Shearwater Adventures Ltd.

tho75109_case20_C232-C239.indd C-232 12/18/18 10:53 AM

A.J. Strickland

The University of Alabama

Ross N. Faires

MBA Student, The University of Alabama

In early 2018, Allen Roberts was sitting in his office

in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, contemplating his

company’s future in conducting its adventure activ-

ities. Robert Mugabe had finally been overthrown,

tourism in Zimbabwe was up 5 percent over the pre-

vious year, and hyperinflation had come to an end.

However, competition was quickly increasing and the

Zimbabwean government and economy was entering

an unknown era.

As Allen Roberts began developing his strategy

and business plan for Shearwater Adventures and its

350 employees, he wondered what the future held for

the adventure industry in Victoria Falls.

ALLEN ROBERTS

Allen Roberts was educated in the United Kingdom

at Nottingham University, where he majored in quan-

tity surveying. This special course required classes in

architecture and detailed cost estimation. However,

like many students in their 20s, he was not really

interested in going to work, so he followed his pas-

sion of kayaking. He became a competitive kayaker,

entering numerous tournaments all over the world.

In 1991, Roberts realized he could not make a career

of kayaking and acted on a friend’s suggestion to

go to Victoria Falls and try his luck at rafting the

Zambezi River.

As soon as Roberts made his first trip, he was

hooked on the Zambezi, and thus a new passion was

born. The Zambezi was generally regarded as offering

the best whitewater rafting in the world. As Roberts

said, “The rapids are huge, the water is warm, the

weather is great, and the scenery is stunning.”

After working in Africa for a while, Roberts

traveled to the United States and tried his luck at

canoeing and whitewater rafting in West Virginia

and then Pennsylvania. During his time in the States,

Roberts also gained valuable experience making vid-

eos of rafting trips and selling the copies to partici-

pants. Soon, however, he decided to return to Africa

and Victoria Falls for good.

A friend of Robert’s named Mike Davis had, in

the previous rafting season, started making videos

of the Zambezi River rafting trips and had secured

the rights to do so for the next season. Knowing that

Roberts had been making videos in the United States,

Davis approached Roberts about working together,

and their business soon expanded to produce both

videos and photos. The profit was so tremendous on

the videos and pictures that Davis and Roberts were

making more money than the owners of the rafts.

This did not go unnoticed by the raft operators.

Roberts and Davis were having the time of their

lives. As single young men, they were making good

money with few expenses. Roberts says that his only

necessities were food, beer, and the occasional date.

The long term was not in his thoughts because he

was having too much fun.

In 1995, the manager of Shearwater Adventures

approached Mike Davis and asked if he would like to

form a partnership. Davis agreed immediately. The

Shearwater owners soon realized that Roberts and

Davis were first-rate entrepreneurs, and the two were

put in charge of all Shearwater operations. Davis

was in charge of running the rafting adventures, and

Roberts became a partner in the video and photo sec-

tion, which at the time was the most profitable area.

Roberts was 25 years old.

CASE 20

Final PDF to printer

tho75109_case20_C232-C239.indd C-233 12/18/18 10:53 AM

CASE 20 Shearwater Adventures Ltd. C-233

Business was good for Shearwater at that time.

Tourist arrivals to Victoria Falls were growing rapidly.

However, in 2003, Davis decided to leave the group

to pursue new ventures. Roberts not only stayed on

at Shearwater, but also assumed the role of CEO,

taking a personal 25 percent stake in the company.

At this time Shearwater was already the dominant

adventure activity operator at Victoria Falls and the

best-known adventure tour operator in all of Africa.

THE ADVENTURE SPORTS

INDUSTRY

The extreme and adventure sports industry gener–

ated $263 billion annually, and had been growing at

a rate of 65 percent a year since 2009. The average

traveler per trip spending (excluding travel and gear

expenses) was just shy of $1,000. Beginning in the

mid-2010s, adventure travel had become mainstream

as vacationers looked for exciting ways to enjoy time

away from their jobs.

Most companies defined extreme and adventure

sports as those activities requiring special equipment

attract college-age travelers; 57 percent of travelers

were male, and 48 percent were single.

It was no surprise that young adults were the most

common adventure travelers. Those were the years

when everyday life became more and more hectic and

disposable income increased. With a societal push to

stay young at heart and the realization that money

can’t always buy happiness, adults were looking for

ways to break free from the sometimes mundane life of

office work and the acquisition of possession. In addi–

tion to a new mindset, adults were also influenced by

many other factors. An increased focus on healthy life–

styles was prompting consumers to choose vacations

that also provided a means of exercise.

Entertainment media were also helping the cause

of extreme and adventure sports. ESPN’s X Games

were gaining popularity, and new adventure sports

including skateboarding, surfing, and sport climb-

ing were being added to the 2020 Olympic Games in

Tokyo. It was also much easier than ever before for

people to travel long distances for adventures, mak–

ing seemingly remote locations such as the Zambezi

River not so remote after all. Outdoor adventure

companies’ knowledge base and the quality of their

Final PDF to printer

tho75109_case20_C232-C239.indd C-234 12/18/18 10:53 AM

tho75109_case20_C232-C239.indd C-235 12/18/18 10:53 AM

tho75109_case20_C232-C239.indd C-236 12/18/18 10:53 AM

tho75109_case20_C232-C239.indd C-237 12/18/18 10:53 AM

tho75109_case20_C232-C239.indd C-238 12/18/18 10:53 AM

tho75109_case20_C232-C239.indd C-239 12/18/18 10:53 AM