Biggest kitebrand in the world?

[sq225917]

Every brand wants to offer their customers a product that is 'better' than the competition, even if in some cases, 'better' just means unique to that brand.

As a rider i would certainly favour one QR/CL system, maybe even one for 5th lines, one for c-kites and one for SLE's. The actual requirements of each may not be that different, and offering a tool for each job increases the chance of each of them being a success rather than just one that misses the mark for each purpose.

As a company representative it's a much tougher decision, you wear both hats, staff and rider, though 'personally' in an area such as safety i think brand concerns are outweighed by the requirement for the best possible safety system. Though of course my view may not be universal within Best, never mind within other companies.

Just looking at another company as an example, Ozone, i see how their new CL could easily be modified to use our dual-depower line and stopper set-up, as well as the below bar bypass leash. I haven't tried their CL so i have no idea what the QR is like, but it just shows what may be possible.

Certainly it needs push from both sides, company insiders, but also more importantly riders. You guys pay the bills, we design equipment for you to ride, and that's the same for all companies. make your voice heard.

I'd be more than happy to help put together a product brief that defines what is required from a system in terms of functionality, compatibility and phyical look and feel. We do this as a matter of course at Best, all gear has extensive rider input. it's a long process each time but worthwhile.

[vietkiter]

In order to have an "industry standard" bar/safety system you would have to get all the players(Cab,North Best etc) to the table . This of course would be extremely difficult, yes/no?

Not really... build the best solution and the imitators are sure to follow

By the way, any thoughts on a really good mass production QR system out there? I like to know...

FYI - on the market share thing... most of the comments (whether an observation on the beach or assertion about market share) generally give with each other... not sure if it can be any more precise or whether that makes any different in the scope of this thread

[singlemalt]

Most of the local guys I ride with build their own bars out of the parts and features they like. It really doesn't cost much and you always know your safety system. I like that idea

[Kykeon]

The numbers quoted by reinis look correct, but they are from mid to late 2006. Currently, Best is the largest kite brand in terms of kites sold. Cabrinha is second, but thier market share is declining right now and Best's is still growing. Internally, we estimate that Best has about a 22% market share in terms of new kites sold, while Cabrinha has about 18%. The next closest is North which has about a 12% market share, there are a two with +/- 8%: Naish & Slingshot. Then the rest of the market (40%) is made up of smaller brands of which none has a market share greater than ~3-4% except for maybe Takoon with about 5%.

Very interesting topic to read in retrospective!

The picture may be very different from region to region and everyone of us has some regional bias,
but my impression is that the biggest brands now in order are Cabrinha, North, Slingshot, Naish, Liquid force, Airush, Ozone and then Best... (My guess, could be wrong but I would trust it directionally)

Not sure how accurate the statement/quote from 2008 was at that time, but I bet that right now, Best does not make it to the top 5 and for sure not top 3.

Do share this point of view? What do you believe is the reason of the declined market share?

[Starsky]

They fu%&ed up the waroo. It made them and was their bread and butter.