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[Ayrtek Cricket]

Thanks for the feedback all, sorry to have hi jacked the thread but was a point of interest for me as I'm now flying solo with the cricket side of the company so R&D investment is much harder to generate than previously with a board of shareholders.

[potzy248]

Thanks for the feedback all, sorry to have hi jacked the thread but was a point of interest for me as I'm now flying solo with the cricket side of the company so R&D investment is much harder to generate than previously with a board of shareholders.

For hijacking my thread you have to give me a 0.00000016 share in Ayrtek.

[Tailendfielder]

Thanks for the feedback all, sorry to have hi jacked the thread but was a point of interest for me as I'm now flying solo with the cricket side of the company so R&D investment is much harder to generate than previously with a board of shareholders.

Did you buy it back?

[Ayrtek Cricket]

Yes 👍

[Contrails]

I am interested in investing in L&W but I see a couple of things that L&W should work on to make their business grow. 

Most bats sell because of the way they look (stickers) and which players use them.   L&W bats are not known by the general cricketing public, even in NZ.  They are almost the Rolls Royce of Cricket bats in regards to quality and uniqueness.  But IMO they need to improve their marketing especially on the international stage.  Maybe look at sponsoring a couple of top pros. 

Second, they should improve their model names.  The Signature makes sense for the top willow.  But I think people do get confused with Reserve, Reserve Ultra, Private Bin, Special Reserve and Legend.  I prefer the ones Newberry or B3 use.  It's simple and easy to understand.

End of the day, these are just my opinions. 

[Northern monkey]

I just don't see the profit in cricket bats and gear for the effort and commitment needed
As a hobby/additional income yes, your never gonna earn huge profits from making and selling bats?

Dragons den would eat him alive for valuing his business at that?

Fair play to him for trying,and I hope he can grow the business

[Ayrtek Cricket]

It's a volume game, and exactly why I wanted to look at the helmet market rather than being just another brand in the Softs/bat world. I made the suggestion to CCC back in 2005 when they were trying to get a foothold in the cricket sector.

Even back then there were 30 odd brands doing pads/gloves + bats which led to a saturated market place all competing for the same customers....that was before access to manufacturers became a whole lot easier too and more and more smaller hobbyists started to appear who do it as a secondary income by importing goods.

[Northern monkey]

The other thing with cricket, is the marketplace needs to grow for sales to increase
The potential for participation in other countries is huge
I mean USA/Canada for instance,or in Europe, where soccer/football dominate
But this comes down to the availability of playing facilities /coaching etc and exposure to the game/marketing etc

It's turned into such a niche game now, which is a shame when you look at the interest in 2005
Times are changing and the sport needs to adapt to realise opportunities

Look at cycling in the uk now for instance.

[Ayrtek Cricket]

Yep a 30 over league on a Saturday is being trialled this year locally to try and increase participation and drag people back into the game who want to play but are limited with time.

[procricket]

I just don't see the profit in cricket bats and gear for the effort and commitment needed
As a hobby/additional income yes, your never gonna earn huge profits from making and selling bats?

Dragons den would eat him alive for valuing his business at that?

Fair play to him for trying,and I hope he can grow the business

totally agree with this the biggest issue with the industry I find is there more and more selling yet the number of potential sales is slightly going down.

The industry is a competitive place and unless you offer something different /outstanding it not a easy place to make your mark.

[Northern monkey]

16 over midweek games?
The leagues oop north used to have huge participation , especially for people who wouldn't normally play Saturday cricket
We used to have company sponsors etc, a way of them getting exposure, and generating additional customers
I'm sure we had asda as a big sponsor one year, over twenty teams plus spectators, newspaper exposure etc
Just one small northern town

All those needed bats,softs etc
There used to be four sport shops within a mile radius
All gone now

But then look at cycling and that growth
The fitness/bodybuilding industry

[Wickets-then-runs]

On the subject of buying business's, does anyone know if Jason sold Cricket Store Online?

[Ayrtek Cricket]

Had offers but think he's still running it but don't quote me on that

[FattusCattus]

With the bat and softs market, there isn't really much that is stunningly innovative and I;m not sure there really can be outside of Joker-style, Nemesis shapes or Turbo drilled holes.

Most softs are largely recognisable and repeated from brand to brand.

With so many 'bedroom' brands out there and smaller batmakers who actually make their own (and hurrah for them I say!), all we are really seeing is similar volume or declining volume being spread thinner and thinner across more and more brands.

Contentious statement, but the rising costs of bats (possible a mark-up issue?) prevents people - who aren't the nutters on here - purchasing 3 or 4 to try out.

I think Laver can only increase their market share with stronger branding and visible marketing, the business valuation seems a bit hefty for this crowded market-place!

[Chalkie]

It would be better I think if you got something for it like with the screaming cat one

you are never going to earn your money back in dividends from this so the value is owning a piece of laver and wood

Surely for anyone serious to invest they need a discount off future purchases or a bit of kit.

I understand that those that invest will get discounts, with a bigger discount the more you put in. They are issuing more info on this next week.