XTRI: When Ironman Wetsuits changed to blueseventy, was that just a change in name, or did things change too as a company?
Tim: Basically, as a company, we were constrained. When you looked at our competitors which were Zoot, Orca, QR, they had all broadened their range. Orca and QR were doing clothing in addition to wetsuits, and I was like ‘I’d love to do that, but I can’t,’ because we had a license for Ironman Wetsuits. And that’s not a label to put on clothing cause it sounds stupid – you can’t have an “Ironman Wetsuits” track suit – sounds a bit silly. So I felt constrained. So rather than expand into adjacent markets, I wanted to go deeper into the channel we were in, which was swim, specifically “openwater” since we made brilliant wetsuits and had a chance to really lead within that area. I wanted to make goggles, swimskins and other products for openwater…but I couldn’t expand given the licensing. By changing the name to blueseventy, it signaled that we’re not just about “Ironman”. Or “Wetsuits”. We make products that make that experience better. And for any distance triathlon. And even if you’re just a swimmer.”
Part 1 of the xtri interview: http://www.xtri.com/features_display.aspx?riIDReport=5207&CAT=21&xref=xx
Part 2 of the xtri interview: http://www.xtri.com/features_display.aspx?riIDReport=5213&CAT=3&xref=xx
Part 3 of the xtri interview: http://www.xtri.com/features_display.aspx?riIDReport=5216&CAT=23&xref=xx
