well i guess that is what happens to the brand who does not try to innovate. even relatively low prices don't help.
besides, they don't have big strong group of patriotically minded customers, i mean they are not exactly american, french, german or british brand.
in my opinion 95% of kite industry don't make nothing new in essence. it is not exactly an innovation when brand "N" makes a phone call to Teijin Fiber Ltd and asks if they have slightly different, may be a tiny bit liter or with somehow different texture type of polyester sail cloth.
industry is close to hitting the wall. they squeezed pretty much everything from the different profiles and shapes of the kites. number of the struts, graphics, holes in the wingtips, different constructions of quick releases or swivels are all just marketing crap meant for attracting idiots' attention.
so we are talking not so much about health, but more like about sickness. it just doesn't look like they trying hard, more like the industry is taking it for granted.
I owned switch kites before, i had to lose them. despite attractive price policy they are designed for too narrow conditions and for specific target customers, and i didn't fit in that group.
i don't mind buying new kites for full price, in fact three out of my current four kites are bought new, two of them with the next year number.
but it really makes me sick to pay extra 1000 to 1500 bucks for colorful tropical advertizing videos, payed articles in kite magazines and especially non-stop forums pimping just to be able to purchase may be 500$ worth of basically outdated design sporting good made of most abundant, cheap and sadly perishable polyester fiber.