Ski & Board Wax in Colorado

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 15 minutes
Difficulty Medium
Source Cornell
50 / 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.