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Medium Market Sizing

Ski & Board Wax in Colorado

#Retail #Consumer Goods #Snow Sports
ProHub Comment

This is a straightforward market sizing case requiring candidates to build a bottoms-up model by estimating the addressable market through resident and tourist skier populations. The case emphasizes assumption quality and calculation accuracy, with clear breakdowns for quantity (skis/boards), consumption (wax bars), and pricing mechanics.

Estimated Time 26 minutes
Difficulty Medium
Source Cornell
10 / 100

Your client, a snow sports retail company, is looking to expand their product offerings and is considering entering the ski and snowboard wax market in Colorado, USA.

You have been hired to determine how big the ski wax market is in the state.

Clarifying Information

  1. The aim is to find the annual sales of wax in Colorado as a first step to evaluate whether the market is worth entering.
  2. Your client can both produce and sell the wax. They are interested in market value of total sales in the state.
  3. The wax comes in a bar form (about 2x a bar of soap in size) and is melted onto the base of a ski, scraped flat, and buffed smooth. The wax decreases friction between the ski and snow allowing the rider to glide faster with more control.
  4. The typical ski season is 5 months (150 days) and skier visits can be assumed to be uniformly distributed for this case.
  5. Located in the Rocky Mountains in the United States of America. There are 26 ski resorts and is a popular ski destination.
  6. The same amount of wax is used for one pair of skis or one snowboard. Ski, snowboard, or board can be used interchangeably.
Mock Interview
Interviewer

Your client, a snow sports retail company, is looking to expand their product offerings and is considering entering the ski and snowboard wax market in Colorado, USA. You have been hired to determine how big the ski wax market is in the state.

You

Thanks. Before analyzing, I'd like to clarify a few key questions...

Interviewer

Good question. Let me provide some background information...

You

Based on this, I suggest analyzing from these dimensions...

AI Score
Structure Analysis Communication Business Sense Quantitative
Practicing...
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Practice this case with AI Mock Interview

Candidates must estimate the annual market size for ski/snowboard wax in Colorado by calculating the number of skis/boards needing wax (from both residents and tourists), determining wax consumption frequency and per-unit usage, and applying a retail price to arrive at total market value.

Key Insights:

  1. Market sizing requires segmenting by customer type (residents vs. tourists) with different usage patterns and equipment ownership assumptions
  2. Consumption drivers include frequency of waxing (monthly, 5-month season), amount per application, and total waxings per ski per season
  3. Pricing can be approached multiple ways (comparable products, cost-plus markup, retail margin) with $6 per bar being the reference point
  4. Final market estimate of ~$14.6M demonstrates a viable market opportunity, though success depends on internal capabilities and competitive positioning