Brunswick Billiards is now...?

DogsPlayingPool

DogsPlayingPool

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Sounds promising actually. LF seems the more current/relevant/contemporary division. They are known for quality products and appear to be growing. Hopefully they will infuse some needed energy into a billiards division that seems to have been operating on cruise control for years.
 
Colonel

Colonel

Raised by Wolves in a Pool Hall
Silver Member
DogsPlayingPool said:
Sounds promising actually. LF seems the more current/relevant/contemporary division. They are known for quality products and appear to be growing. Hopefully they will infuse some needed energy into a billiards division that seems to have been operating on cruise control for years.
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Truth, I find it unfortunate that they went from being the table of choice to nowhere as Diamond took over the table market. Many like Diamond but I'll never be one of them.
 
B

bdorman

Dead money
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It sounds like a smart move since Life's sales force is already calling on the major Game-Room product distributors. No need to have two sales forces, especially when one of them -- billiards -- has a hard time even getting an appointment.

But let's face it, it's a "gasping for air" move...trying to reduce expenses at the billiards division to justify its continued existance.
 
Cardigan Kid

Cardigan Kid

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Colonel said:
Truth, I find it unfortunate that they went from being the table of choice to nowhere as Diamond took over the table market. Many like Diamond but I'll never be one of them.
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I agree, and find that unfortunate. As a gold crown 2 owner, I have huge respect for Brunswick and what they did for tournament style pool and professional pool in decades past. But lately it seems they are permanently seated in the furniture pool table domain, where design and wood work trump functionality.

It makes me appreciate diamond that much more because they are carrying the torch as the standard bearer.
 
KRJ

KRJ

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Colonel said:
Truth, I find it unfortunate that they went from being the table of choice to nowhere as Diamond took over the table market. Many like Diamond but I'll never be one of them.
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Diamond did not take over the market as much as it was handed to them by Brunswick. Living in the past and not believing their equipment should get any better, they were ripe for the picking.

A shame really, but at least Diamond stepped up and is moving the game forward, with tournaments and sponsorship deals for certain events, etc.

So, you can dislike Diamond all you want, it's a free country, but you should dislike Brunswick even more for outsourcing their tables to far away lands, and for basically abandoning billiards in the US for the past few decades.

Yep, I own a Brunswick table, and my playing cue is a Brunswick Willie Hoppe Pro Model from 1940's. The table will be gone soon, replaced with a Diamond, the Brunswick cue I will keep ;)
 
Colonel

Colonel

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ChicagoRJ said:
Diamond did not take over the market as much as it was handed to them by Brunswick. Living in the past and not believing their equipment should get any better, they were ripe for the picking.



A shame really, but at least Diamond stepped up and is moving the game forward, with tournaments and sponsorship deals for certain events, etc.



So, you can dislike Diamond all you want, it's a free country, but you should dislike Brunswick even more for outsourcing their tables to far away lands, and for basically abandoning billiards in the US for the past few decades.



Yep, I own a Brunswick table, and my playing cue is a Brunswick Willie Hoppe Pro Model from 1940's. The table will be gone soon, replaced with a Diamond, the Brunswick cue I will keep ;)
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You're correct RJ, when I said Diamond took over the market I should have said they were given it as that is exactly what happened when Brunswick abandoned it. As far as my comment on liking Brunswick & disliking Diamond it has nothing to do with how I feel about the companies themselves, it's about the tables. I just don't like the way a Diamond plays. When you combine Simonis cloth & Artemis rails it results in a table that's far too fast which negates the need to actually possess a stroke, you just don't need one to play elite level pool anymore.
 
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MiscueBlues

AzB Silver Member
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What is Brunswick now anyway? Their billiards era is over, they sold off their bowling centers to amf. They're done.


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Scott Lee

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FTR...there are at least 10-20x more Brunswick tables sold every year (even last year) than Diamond. Greg's output is about 1000/yr. I like the Diamond tables better myself, but nobody can dispute that Brunswick still has the dominant market share.

Scott Lee
http://poolknowledge.com
 
Bob Jewett

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MiscueBlues said:
What is Brunswick now anyway? Their billiards era is over, they sold off their bowling centers to amf. They're done. ...
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For those who missed it, Brunswick Corporation is getting rid of Brunswick Billiards:

From "Crain's Chicago Business" on May 6th:

Boat maker Brunswick Corp. plans to sell its Life Fitness business to investment firm KPS Capital Partners for $490 million.

The all-cash deal will make Mettawa-based Brunswick a pure-play marine company.

“With the sale of the Fitness business, we sharpen our focus on Brunswick’s unique and formidable marine platform,” Brunswick CEO David Foulkes said in a statement.

He also said in the statement: “As we considered avenues to separate our Fitness business, including a potential spin-off, we received strong buyer interest from a number of parties. After thoughtful evaluation of a range of options and a robust auction process, we concluded this sale is the best outcome for Brunswick and our shareholders."

In a statement from Rosemont-based Life Fitness, KPS partner Jay Bernstein said: "We are very excited to invest in Life Fitness, the leading global brand in fitness equipment. Life Fitness has the largest global installed base of equipment, with approximately two million pieces of cardiovascular and strength equipment used regularly by over 60 million people worldwide. We look forward to working with President Jason Worthy, his management team, and Life Fitness employees globally to build on this great platform and the company's strong design, innovation and product development heritage.​

There is an article about it in the June 2019 Billiards Digest.

I'd guess that the valuation of the billiard business is a small part of the $490 million deal. Anyone want to buy a billiard business?
 
K2Kraze

K2Kraze

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There’s a lot of potential there for not only keeping the Brunswick Billiards name going but to thrive like never before, given their history and remarkable tables over the last 174 years.

I think I read that revenues were north of 1B. The right vision and leadership could propel Brunswick Billiards to the very top, IMHO. Key words being vision and leadership of course.
 
Bob Jewett

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K2Kraze said:
...
I think I read that revenues were north of 1B. ...
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That might have been for the entire "life fitness" operation, but billiards is/was a small part of that. Based on corporate annual reports I have seen, which never singled out billiards explicitly, billiard revenue is about $50 million.
 
9

9 Ball Fan

Darth Maximus
Silver Member
Ever since I was a kid, and my father owned a Brunswick snooker table for a couple of years; I have wanted a 9 foot Brunswick furniture style pool table, with leather drop pockets.

It pains me to see that Brunswick is now an import product, after their long history of making tables here in the USA.

I guess the industry has moved away from what Brunswick does, but I am still a fan of furniture style tables; especially with fancy inlays, etc.
 
Cardigan Kid

Cardigan Kid

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Bob Jewett said:
That might have been for the entire "life fitness" operation, but billiards is/was a small part of that. Based on corporate annual reports I have seen, which never singled out billiards explicitly, billiard revenue is about $50 million.
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I'm shocked its that high. I haven't heard anyone mention they bought the new Brunswick GC. Any pool halls have them?
 
Cardigan Kid

Cardigan Kid

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Colonel said:
Truth, I find it unfortunate that they went from being the table of choice to nowhere as Diamond took over the table market. Many like Diamond but I'll never be one of them.
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I miss the Colonel....someone tell him to get back on here and start posting again. He hasn't been around since 2016.
 
G

garczar

AzB Silver Member
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Cardigan Kid said:
I'm shocked its that high. I haven't heard anyone mention they bought the new Brunswick GC. Any pool halls have them?
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I doubt the 50mil. figure. That's a LOT of tables/access. in a year. They haven't cared about pool tables in years. They just kept it as a legacy deal.
 
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