Assignment Prompt & Instructions
• Title Page in APA format
• Introduction to the case summarizing the situation
• Questions converted to sub-headings – responses to each question
• Strong conclusion that summarizes the ideas
• APA Style Reference page (as needed)
INSTRUCTIONS
Jackson Ultima Case Study
Highly competitive and professional figure skaters are finding that some of the best figure
skating blades are manufactured in the United States. Ultima Skates LTD, a division of Jackson
Ultima Skates Inc., has become one of the most popular names in the figure skating blade
industry. The company was founded in 1994 by Dan Nicholson and his partner Larry James; it
produced its first skate blade in 1998. To learn more about Jackson Ultima Skates and its
products, visit its website or its Facebook page.
Dan Nicholson is the president of Ultima Skates. He is originally from Blackpool, England.
Nicholson competed nationally and then skated professionally for a number of years. His ice
skating experience convinced him that ice skating blades were not performing as well as he
thought they could; Nicholson believed that skate blades could be made better and yield better
performance.
“After I stopped skating professionally, I was a distributor for one of our competitors. I then
went on to design skates,” says Nicholson. “It was when I started designing skates that I really
decided I could make a better ice skate.”
Ultima Skates began blade production in July of 1998 and launched its first blade at the National
Figure Skating Championships in January 1999. What makes the blades unique is the
manufacturing process. “We use modern machines and laser cutting, whereas our competitors are
still making skates the way they always have, with stamping and making them by hand,” says
Nicholson. “At Ultima Skates, we are really trying to take full advantage of all of the new
technologies. We use a much harder steel, and we computer-profile all of our blades. By using
computers to profile our blades, we are able to make blades that are exactly the same, last longer,
and hold their edges better. Others still profile by hand, which is not very accurate,” he says.
Nicholson points out that these blades are not for everyone. When skaters get into championship
level competition, most wear custom boots and pick specific blades to fit their needs on the ice.
“We make blades for a very specific market of high-level competitors and professionals, who
need more from a skate than you can buy from a store,” says Nicholson. Top skaters, including
Tara Lipinski and three-time World Champion and Olympic silver medalist Elvis Stojko, skate
on Ultima Blades.
The prices for the blades vary but are often upwards of $100, sometimes approaching $500 for
customized blades with graphics. “Skate blades are kind of like cars, in that depending on what
you want, you may pay a lot or a little. We are making the Mercedes Benz of skate blades,”
Nicholson explains.
Ultima Skates is also the only skate manufacturing company that holds a patent on black skate
blades. “We are the only company that can make black skate blades, which is a really sharp-
looking blade,” he says.
Ultima Skates is the only skate blade manufacturer located in the United States; the only other
two manufacturers are located in England. Ultima Skates is in DeKalb, Illinois, sixty miles west
of Chicago. “While DeKalb may not seem like a hotbed of skating activity,” Nicholson says,
“the location has worked out very well. The Chicagoland area is seeing a huge growth in the
terms of skating rinks and skaters. There is at least $100 million worth of new ice and facilities
within one hour of DeKalb.”
The next time you watch figure skating on TV, check to see if the skaters may be skating on
Ultima skate blades manufactured in the United States—you’ll know they are if the skates are
black.
1. What are the organizational attributes of Ultima Skates? Explain the organizational
attributes that could be improved.
2. How has technology aided the development of Ultima Skates? What is the role of
innovation in Ultima Skates future? How would you classify the Jackson Ultima Skates
company?
3. Review the Jackson Ultima Skates website. Does it do an effective job of marketing and
promoting the company and its products? How might you improve the website?
4. What are some tactics and techniques that you could use to market and sell Ultima
Skates?
– a year ago