Naish acquired by Kubus Sports
Naish, the legendary Maui based company of 24 time windsurfing world champion and pioneer of Stand Up Paddling, Kiteboarding, and Wingsurfing Robby Naish, has been acquired by Kubus Sports, a Netherlands based internationally leading sports equipment brands platform. With the acquisition of Naish, a leading brand in water sports equipment, Kubus Sports strengthens its global market position within the fun & water sports industry.
Kubus Sports has acquired Nalu Kai Incorporated, (the Maui based operating company of the Naish brand) as well as its subsidiary Pacific Board Sports, (Naish’ US distribution company.)
Naish and Kubus Sports have a long and respectful history of more than 20 years, whereby Kubus Sports has acted as a value-added distribution partner for Naish’ water sports equipment products in Europe. The sale of Naish to Kubus Sports takes the cooperation to a new level and will boost further growth and investment in the well-known and pioneering water sports equipment brand. Naish and Kubus Sports will integrate their organizations with the aim to further strengthen the product development, product portfolio, sales and operations.
Robby Naish will continue to drive product innovation and will stay on as brand ambassador. Naish’ Hawaiian headquarter will remain the core of the R&D program and heritage of the brand for future marketing. Naish’ sales organization on the US mainland will be further strengthened.
Kubus Sports aims to build a home of premium sports equipment brands: from fun & water sports to winter sports and field hockey. In addition to the legendary Naish brand, the portfolio of +10 premium iconic brands includes amongst others Prolimit and STX, both leading fun & water sports equipment brands distributed in 60+ countries globally. With the acquisition of Naish, Kubus Sports has taken another step in building an internationally leading sports equipment brands platform, following the acquisition of Brabo Hockey and Princess Hockey and introduction of new brands such as Ohana and Brabo Padel. By becoming part of Kubus Sports, Naish can accelerate the broadening of its product portfolio, while further strengthening its global distribution power and presence in all global markets.
Robby Naish comments: “My parents started Naish Hawaii in our Kailua garage in 1979, making and selling custom windsurfing boards that were ridden and cherished all over the world. I expanded the reach of the Naish brand in the mid ‘90’s with the launch of Naish Sails Hawaii windsurfing sails. A quarter century later the Naish brand has grown into a complete board riding company with a full range of products for windsurfing, kitesurfing, Stand Up Paddling, foil surfing, and wing foiling.
The driving force behind the Naish business has always been a love for these sports and an undying passion for riding the wind and waves. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished. But I’ve also come to realize that I have taken the business as far as my passion, knowledge and knowhow will allow. For the Naish brand to meet its full potential requires new direction, new structure, and new energy. This partnership with Kubus Sports will provide that, as well as the resources and infrastructure needed to meet the challenges of a rapidly changing business landscape. I am excited to see Kubus Sports push the Naish brand to the next level. I’m also excited to slow my life down a bit. This acquisition frees me up from the day-to-day operations and stresses and will allow me to re-focus on why I started doing this in the first place: getting out on the water… riding, for the pure fun and enjoyment of it. I look forward to sailing into the future with Kubus Sports and the Naish brand, and continuing to share my passion for water, wind, and waves with people around the globe.”
Alex Cretier, CEO at Kubus Sports, complements: “We at Kubus Sports are extremely excited about this opportunity for both companies. We will further strengthen the distribution and portfolio of the Naish brand. The acquisition at the same time puts us in a position to grow our presence in all main markets around the world. The Naish brand is unique, based on Hawaii and is bearing the name of the living legend in all water disciplines. When you want to identify yourself with one of our water sports, there is one brand that exudes love for the sport and that is Naish. Together with Robby, we continue to work on building our brand.”
“We would like to thank Robby Naish for his confidence in Kubus Sports and we are looking forward to our future endeavors.”
About Naish
Naish was founded in 1979 as one of the first water sports equipment brands by former wind and kite- surf world champion Robby Naish and is headquartered in Maui, Hawaii, the United States. Naish is a well-known and high-end water sport company with a worldwide reputation for quality, innovative product design and attractive branding. Naish’ product portfolio consists of, amongst others, windsurfing boards, sails and rigs, kitesurfing kites and boards, stand up paddle boards and paddles, surfboards, hydrofoils, foiling wings and a full range of related accessories.
www.naish.com
About Kubus Sports
Kubus Sports, founded in 1970 and headquartered in the Netherlands, is an owner and value-added distribution platform for premium quality sports equipment brands, covering various niche sports markets, including STX, Prolimit, Storm, Ohana, Brabo Hockey, Brabo Padel, STX Snow, Atom and Princess Hockey. The company’s all-season product and brand portfolio is focused on fun & water sports (SUP, kiteboarding, windsurfing, wing surfing, foiling, sailing and wakeboarding), field hockey & padel and winter sports markets. Within its niches, Kubus Sports is highly successful in building brands into market leading brands with in-house R&D, design, sales and marketing capabilities, while outsourcing production to carefully selected best-in class suppliers in Asia. On the back of its 50+ year of experience, professionality and strong distribution power, several renowned third-party brands such as Elan, Nitro and Giro have chosen to team up with Kubus Sports as exclusive value-added distributor, providing logistics, distribution and marketing services, as well as brand building support. The company has a strong and loyal network of 1,500+ resellers mainly consisting of online and offline general and specialized retail (sport) platforms primarily in Europe, but also globally.
www.kubus-sports.nl
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