MP kitesurf brand never took off?As the company expanded, our controlling investor’ priorities shifted and a new management team was hired. I never got involved into the finance or management of the company and had little to say at the time but the dwindling bottom line became the most important thing and the bean counters stepped in, attempting to control not only the business but also the design and development of our products. This was catastrophic and their involvement led to poor quality and failed designs resulting in a collapse of the sales. Although touting his Harvard degree and proclaiming to be the only one qualified enough to manage a company of that size, the new CEO proved to bring about the collapse of Best Kiteboarding from a $21 million a year of sales to less than $4 million last year.
I have no idea about what has really happened in the kitesurf market as a whole, or Best in particular ... but just guessing: Best was able to flourish in the early years as sales expanded, but possibly wasn't profitable, so the "beancounters" stepped in. A pretty typical development arc. The industry matures, competition increases & gradually sales drop off while profitability doesn't improve.
