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Burton Snowboards is the world's leading manufacturer of snowboards. Founded by Jake Burton Carpenter in 1977, the company specializes in a product line aimed at snowboarders: snowboards, bindings, boots, outerwear, and accessories.
The company's flagship store is in Burlington, Vermont. Snowboards are manufactured "10 miles (16 km) down the road."Aside from selling goods under its own brand name, Burton stores sell several sub-brands which focus on specific market niches. These sub-brands include Anon Optics (snowboard goggles and eyewear); RED (helmets and body armor), and others that manufacture outerwear and footwear. In 2005, Four Star Distribution sold four of its snowboard brands to Burton, including Forum Snowboarding which designs hardgoods and softgoods, outerwear and streetwear. Burton, a privately-owned company, also owns a surfing distributor.
In February 2008, Burton acquired DNA Distribution, which includes the skateboard manufacturer Alien Workshop, and two other companies.
In 2008, the winter sports industry had grown to $487 million. Burton had 40-70% of these sales, depending on the category.
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