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October 26, 2006
The future of the sporting goods industry
At a dinner keynote speech for a sports and technology convergence conference in San Diego, futurist and innovation guru Jim Carroll outlines a futuristic vision for the sporting goods industry: "When it comes to the future of sporting goods... the future is being redefined by the next generation... These kids live, breathe, learn, teach, talk, listen, create and innovate through a widely networked world that facilitates feedback so quickly it's rapidly changing how this generation will expect results and satisfaction from new products." As Carroll points out, there are at least five key trends that sporting goods manufacturers should keep in mind:
(1) It's happening faster than you think: "The rate of change in the world of sports -- by which everyday sporting goods are being connected, redeveloped, redefined and redeployed -- is nothing short of astounding";
(2) It's about much more than iPods - "It's not about accessorizing, it's about re-defining the product";
(3) It's happening in the infinite global innovation idea loop;
(4) It's about extensibility - "Smart sports goods manufacturers won't build a product and release to market. They will build a platform that customers can tinker with, add on to, modify and enhance";
(5) The rapid rate of change is being driven by the next generation, which expects products to perform a wide range of "cool" functions.
[image: The Burton iPod for skiers]
Posted by dominic at October 26, 2006 9:44 AM | Recommend this! | +dlc | +dig
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