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| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Sporting goods |
| Founded | 1977; 48 years ago (1977) |
| Headquarters | Burlington, Vermont |
Key people | Jake Burton Carpenter, Founder and Chairman |
| Products | Snowboard equipment, apparel, accessories |
Number of employees | Over 600 U.S., 950 Global[1] |
| Website | www |
Burton Snowboards is a privately-owned snowboard manufacturing company that was founded byJake Burton Carpenter in 1977.[2][3] The company specializes in products aimed atsnowboarders, such as snowboards,bindings,boots, outerwear, and accessories. The company, whose flagship store is inBurlington, Vermont,[4] was privately owned by Jake Burton Carpenter (also known as Jake Burton), until his death in 2019, and by his wife, Donna Carpenter, who has been active in the business since 1983.[5][4]
Burton Snowboards[6] was founded byJake Burton in 1977.[4] His co-founder, Dimitrije Milovich, was an East Coast surfer and the founder of snowboard company Winterstick.[7] Theirsnowboards were inspired by theSnurfer,[4] which was created in 1965 by Sherman Poppen. In 1977, Burton moved toLondonderry, Vermont,[8] where he made the first Burton snowboard in his garage, by hand.[9] Since Burton could not afford proper equipment, he applied polyurethane to the prototype.[10] In 1978, the company moved toManchester, Vermont.
Jake Burton campaigned for local ski resorts to open their lifts to snowboard riders. In 1982, theSuicide Six Ski Area, now called Saskadena Six Ski Area,[11] inPomfret, Vermont, was reportedly the first mountain to permit snowboarders,[12] followed byStratton Mountain, and laterJay Peak andStowe. When resorts started to accept snowboarders on lifts, the public did too; and Burton became one of the main suppliers for snowboarders.
In 1982, Burton marketed its product at the National Snowboarding Championships, held atSuicide Six.Snow Valley also allowed snowboarders and in 1984 hosted the US Open. In 1985, the National Snowboarding Championships moved to Stratton Mountain and became the U.S. Open Snowboarding Championships, which was owned and operated by Burton. This competition helped legitimize the sport.
In 1985, Burton established the European Division of Burton Snowboards inInnsbruck, Austria. In 1986, distribution began inNew Zealand. In 1992, the Burton factory relocated to Burlington, Vermont. In 1994, Burton opened its Japan division inUrawa-shi. In 2014, there were 400 employees in Burlington and 1,000 worldwide.[5]
In 2008, several complaints arose when Burton produced snowboards that had illustrations of self-mutilation andPlayboy bunnies. As a result, the Burton Love model was discontinued for the 2012 line and replaced by the Mr. Nice Guy.[13]
As of 2009, Burton owned ten companies that sold snowboards, outerwear, and shoes.[14][15] In 2008, Burton began to make surfboards in Vermont.[citation needed]
For many years, Burton and his wife—Donna Gaston Carpenter, whom he had married in 1983[5]—hosted the Fall Bash, to promote goodwill among company employees and friends.[16] In 2009, the Fall Bash became the subject of controversy after the company attempted to censor the press about it.[17]
In 2010, Burton announced that Burton Snowboards would cease manufacturing in Vermont and move production toAustria.[18] More recently, the company has shifted some of its snowboard production to China.[19]
In December 2011, Burton named his wife, Donna Carpenter, as president of the company.[5] In 2013, Donna Carpenter estimated that the company had 40 to 45% of the snowboarding market, which totaled $236 million. She said that the U.S. market constituted 35% of the company's business, with Europe making up 30%, andJapan andCanada the rest.[5]
In May 2014, Burton named Mike Rees as CEO, while remaining as founder and chairman.[5] In December 2015, Burton named Donna Carpenter as CEO (Mike Rees having left to be closer to family) and John Lacy as president.[20]
In 2016, in light of the company's 40th anniversary, Burton's Chief Creative Officer, Greg Dacyshyn, stated he wished to keep both the sport and lifestyle aspect of the brand going for many years.[21]
Jake Burton Carpenter died at his home on November 20, 2019, due to a recurrence of testicular cancer.[22]
In 2020, the City of Burlington approved plans by Burton Snowboards to relocate the state's largest music venueHigher Ground to an unused warehouse on its Queen City Park Road campus as part of a broader entertainment complex. The State of Vermont granted additional permits in 2022, but the project faced appeals from a neighborhood group,Citizens for Responsible Zoning, who raised concerns about noise, traffic, and parking overflow into nearby residential streets.[23] In April 2023, the case went to trial, and on July 12, 2023,Vermont Superior Court Judge Mary Miles Teachout upheld the permits, allowing the project to proceed. While supporting the overall plan, the court required Burton to take specific mitigation measures, including sound monitoring, parking enforcement, and event traffic management.[24] Less than a week later,Higher Ground announced that Burton Snowboards had withdrawn from the plans to relocate the music venue to its Burlington headquarters.[25]
The first Burton snowboard was the BB1, a narrow board consisting of single-strap bindings with a rope and handle attached to the nose.[26]
The company started using a single-channel binding-mounting system on its 2008 models. In 2009, this system was installed on other snowboard lines. A binding system was created with this system that was designed to give the rider more control and a greater board feels. This binding system, named EST® (Extra Sensory Technology), eliminates weight by mounting the binding to the board from the sides of the binding instead of the middle, getting rid of the middle baseplate.
Burton is now the second-largest snowboard manufacturer in the US;[28] and its products are marketed worldwide in over 4,348 stores, 1,536 of which are in the United States. In 2003, Burton allowed several online companies to sell Burton products over the internet. For years, Burton products had been available only through local stores; but the company felt that an online presence would allow buyers to have an alternate way to buy Burton products, instead of having to turn to another brand.[29]
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),[30] and Gravis (footwear, now defunct).[31] In 2005, Four Star Distribution sold four of its snowboard brands to Burton: Forum Snowboarding, Jeenyus, Foursquare, and Special Blend.[32] Burton also owned surfboard manufacturer Channel Islands, but sold the brand in 2020.[33]
The Burton line is split into four categories: freeride, for a big mountain ride; freestyle, for a versatile ride; park, for freestyle disciplines such as half-pipe and slopestyle; and carving, for carving down the sides of mountains. Each of these categories has different levels of performance and price. In 2009, Burton's line included 61 snowboards in men's, women's, and youth models. Board prices range from $300 to $1,500.[4]
In February 2008, Burton acquired DNA Distribution, which includes the skateboard brandsAlien Workshop, Habitat Skateboards, and Reflex.[34]
In 2008, the snowboard equipment industry had grown to be worth $487 million.[4] Burton had 40% to 70% of these sales, depending on the category.[4] The average age of employees was 30.
To attract rider interest, Burton Snowboards sponsors professional riders and events. Burton's sponsored professional snowboard team includes:Zeb Powell,Mark McMorris,Taylor Gold,[35]Shaun White,Jeremy Jones,Kazuhiro Kokubo,Terje Haakonsen,Ellery Hollingsworth,Kelly Clark,Hannah Teter, andKevin Pearce. Burton has avoided having complete sponsorship with Burton/Burton affiliated brands. Burton has come under criticism over its choices regarding team members, such as the removal ofDavid Carrier Porcheron[36] and other riders in 2008.
Burton sponsored the creation of organic terrain parks made of rocks, stumps, and logs. These parks, known as "The Stash" can be found atNorthstar, California;Truckee, California;Jackson Hole, Wyoming;Killington Ski Resort, Vermont;Avoriaz, France; andThe Remarkables, New Zealand.
Burton created the Chill program in 1995, to provide children with the opportunity to learn how to snowboard. Since its founding, Chill has provided over 12,000 underprivileged children the opportunity to learn how to snowboard. Because of the 2008 graphics controversy and concern over its effect on youth, a local beneficiary severed its ties with Burton.[37]
Burton created the Learn to Ride program in 1998. It was the only snowboard company to focus on instruction methods and beginner-specific equipment. Its goal was to give beginner snowboarders the best initial snowboarding experience possible, so they would continue to snowboard. Burton has teamed up with theAmerican Association of Snowboard Instructors, theCanadian Association of Snowboard Instructors, and major resorts around the world.[38]
In December 2016, Burton launched apop-up shop onNewbury Street inBoston.[39]
In January 2022, BBC News reported on Burton's expansion into China and highlighted the company's role in promotingXinjiang as a winter sports destination (ahead of China's hosting the Winter Olympics). Craig Smith, the boss of the company's China subsidiary, told the BBC Burton didn't want to "divorce" itself from the region by refusing to do business there, despite allegations of human rights abuse, includinggenocide of the Uyghurs.[40]
Allegations that the localUyghur population of Xinjiang have been used as forced labor to pick cotton has also been observed to be at odds with Burton's membership of theBetter Cotton Initiative - an industry body that aims to ensure the global cotton supply chain is free of forced labor.[40]
Media related toBurton Snowboards at Wikimedia Commons
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