Burton Snowboards - Company Overview

Company Overview

Burton built the world's first snowboard factory. It is the largest snowboard brand in the world. Burton products are marketed worldwide in over 4,348 stores; 1,536 of those stores are located in the United States. In 2003 Burton allowed several online companies to sell Burton products over the internet. For years Burton had only been available through stores locally, but Burton felt that an online presence would allow buyers to have an alternative instead of turning to another brand.

As well as selling Burton products, Burton stores sell several sub-brands which focus on specific market niches. These sub-brands include Anon Optics (snowboard goggles and eyewear); RED (helmets and body armor), Analog (outerwear) and Gravis (footwear). In 2005, Four Star Distribution sold four of its snowboard brands to Burton, including Forum Snowboarding which designs hardgoods and softgoods, outerwear and streetwear. Burton, a privately owned company, also owns a surfing distributor.

The Burton line is split into Four types of categories. They are: Freeride, for big mountain; freestyle, for versatile ride; and park, for freestyle disciplines like half-pipe and park, and Carving; for carving down the side of mountains. Each of the categories has different levels of performance and price. In 2009, Burton's line included 61 snowboards in men, women, and youth.

Board prices range from $300 to $1,500.

In February 2008, Burton acquired DNA Distribution, which includes the skateboard manufacturer Alien Workshop, and two other companies.

In 2008, the snowboard equipment industry had grown to $487 million. Burton had 40–70% of these sales, depending on the category.

Average age of employees was 30 in 2008.