Do manufacturers want to sink windsurfing? (wingfoil prices comparison) take distributors out!

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Sideshore said..
Hello
I'm a 30 years wavesailor living in a light wind place...

If there are waves there is usually no need for much wind to wave ride, at least not when having 30 years of wave sailing skills. And there is no need for some ultimate high end gear, any decently shaped wave board would likely do - the waves would give plenty of energy to play with. So why fancy a year old board to begin with? After all it's not racing where you *have to be* faster than some other guy. It's plenty fun just to wave ride and chill on whatever gear. I'd say if there is not enough super cheap used one-year-old wave boards on the used gear market - I mean, the kind of boards that somebody with 30 years of wave sailing experience would really love to own and ride - then it's probably a good thing. Meaning perhaps that people in your area are more environmentally conscious and use their boards for longer than just 1 year. Because, well, a good wave board lasts way way longer than that. And wave sails and booms and masts and extensions last way longer than that. And if there really is such a huge demand for cheap wave boards, and if such boards could really be designed and manufactured at affordable prices, then what's stopping some newcomer to start building such boards in masses, and selling direct all over the world? What do you think is the main obstacle?

And if there isn't good enough waves for wave riding on the lighter wind days, I would suggest considering finding a cheap foil and a foil board. The existing wave sails quiver would be perfect for foiling as well. And foiling does complement wave sailing beautifully. Gives the chance to sail your favourite spots on these days when wave sailing is not really happening. Absolutely no need for heavy and expensive 8 m2 rigs.

For example, a day where a couple of super light weight youngsters were able to make their wave boards move, with big sails, but the waves were not really that interesting. And some real dedicated slalom riders were out with 7+ and 8+ sails, and occasionally moving as well. Still an epic day with a foil.

^^^
IIl take a stab in the dark. In a run of 200 identical boards leaving Cobra , $ US 200 each ??? It wouldn't surprise me if its less. I would love to know how close I am. Id also guess the expensive carbon versions wouldn't be a lot more. Ill just ask Starboard how much they are buying them for ........

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gorgesailor said..
I think you would be surprised how little the retailers & distributors make. very unlikely either party is making more than 35%... & that's before shipping duties etc. In that scenario the board that retails for $2500 from the shop who pays the distributor $1,600, who pays the brand $1,100... who pays Cobra $???....

Let's say your numbers are close enough. The brand gets $1100 for a board that retails at $2500. They have to pay shipping, say $100 (could be more these days). Since the brand has the pay for marketing, team riders, and cover warranties, a 100% markup over their cost is reasonable - so $500 to Cobra, and $500 gross profit for the brand. That's really not much for either party. If you build a board yourself, the material is likely to cost close to $500. Obviously, Cobra gets it in bulk for less, but they have to pay workers, so their profit per board will not be very large.

My guess is that the markup for distributors and shops is even less than in your numbers. Your gross profit margin of 35% is a markup of 50%, which may well be more than retailers and distributors can hope for. Direct marketers like Gun Sails who cut out distributors and shops usually come in about 40% cheaper that brands using traditional channels. They have somewhat higher marketing expenses and perhaps a better margin, although I doubt that. With similar margins and ignoring additional marketing etc. expenses, that would mean that dealer and distributor get about $1000 of the $2500 go to dealers and distributors. Quite different from old rules of thumb that were that prices double with every additional step in the chain.