Interesting article about the introduction of the J/70 and the effect on existing one design fleets. Sailing needs to be fun and existing or it is slowly going to die. There is so much competition for our time these days with our own activities and the activities of our children. The J/70 is a great boat to get the family back out sailing and racing.
The J/70 – It’s about Expanding the Pie
By Airwaves Writer Dan Rabin
In the business world, product introductions and competitive strategy are often categorized as a “share game” or a “rising tide”. In a share game, the overall market has very little growth, and a company can only have relevant growth by stealing share from its competitors. In a rising tide, companies participate in a high growth market, and just by holding their market share, experience strong growth. In introducing the J/70, J/Boats may have done something quite rare, expanding the pie – meaning that, they might be increasing the size of the market, capturing that growth piece, and doing it without significant share losses to other one design fleets. Early indicators look promising for the J/70. The Eastport Yacht Club hosted the Fall Brawl the first weekend of November and saw 21 boats on the line – pretty impressive for a boat in its infancy. In addition, Key West Race week currently has 36 entries, more than 60% greater than the next largest fleet.
READ ARTICLE
http://www.sail1design.com/airwaves/sailing-news/1029-j70analysis
