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2011 Gear

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tautologies
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Re: 2011 Gear

Postby tautologies » Tue Jun 01, 2010 8:27 pm

windmaker wrote:Any gear released in 2010 is 2010 how can it be otherwise ?. Naming it 2011 is misleading and just marketing as manufacturers fight to be the first to release the latest gear ("Our kites are newer than yours").

The fact is that when 2011 really comes around there equipment will be the oldest and less developped on the market as the true 2011 gear will be released later... in 2011.

Are we really having this nonsensical discussion again?

Just look at it as another iteration of kites..it follows the previous kite. Those are the new ones. Does it really matter if they call it 2011? Or 2134 for that matter? Why do you care so much?

You really have to explain your claim that it is "manufacturers fight to be first to release the latest gear". They have completely separate RD processes separate designers etc.. I can understand that if they all used the same designers..like if 4 or 5 companies use Momi or whatever the guys name is..then what you say would matter. If not it simply does not make sense. Kites are released all year round.

The advantage of adding a number / year edition to a kite is that as a consumer you can easily identify changes to a design, so that if you test your buddy's kite let us say the switchblade, and you like it..you go somewhere else to buy it...you get a Switchblade but when you unpack it the kite flies completely different from the one you tested. If you test a 2010 Switchblade, now you can ask for that exact kite...and it should be the kite you are asking for. This is incredibly important in the second hand market too IMO.

I simply cannot understand why this causes people to be up in arms year after year.

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Re: 2011 Gear

Postby skyte » Tue Jun 01, 2010 8:41 pm

I think this comes from the windsurfing industry... brands were given a manufacturing slot in the factories so they would have to get all the R&D done in time for their manufacturing slot. If they missed the slot they'd have less production capacity. New brands, not wanting to wait, would launch earlier by taking an earlier slot and be the first to launch the next season's kit. Eventually, the launches got earlier and earlier until they were in the wrong year altogether. (I don't know if this is completely true, it's just a hunch) This risky strategy also means that if you have to manufacture the bulk of your demand in a small space of time, any problems end up in all your production and are harder to rectify. This is largely due to the factories not being able to match production capacity of many products to the seasonal demand and due to the long leadtimes involved in the supply chain. It also means that you could lose your slot if a bigger, higher priority customer takes your slot and you get delayed.

I think some customers are now wise to the [200X+1] being launched in [200X] but it still keeps some retailers happy knowing that they have the latest kit "early"

Trying to answer whether its this year's or next year's is a bit chicken and egg really.

I think we really need to move away from this and give the market new kites, when they're ready, at the start of the seasons and via capable supply chain and manufacturing processes. that's a good challenge for every brand out there and its what the market deserves.

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Re: 2011 Gear

Postby windmaker » Wed Jun 02, 2010 5:30 am

tautologies wrote:
windmaker wrote:Any gear released in 2010 is 2010 how can it be otherwise ?. Naming it 2011 is misleading and just marketing as manufacturers fight to be the first to release the latest gear ("Our kites are newer than yours").

The fact is that when 2011 really comes around there equipment will be the oldest and less developped on the market as the true 2011 gear will be released later... in 2011.

Are we really having this nonsensical discussion again?

Just look at it as another iteration of kites..it follows the previous kite. Those are the new ones. Does it really matter if they call it 2011? Or 2134 for that matter? Why do you care so much?

You really have to explain your claim that it is "manufacturers fight to be first to release the latest gear". They have completely separate RD processes separate designers etc.. I can understand that if they all used the same designers..like if 4 or 5 companies use Momi or whatever the guys name is..then what you say would matter. If not it simply does not make sense. Kites are released all year round.

The advantage of adding a number / year edition to a kite is that as a consumer you can easily identify changes to a design, so that if you test your buddy's kite let us say the switchblade, and you like it..you go somewhere else to buy it...you get a Switchblade but when you unpack it the kite flies completely different from the one you tested. If you test a 2010 Switchblade, now you can ask for that exact kite...and it should be the kite you are asking for. This is incredibly important in the second hand market too IMO.

I simply cannot understand why this causes people to be up in arms year after year.
I personally don't like changing kites as I like getting used to my gear but as a school and retailer when someone comes to me in mid August to buy a kite he is more likely to choose the newly released "next year kite" rather than the 8 month old "this year" kite . I personally feel this is misleading and there are many other honest ways for making differences between consecutive versions of a model carrying the same name.

The question is why release a "2011" model in mid 2010 and not wait for 2011 ? Why not call it Mark 2, or Mark 3 for instance ?

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Re: 2011 Gear

Postby tautologies » Wed Jun 02, 2010 5:50 am

windmaker wrote: I personally don't like changing kites as I like getting used to my gear but as a school and retailer when someone comes to me in mid August to buy a kite he is more likely to choose the newly released "next year kite" rather than the 8 month old "this year" kite . I personally feel this is misleading and there are many other honest ways for making differences between consecutive versions of a model carrying the same name.
..but that is not really an argument against releasing new kites tho? I am not sure, but you are just arguing that people will buy the newest kite right? It makes sense. I don't think that would be very different if the kites were called Helix III or Swichblade 7. One thing from a consumer standpoint though is that if the kite is called Helix 2010 I as a customer knows you are not selling me an "old" kite.
The question is why release a "2011" model in mid 2010 and not wait for 2011 ? Why not call it Mark 2, or Mark 3 for instance ?
That is pretty much how I view it anyways. The 2011 is 2010 + 1. The only argument I can think of would be that by adding the year you know that the shop isn't trying to sell you a 2 year old kite. I don't really think that is a problem though.

When all that is said, I do not think the companies themselves are putting a lot of 2010 or 2011 on their gear, I think it is WE the consumers that add that part. I cannot remember that my kite says 2010 anywhere...


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