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Post by yoda on Jul 31, 2021 13:23:33 GMT -5
What do people think about this organization? www.lovb.com/I see that John Tawa is an advisor. Now we know where he's been lately. |
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Post by beba on Jul 31, 2021 16:03:56 GMT -5
Can't tell what it is...
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Post by vergyltantor on Aug 1, 2021 11:46:05 GMT -5
We know they have someone who speaks fluent corp. speak.
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Post by c4ndlelight on Aug 1, 2021 16:16:28 GMT -5
Wow. I read that whole webpage and I'm still not sure if it's a club, network of clubs, or trying to be a pro league with a feeder program. That's a huge comms fail.
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Post by Deleted on Aug 1, 2021 16:21:17 GMT -5
Wow. I read that whole webpage and I'm still not sure if it's a club, network of clubs, or trying to be a pro league with a feeder program. That's a huge comms fail. it looks like they're trying to be a pro league and more (stuff with clubs and college recruiting)? "Karen leads the development of the LOVB professional league to make it the best in the world." "Kristin leads the cultivation of LOVB partnerships, and further supports the development of the LOVB pro league." |
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Post by yoda on Aug 1, 2021 18:35:14 GMT -5
I thought the pro league too but then they have a club recruiting person on the team along with some other club types. It's not a fully clear mission statement. Maybe Tawa will check in and explain sometime.
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Post by beesknees on Aug 1, 2021 18:51:09 GMT -5
It has affiliations with juniors clubs and will try to build a pro league on top of that. Not sure exactly of the structure if they are trying to be like lower European pro leagues, MLS academy programs, or something else.
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Post by rjaege on Aug 1, 2021 23:25:47 GMT -5
It appears to me it is a youth volleyball organization that wants to facilitate training and player development for girls/womens vb. It appears to me that part of their focus will be to provide training and playing opportunities to socially/economically disadvantaged youths. Training will include building individual skills beyond vb to facilitate overall success in life.
At least that was my take. But I dont know.
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Post by Maui’s Hook on Aug 1, 2021 23:26:00 GMT -5
It has affiliations with juniors clubs and will try to build a pro league on top of that. Not sure exactly of the structure if they are trying to be like lower European pro leagues, MLS academy programs, or something else. If by affiliation, you mean ownership over established clubs while keeping their directors and staff intact so nobody knows until they (LOVB) own a majority of the junior girls volleyball market that they can package and sell off, you may be correct. Don’t know if JT could chime in to that extent. But they are definitely on the prowl and some of their acquisitions are notable as are their inquiries. I’m a bigger fan of their name choice as it perfectly describes their intent, yet most will think its a reference to a top league or superior league, a la Premiere League, La Liga, Super League, Bundesliga etc. Their choice, League One Volleyball, who’s working team consists of a bunch of folks from Bain & Co. one of the big 3 consultancy and management firms. Sure seems like a lot of non-vb people coming in from Corporate America to acquire junior vb via a silent hostile takeover that would neuter USAV financially by removing its member clubs upon the implementation of their own league/competition schedule. Similar to some of what JDVA attempted at its inception; albeit an organized move by a bunch of individual clubs as a protest if sorts to the qualifier system that allowed those with more money to attend more qualifiers, whereas this will be all owned by one entity. And what happens when these guys 10x their investment? Sell of course. But the most important question is what happens to the chattel? |
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Post by SayonaraTachikara on Aug 2, 2021 15:11:21 GMT -5
I amy be jumping way ahead here and I hope this is not the case, but with the Bain & Co affiliation they could be modeling off of a recent Bain & Co. aquistition. Varisty Brands. (All Star Cheerleading) Varsity owns literally everything in that industry (+3Billion in annual revs) all the way down to the uniforms and shoes of every High School, Middle School, Club and College program in the nation. They also control every event/competition across the United States and block or buy out any competitor that attempts to get into the space. While they don't own the local clubs, they do control and make money from all of them by basically forcing them to buy all their uniforms and go to all of their competitions (stay to play) which the local clubs pay per athlete ($160 ish per kid + travel) to compete in. This is a way for Varsity to basically take all the profits from the local clubs as the comp fees get passed on to the parents and the clubs basically make nothing.
Right now, it seems there is a ton of growth and money spent in volleyball. With a model like the one I am describing above, this would funnel the money all to one place instead of it being dispersed randomly amoung different vendors and and clubs running their own events and local tournaments. Could be a way to accelerate growth of the sport or... could be a way to control everything and fleece out the local clubs who are working so hard to grow the game. Hope with the people they have on the board, the intentions are in the right place.
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Post by Maui’s Hook on Aug 2, 2021 15:51:39 GMT -5
I amy be jumping way ahead here and I hope this is not the case, but with the Bain & Co affiliation they could be modeling off of a recent Bain & Co. aquistition. Varisty Brands. (All Star Cheerleading) Varsity owns literally everything in that industry (+3Billion in annual revs) all the way down to the uniforms and shoes of every High School, Middle School, Club and College program in the nation. They also control every event/competition across the United States and block or buy out any competitor that attempts to get into the space. While they don't own the local clubs, they do control and make money from all of them by basically forcing them to buy all their uniforms and go to all of their competitions (stay to play) which the local clubs pay per athlete ($160 ish per kid + travel) to compete in. This is a way for Varsity to basically take all the profits from the local clubs as the comp fees get passed on to the parents and the clubs basically make nothing. Right now, it seems there is a ton of growth and money spent in volleyball. With a model like the one I am describing above, this would funnel the money all to one place instead of it being dispersed randomly amoung different vendors and and clubs running their own events and local tournaments. Could be a way to accelerate growth of the sport or... could be a way to control everything and fleece out the local clubs who are working so hard to grow the game. Hope with the people they have on the board, the intentions are in the right place. From League One’s linkedin page... “LOVB (League One Volleyball) is a North American firm based on investment, development, and operational management opportunities that advance sports. LOVB's mission is to change the game. To bring passionate, wild, graceful, and ingenious players together in a community-driven league. It’s to transform the ambitious potential of volleyball players, from cramped-backyard dreamers to pros, into a nationwide network of celebrated champion athletes. LOVB is a uniquely women-led league designed to inspire and enable millions of girls across the country through training, scholarships, and professional development. LOVB comprises a highly experienced and driven team with decades of experience across a breadth of sectors, including sports management, consumer, retail, technology and finance. A better league. A changed game. A new kind of player.” www.linkedin.com/mwlite/company/leagueonevolleyballSounds a lot like what you described in cheer. |
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Post by jackson5vb on Aug 2, 2021 22:07:28 GMT -5
This sounds dangerous.
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Post by Maui’s Hook on Aug 2, 2021 22:46:03 GMT -5
After digging a little further, the founder of League One is on the USA Volleyball Foundation board of directors. www.usavfoundation.org/home/about-us/board-of-directors/peter-hirschmann/From his bio there- “Hirschmann is an experienced business founder with a demonstrated track-record of successfully launching and scaling new businesses, building leadership teams, driving innovation, raising capital and creating strategic partnerships/relationship.” Make of it what you will but seems like someone is getting fleeced. |
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Post by BuckysHeat on Aug 4, 2021 13:09:52 GMT -5
I amy be jumping way ahead here and I hope this is not the case, but with the Bain & Co affiliation they could be modeling off of a recent Bain & Co. aquistition. Varisty Brands. (All Star Cheerleading) Varsity owns literally everything in that industry (+3Billion in annual revs) all the way down to the uniforms and shoes of every High School, Middle School, Club and College program in the nation. They also control every event/competition across the United States and block or buy out any competitor that attempts to get into the space. While they don't own the local clubs, they do control and make money from all of them by basically forcing them to buy all their uniforms and go to all of their competitions (stay to play) which the local clubs pay per athlete ($160 ish per kid + travel) to compete in. This is a way for Varsity to basically take all the profits from the local clubs as the comp fees get passed on to the parents and the clubs basically make nothing. Right now, it seems there is a ton of growth and money spent in volleyball. With a model like the one I am describing above, this would funnel the money all to one place instead of it being dispersed randomly amoung different vendors and and clubs running their own events and local tournaments. Could be a way to accelerate growth of the sport or... could be a way to control everything and fleece out the local clubs who are working so hard to grow the game. Hope with the people they have on the board, the intentions are in the right place. I am not defending Bain by any means, so please do not take it to be that way. Reading about this, you do have everything right but your timing is off in the way it is presented. Varsity (Webb) began creating a monopoly back in 2004 and have succeeded in owning 80% of the apparel market and 90% of all competitions, Varsity also refuses to allow the few competitors to sell their merch at Varsity events. They were bought in 2014 by investors who essentially finished what Webb had started in 2004 but more efficiently as they had large amounts of capital and bought equipment distributors. Bain came along in 2018 and bought Charlesbank out of Varsity. However, I am not a fan of one of the things LOVB states on their website. Under "About", they state "Of major sports, it’s the only one that is women-first (~90% of players are female). But the volleyball market has been almost entirely missed by traditional sports investors, brands and media. Other sports markets have >$20-50B revenue, while volleyball has <$1B." That says a lot to me about where their priorities are. Looking through their list of personnel you see Danielle Scott, Jamie Morrison. But are they just there for window dressing? Nearly every other person listed has vast experience and expertise in the same areas which made Varsity so efficient in controlling everything right up to who is allowed to broadcast cheerleading. The advisor list is much more impressive volleyball wise with Denise Corlett, Dave Shoji and John Tawa among other advisers. If the ultimate goal is foundation of a pro league in the US, that is admirable. I am concerned though given the list of names and the association Bain has with cheerleading. Are the chickens letting the foxes in with open arms? |
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Post by SayonaraTachikara on Aug 4, 2021 14:11:06 GMT -5
I amy be jumping way ahead here and I hope this is not the case, but with the Bain & Co affiliation they could be modeling off of a recent Bain & Co. aquistition. Varisty Brands. (All Star Cheerleading) Varsity owns literally everything in that industry (+3Billion in annual revs) all the way down to the uniforms and shoes of every High School, Middle School, Club and College program in the nation. They also control every event/competition across the United States and block or buy out any competitor that attempts to get into the space. While they don't own the local clubs, they do control and make money from all of them by basically forcing them to buy all their uniforms and go to all of their competitions (stay to play) which the local clubs pay per athlete ($160 ish per kid + travel) to compete in. This is a way for Varsity to basically take all the profits from the local clubs as the comp fees get passed on to the parents and the clubs basically make nothing. Right now, it seems there is a ton of growth and money spent in volleyball. With a model like the one I am describing above, this would funnel the money all to one place instead of it being dispersed randomly amoung different vendors and and clubs running their own events and local tournaments. Could be a way to accelerate growth of the sport or... could be a way to control everything and fleece out the local clubs who are working so hard to grow the game. Hope with the people they have on the board, the intentions are in the right place. I am not defending Bain by any means, so please do not take it to be that way. Reading about this, you do have everything right but your timing is off in the way it is presented. Varsity (Webb) began creating a monopoly back in 2004 and have succeeded in owning 80% of the apparel market and 90% of all competitions, Varsity also refuses to allow the few competitors to sell their merch at Varsity events. They were bought in 2014 by investors who essentially finished what Webb had started in 2004 but more efficiently as they had large amounts of capital and bought equipment distributors. Bain came along in 2018 and bought Charlesbank out of Varsity. However, I am not a fan of one of the things LOVB states on their website. Under "About", they state "Of major sports, it’s the only one that is women-first (~90% of players are female). But the volleyball market has been almost entirely missed by traditional sports investors, brands and media. Other sports markets have >$20-50B revenue, while volleyball has <$1B." That says a lot to me about where their priorities are. Looking through their list of personnel you see Danielle Scott, Jamie Morrison. But are they just there for window dressing? Nearly every other person listed has vast experience and expertise in the same areas which made Varsity so efficient in controlling everything right up to who is allowed to broadcast cheerleading. The advisor list is much more impressive volleyball wise with Denise Corlett, Dave Shoji and John Tawa among other advisers. If the ultimate goal is foundation of a pro league in the US, that is admirable. I am concerned though given the list of names and the association Bain has with cheerleading. Are the chickens letting the foxes in with open arms? You are exactly right. Bain did basically step into an already existing monopoly which is very different than the current VB revenue setup. One of the things that made me make the comparision to the Varsity model is reading the exact quote that you note above. The only logical way to raise funds for a Pro League is to essentially reverse the existing volleyball revenue models and harness or funnel revenues from a feeder system (Clubs & HS VB). The only way to do that is to reach out to the clubs, make them think they are going to be part of the action (kickbacks), then systematically through aquisition, buy out the essentials needed for that sport. (clubs and tournaments, uniforms, backpacks, shoes, balls, sport courts, etc..). This is exactly what Varsity did in cheer and then to your point, blocked everyone from competing with them at their own events. They own everything related to cheer including apparel, events, they even own Herff Jones and make money off the rings and pictures taken at the events. (Streaming as well) If something like this were to happen, I doubt if it could be that extreme of a model and it would not happen overnight, but it will be easy to see it develop. Could be good for the growth of the game or a nightmare. I guess time will tell. |
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