, 300,000 plus units sold per year in USA between cheepo $100 USD tables to $2000+ USD competition tables. If USATT could get an a reimbursable agreement to comp table makers for inserting a USATT membership app and a booklet on amateur TT club play in USA, even with a low 2% buy-in rate, USATT would explode in membership and also the TT market for core goods as well. ------------- Korea Foreign Table Tennis Club Search for us on Facebook: koreaforeignttc |
Posted By: icontek
Date Posted: 12/01/2018 at 12:41am
Sorry about the paywall - It wasn't there when i did the original search - which showed a sharp increase in wholesale purchases in 2011 and consistently higher wholesaling than pre 2011. But BusinessWire is literally, A BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY COMPANY. http://www.businesswire.com/" rel="nofollow - Read the Logo ------------- http://bit.ly/vLMhuB" rel="nofollow - - RC1042 . OSP Virtuoso AC: PK50 + R42 |
Posted By: BH-Man
Date Posted: 12/03/2018 at 1:11pm
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When I played in Korea from 2009 to 2013, it was the 40mm cell ball era. I played every day for 5 hrs average. I would buy a 6 pack of quality cell balls every week for 9 or 10 USD depending on e change rates. That meant I spent usd 40 dollars a month just on balls. Koreans hit hard. I am around a lot of NBS and we mostly play NP40 balls. I buy a 3 pack at my local club for usd 9... I play 1/3 as much as I played in Korea. A 3 pack lasts me a month or 6 weeks. That means o stall, if I would play as much as I did in Korea, that I would pay 1.5 to 2x less for quality match balls. When I was in Virginia and used seamless Nexy or NP40, I played almost as much as Korea and it would take over a month to go through a 6 pack box of Nexy... that meant my ball costs were 2x less or more. The new balls are not causing me to spend more on balls. I replace rubbers at same rate of hrs use. ------------- Korea Foreign Table Tennis Club Search for us on Facebook: koreaforeignttc |
Posted By: amateur
Date Posted: 12/03/2018 at 8:24pm
Richard Lee was a high-level player himself (about 2400 in his prime) and gradually made a business out of it, by founding North American Table Tennis, running the Teams tournament, becoming a JOOLA distributor, etc. So this doesn't come out of nowhere. Interesting development in any case, let's hope the brand continues to be successful.
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Posted By: zeio
Date Posted: 12/03/2018 at 10:52pm
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As I wrote last year, the size of the US market is roughly that of Taiwan. It can't compare with the big boys - China, Germany and South Korea. The bottom line has definitely dipped around the globe. The only market with strong growth is Japan. ------------- Viscaria FL - 91g + Neo H3 2.15 Blk - 44.5g(55.3g uncut bare) + Hexer HD 2.1 Red - 49.3g(68.5g 〃 〃) = 184.8g |
Posted By: Simas
Date Posted: 12/04/2018 at 3:29pm
Somehow didn't find that thread. Could you post a link? ------------- Stiga Offensive Classic Legend DHS Hurricane Neo3 Donic Bluefire JP01 Turbo |
Posted By: FruitLoop
Date Posted: 12/05/2018 at 6:05am
| I can see Joola becoming very popular in the USA and dying off everywhere else from this. |