BDAZ
Hall of Fame
http://sports.yahoo.com/tennis/gall...86ffd174a-getty-102897034jg026_agassi_v_mce:1
Title says it all. Looks like the Red.
Title says it all. Looks like the Red.
Courier using new Donnay
- Thread starter BDAZ
- Start date
Meriko
Rookie
yea, you're right, I didn't pay enough attention to how big the headsize looked
TennezSport
Hall of Fame
Only the beginning......
There are a load of top players looking at the Donnay frames now. A lot of contracts will be up this year, so a number of players are testing.
Cheers, TennezSport
There are a load of top players looking at the Donnay frames now. A lot of contracts will be up this year, so a number of players are testing.
Cheers, TennezSport
baseline_monster
Professional
Wilson are loosing the legends
vandre
Hall of Fame
i'm sorry i just read the title and something just didn't seem right about jim courier playing with a donnay, but hey, i guess i'm just stuck in the 90s.
anyway, anyone know the odds of agassi going back to donnay? (if you read the book, you'll probably chuckling now!) :twisted:
anyway, anyone know the odds of agassi going back to donnay? (if you read the book, you'll probably chuckling now!) :twisted:
Mdubb23
Hall of Fame
There are a load of top players looking at the Donnay frames now. A lot of contracts will be up this year, so a number of players are testing.
Cheers, TennezSport
Care to elaborate?
featherlight
Professional
it looks like a technifibre but once u look at it again its adonnay
brownbearfalling
Hall of Fame
Any idea who Donnay's top endorser will be?
Maybe my donnay borg pro will soon be worth more.
Maybe my donnay borg pro will soon be worth more.
TennezSport
Hall of Fame
Sorry...........
Sorry, but when we became authorized we signed a confidentiality agreement. But a number of players are testing the frames now and there are some real surprises. All I can say is talks are also in the works with Borg.
Cheers, TennezSport
Sorry, but when we became authorized we signed a confidentiality agreement. But a number of players are testing the frames now and there are some real surprises. All I can say is talks are also in the works with Borg.
Cheers, TennezSport
Larrysümmers
Hall of Fame
are the donnays really close to the old school specs taht the former big names like? or they just handing out the cash?
Don't Let It Bounce
Hall of Fame
Interesting that he's using the 99 when the 94 is already bigger than the frames he's used before.
Wow. Shiny. Do they make safety deposit boxes big enough to hold them? Or do you have to go with armed guards?
Just so you (and others) know, the people making the frames in this current incarnation of Donnay are completely separate from the original company that made your Borg Pros. The name is the same, but for practical purposes, it's a new company that just bought the use of the name. Not sure how that impacts the value of your old frames, but I suspect the two will have no connection.
Tall Bama Guy
New User
What does it matter?? If 2 different designers come up with 2 different Wilson frames, do they have no relationship? A company name is nothing more than writing on the wall. Companies change hands all the time. You might as well say the current Wilson product has no relation to the Wilson brand 20 years ago. Same logic.
I see your point, but have to totally disagree. The two cases are not at all the same. The reason brand names exist at all in any area of business is that they are supposed to be an indicator of certain qualities. Otherwise they'd be unnecessary and no one would need them or use them. Consumers become brand loyal because they expect certain things from specific brands, such as quality or design or service, etc. If a totally new group of people buy the rights to a dead brand's name and then do with it what they please, there is no reason to assume that those new people will follow the same procedures, values, etc. that the consumer counted on in the original brand.
For example, when the Izod company had the rights to produce the Lacoste shirt in certain markets a few decades back, they produced product that was inferior to the original Lacoste stuff, and with a different design sensibility. Eventually, their difference in vision drove the brand into the ground, which is why Lacoste fell out of favor. When the French Lacoste brand was resurrected a few years back, they set out to repair the long term damage that Izod had done to it.
This kind of thing is VERY different from having two different racquet designs (say the Blade series and the 6.1 series at Wilson) or designers at the same racquet company. Yes, those two designers DO have a relationship. They both work for the same management, get their frames made in the same factory, and are subject to the same tolerances and marketing. That overall company still stands for something specific in terms of many areas (materials, tolerances, policies, marketing, etc).
In the case of the "new" Donnay, the racquets are designed and engineered in the US and manufactured in a factory in China. The original Donnay was a Belgian company, and the new company retains none of the original people, policies, vendors or any other connection to the original Donnay in Belgium. The new Donnay is not a continuation of the old one in any way. In fact, the new Donnay is one of three tennis companies under the banner of a large company called Sports Direct that also happens to have the Dunlop and Slazenger brands. So until we learn more about what the new Donnay stands for, there is no reason to think it will be more similar to the old Donnay than it will to, say, Slazenger or Dunlop today, or even any other brand of racquet. Keep in mind, the new Donnay isn't just a matter of an existing company "changing hands" as you refer to it. It's an entirely new company, with entirely new personnel, using entirely new factories in entirely different countries than the original. The only thing that remains is the name.
By contrast, Wilson (which you cited as a comparison) has had continuous operations for almost a century, with day to day management revolving but not ever being replaced totally. Even when their ownership changed on a financial level (they are now owned by a Finnish holding company), their day to day operation did not. They kept the production going, and the company has been the same entity in evolution since its history started. Donnay, by contrast, ceased to exist. And the current incarnation was totally started from scratch. IT IS NOT THE SAME COMPANY. I don't know how to make this clearer. That doesn't mean that the new Donnay isn't great, just that whether it is or isn't will have nothing to do with the old Donnay.
didnt donnay move their manufacturing to china in the mid 90s before it was bought by sports direct in 2005? i think the later generation pro-ones in the 90s and the rusedski models were made in china... and in 2007-8 when tennis warehouse was selling 'donnays', they were the same mold as the old belgian ones. personally i dont see a diff. btwn the 'new' and 'old' donnay companys imo, but thats just me. they really never went away technically except btwn 2005 and 2007 when rusedski stopped using them and tennis warehouse started selling a couple.. apparently the 'new' company still has the same molds of all the old racquets, and the new X series seems even similar to the donnays in the late 90s, known as the "ultimate" series which had 16mm beams. and the "new" donnay is also incorporating the weight system they used in the 80s with the pc12 racquet that had the screw in weight on the butt cap and slide weights on the side. the donnay apollo in the 90s also had butt cap weights. anyway, i think these new racquets carry the brand name donnay as well as they did before in my opinion and are making an effort to keep donnay racquets as "donnay" as possible if that makes sense..
vsbabolat
G.O.A.T.
I will try and clear somethings up. Sports Direct bought Donnay in 1996. Shut down all operations in Couvin, Belgium and moved it to England. Turned Donnay into a low end house brand for Sports Direct. When Rusedski was using Donnay it was Sports Direct House Brand Donnay. Now Sports Direct has Licensed out the name Donnay to this new entity run by Brothers Bobby and Jerry Choe. So Donnay USA is a brand new company. It has no connection to the original that was in Couvin except in name.
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ok now i get it, not only is it not the original, but its a 3rd makeover for donnay? and since the choe bros. are from ny, they are marketing the ny area, at least for now, getting **** involved.. and with courier being a longtime **** client, hes playing/testing them, probably along with other **** clients.. and they are apparently sponsoring mcenroes academy, which is ny as well.. i guess they are selling the racquet as a high-end manhatten brand at first, they know they probably cant compete with wilson, head, prince numbers-wise, so their niching out their own market or something...like somebody else said w/ lacoste - they dont sell as much or are as popular as nike or adidas but they have their own high end type of brand...
AbsolutTennis
Rookie
Extremely risky to mess around with pricing strategies markets like tennis. Nothing compared to Apple or some of the high-end cars mentioned in some posts. If Donnay is selling at a premium strategy (high price X high quality), they must have thought about it and WILL have to release cheaper models if they wanna be competitive (and, obviously, sign some players that sell – other than Wickmayer). This first action is probably targeted to creating buzz and generating funds for further endeavors. Or maybe the company is just a side-business for the owners. Impossible to be competitive and stay in the market with this one and only strategy.
jeffbeckib
New User
I've tested the Red,Black and Blue and all I can say is this, these are truly players frames, I haven't been this impressed with a new frame in a very very long time. Don't be surprised if you see many top players switching to these.
NikeTennisGuy
New User
Jim Courier has been using Donnay for the past 2 monthes
rodrigoamaral
Hall of Fame
saw that last night.. pretty impressive that a lot guys have already made the switch to donnay
stronzzi70
Professional
Friend of mine, also Roman Prokes friend, sent me this e mail
"I played the X Blue one on Saturday and it is incredible! Thin and stable frame, plays like the old Pro Staff but easier to swing. Definitely expensive frame at over $200USD but likely I will be buying one.
WOW........I think all this line from donnay doesn´t work very well.....They are trying to use talk to talk marketing!
"I played the X Blue one on Saturday and it is incredible! Thin and stable frame, plays like the old Pro Staff but easier to swing. Definitely expensive frame at over $200USD but likely I will be buying one.
WOW........I think all this line from donnay doesn´t work very well.....They are trying to use talk to talk marketing!
every7
Hall of Fame
What is the current status of Donnay's endorsement program and product availability? Is anyone still using their frames besides Jim Courier, and are they readily available to anyone?
They had a few current and former touring pros endorsing their equipment.
This is the newest info I have:
Bethany Mattek-Sands: Relationship terminated
Andre Agassi: Relationship terminated (not a strict endoresment but he is no longer using their racks)
Jim Courier: Current endorsement
4-5 years ago it looked like Donnay would make a push but it doesn't seem to be a widely distributed brand a.t.m.
They had a few current and former touring pros endorsing their equipment.
This is the newest info I have:
Bethany Mattek-Sands: Relationship terminated
Andre Agassi: Relationship terminated (not a strict endoresment but he is no longer using their racks)
Jim Courier: Current endorsement
4-5 years ago it looked like Donnay would make a push but it doesn't seem to be a widely distributed brand a.t.m.
TinTin 1
Professional
Donnay is not currently looking for tour players unless it is someone who is dynamic enough to really sell rackets. They will be going for more teaching professional's who will sell frames.
Now if a tour pro wants to use the frame then of course we will supply them . But many players contracts just don't make sense compared to how many frames they really sell.
Now if a tour pro wants to use the frame then of course we will supply them . But many players contracts just don't make sense compared to how many frames they really sell.
