Biggest Cue Making Company

S

Silver-Surfer

Registered
Once upon a time, there was Coca Cola. Then, there was Pepsi. Competition was born. Years later, RC Cola entered the market. And then the no name brands. Etc.

Similarly, in billiards land, once upon a time there was Dufferin. In the last 20 years though there has been an explosion of new pool cue making companies. Predator, Poison, Joss, Fury, Lucasi, Mecucci, Players, Vikings, Schon, etc.

So I was just wondering, is there still a dominant cue maker? Was Dufferin really considered the Coke of billiard land or was it just big in Canada? Also, what is considered the biggest cue maker today?

Any idea on what their annual profits would be? I am guess one million or less per annum, but would love some feedback from those in the know.
 
No one has ever dominated the pool cue market as a "custom cue-maker", speaking as a individual cue-maker since we all know corporations really aren't people.......sorry Mitt.

Anyway, production cue companies are a different matter......they sell to the public on a volume basis and sell dozens of the exact same design cues, maybe hundreds, and the cues only vary in weight or shaft size, and maybe the tips and wrap.So it's much easier to furnish the market with volumes of pool cues and thus earn the lion's share of the market for new cue sales......it's called retail in the business community.

Custom cue-makers aren't on the same par as retail cue-makers which just can't produce cues anywhere near the quality of a custom-made cue but keep in mind that it's the pool player that decides how well the cue plays.....not the cue.
 
Silver-Surfer said:
Once upon a time, there was Coca Cola. Then, there was Pepsi. Competition was born. Years later, RC Cola entered the market. And then the no name brands. Etc.

Similarly, in billiards land, once upon a time there was Dufferin. In the last 20 years though there has been an explosion of new pool cue making companies. Predator, Poison, Joss, Fury, Lucasi, Mecucci, Players, Vikings, Schon, etc.

So I was just wondering, is there still a dominant cue maker? Was Dufferin really considered the Coke of billiard land or was it just big in Canada? Also, what is considered the biggest cue maker today?

Any idea on what their annual profits would be? I am guess one million or less per annum, but would love some feedback from those in the know.
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Wow, at first I thought you must be 20, but you are only Canadian...

Dufferin was VERY recent into cue production - Brunswick 'owned' the
market, in North America, for a hundred years or so.

It is a long story...

Dale
 
Bavafongoul said:
No one has ever dominated the pool cue market as a "custom cue-maker", speaking as a individual cue-maker since we all know corporations really aren't people.......sorry Mitt.

Anyway, production cue companies are a different matter......they sell to the public on a volume basis and sell dozens of the exact same design cues, maybe hundreds, and the cues only vary in weight or shaft size, and maybe the tips and wrap.So it's much easier to furnish the market with volumes of pool cues and thus earn the lion's share of the market for new cue sales......it's called retail in the business community.

Custom cue-makers aren't on the same par as retail cue-makers which just can't produce cues anywhere near the quality of a custom-made cue but keep in mind that it's the pool player that decides how well the cue plays.....not the cue.
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OK, three basic well known facts that have nothing to do with the question posed.

My guess would be McDermott but just a guess based on what i see on retail sites and in the forums.

Edit: mcdermott was reported to be the largest US maker when the employees bought it in 2009. Sales are said to be a steady $5 million for all of their brands
 
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you have a few companies listed as coming on the scene in the last 20 years who have been around more like 50.

Brunswick were the main cue (and table) company for a very long time.

Only a guess but now, maybe predator and McDermott account for most new sales.

best,
brian kc
 
Kickin' Chicken said:
you have a few companies listed as coming on the scene in the last 20 years who have been around more like 50.

Brunswick were the main cue (and table) company for a very long time.

Only a guess but now, maybe predator and McDermott account for most new sales.

best,
brian kc
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Brian, I think you are spot on.
 
Cue and Case is the parent company of Lucasi and Players, those two are pretty good volume sales.
 
20 Years?

Gosh, I am surprised to see that Joss, Viking, Meucci, and Schon have begun in the last 20 years. I am sure that they learned a lot from studying those Dufferin cues hanging on the walls at the local pool rooms. :cool:

Jimmy V said that everyday each person should think, laugh and have their emotions move to tears. I am happy to say that today I have lived this dream!

None of the mentioned cue manufacturers (now none of them are customs)
Dufferin=1967 (owned by Cue & Case sales since 2005; now made in China, like many other cues)
Joss= 1968
Viking= 1965
Meucci= 1975, but he made cues in 1960's with National Cues in Chi-Town
Schon= 1981
Predator= 1994
Poison= see Predator
Players= 1991
Lucasi= 1991, by Jim Lucas; made in China now

Pertaining to the Questions by OP: Not sure about the dominate cue or the profits. But, couldn't be major or there would be major corporations and management companies involved. I don't know about a single publicly held corporation in cues. But never research, either.

Daren
 
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distributors are not cue makers.

Cue makers are cue makers.

Joss is a cue maker. Lucasi is not a cue maker.

Several factories in the USA and in China and Taiwan make cues for many brands.

There is no dominant brand or maker - with more than 1000 brands and around 700 active makers the market is highly diluted with cues - it's hard to buy a bad cue these days.

Even the cheapest ones are still decent playing cues.

Sears and Walmart might have the highest cue sales though. Simply based on the sheer volume of people who pass through their doors and figuring that .00003% of them buy a cue it probably still dwarfs the entire output of the billiard industry.
 
I think Ernie Gutierrez is the most successful custom cue maker today. Sadly, I think he's going to bow out (at least) in his from 1988 until now mode of about 100 cues a year.
He'll drop 50 of his 50th Anniversary cues somewhere around 15K per, which should be a heck of a swan-song.

Maybe he toss the Silver Gina into the mix, who knows?

Kevin
 
JB Cases said:
distributors are not cue makers.

Cue makers are cue makers.

Joss is a cue maker. Lucasi is not a cue maker.

Several factories in the USA and in China and Taiwan make cues for many brands.

There is no dominant brand or maker - with more than 1000 brands and around 700 active makers the market is highly diluted with cues - it's hard to buy a bad cue these days.

Even the cheapest ones are still decent playing cues.

Sears and Walmart might have the highest cue sales though. Simply based on the sheer volume of people who pass through their doors and figuring that .00003% of them buy a cue it probably still dwarfs the entire output of the billiard industry.
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Completely agree with the above statement ... Predator is not a cue manufacturer either.

They do not, and never have made a cue. They basically market cues made by other manufactures with the Predator name on it.
 
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Agent 99 said:
Completely agree with the above statement ... Predator is not a cue manufacturer either.

They do not, and never have made a cue. They basically market cues made by other manufactures with the Predator name on it.
Click to expand...

With that being said... I have schons, (had scruggs), a couple of customs, Pre 90 Meucci's etc... My new Predator Throne cue hits/plays the best of them all. I think Daz and many other pro's on the list who has played with this generation of predator cues can all agree on this. Some people will 'never accept' that times are changing rapidly in pool equipment manufacturing. To them technology advancement is a threat... it kinda like for them when the earth was still flat... yada yada.

With advancements in CAD technology, different adhesive technology and labor cost consideration, the assembly process business is necessarily going to change (ie like what Ford Motor Co did with car assembly initially) With the ever evolving technologies there are going to be some Gems in the pile of attempts. Not to much unlike our massive pile of kenneling from the previous 100 + years of 'attempts'. The good news NOW though is the word travels real fast about both the successes and the failures which in turn is good for all of us who strive for the next better design. In keeping with the car analogy remember when Kia hit the US market and their products?? Now who's building Chryslers, Toyota's and Jags/?? (computers- phones are in the same boat) Naysayers to tech advancements (evolution) is a short lived argument as the facts bear out over time. Over time imo the business world weeds out to where 'true value' exists in any market. Pick the label that best fits your current needs and go with it... until something better comes along.

Randy
 
Silver-Surfer said:
Once upon a time, there was Coca Cola. Then, there was Pepsi. Competition was born. Years later, RC Cola entered the market. And then the no name brands. Etc.

Similarly, in billiards land, once upon a time there was Dufferin. In the last 20 years though there has been an explosion of new pool cue making companies. Predator, Poison, Joss, Fury, Lucasi, Mecucci, Players, Vikings, Schon, etc.

So I was just wondering, is there still a dominant cue maker? Was Dufferin really considered the Coke of billiard land or was it just big in Canada? Also, what is considered the biggest cue maker today?

Any idea on what their annual profits would be? I am guess one million or less per annum, but would love some feedback from those in the know.
Click to expand...
easy way to find out... just go to WalMart & see who makes the cue they sell & bingo, you have the world's largest cue maker.
 
Kickin' Chicken said:
you have a few companies listed as coming on the scene in the last 20 years who have been around more like 50.

Brunswick were the main cue (and table) company for a very long time.

Only a guess but now, maybe predator and McDermott account for most new sales.

best,
brian kc
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Only in the USA..

Burroghes and Watts and other similar companies have been around since the 19th century..
 
Agent 99 said:
Completely agree with the above statement ... Predator is not a cue manufacturer either.

They do not, and never have made a cue. They basically market cues made by other manufactures with the Predator name on it.
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I don't think this is true.

I also think people don't understand contract manufacturing vs private labeling.

But, carry on.

Freddie
 
McDermott pool cue is also ideal for both the professional players as well as the players who have a strong passion for the game.
Pechauer cues are often used by billiards players because of their exquisite craftsmanship and durability.
 
rhatten said:
With that being said... I have schons, (had scruggs), a couple of customs, Pre 90 Meucci's etc... My new Predator Throne cue hits/plays the best of them all. I think Daz and many other pro's on the list who has played with this generation of predator cues can all agree on this. Some people will 'never accept' that times are changing rapidly in pool equipment manufacturing. To them technology advancement is a threat... it kinda like for them when the earth was still flat... yada yada.

With advancements in CAD technology, different adhesive technology and labor cost consideration, the assembly process business is necessarily going to change (ie like what Ford Motor Co did with car assembly initially) With the ever evolving technologies there are going to be some Gems in the pile of attempts. Not to much unlike our massive pile of kenneling from the previous 100 + years of 'attempts'. The good news NOW though is the word travels real fast about both the successes and the failures which in turn is good for all of us who strive for the next better design. In keeping with the car analogy remember when Kia hit the US market and their products?? Now who's building Chryslers, Toyota's and Jags/?? (computers- phones are in the same boat) Naysayers to tech advancements (evolution) is a short lived argument as the facts bear out over time. Over time imo the business world weeds out to where 'true value' exists in any market. Pick the label that best fits your current needs and go with it... until something better comes along.

Randy
Click to expand...

I guess you missed the memo - YEARS ago it was pretty much documented
by this forum that to say "cue A hits/plays/performs/ etc better than
cue B" was pointless, meaningless, and hopeless.

It is a decision of PERSONAL preference... only.

Dale(who is sure that my dad's cue hits better than your dad's cue)
 
Cornerman said:
I don't think this is true.

I also think people don't understand contract manufacturing vs private labeling.

But, carry on.

Freddie
Click to expand...

Well, I actually know it is true. Tell me where the Predator manufacturing facilities are?

I'll save you some time ... they do not have any.

You are either a manufacturer or you are not. It's that simple.

Has nothing to do with contract manufacturing or private labeling.

The fact that a company has contract or private label associations with manufacturers does not make them a manufacturer.

They could be a design firm or a marketing firm or whatever, but obviously they are not a manufacturer. :smile:
 
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