panchito wrote:Come on ....you can do it better man !!!!! you are comparing Best with a Uk local brand ???? this is a joke.....If you want to impress us why not mention North, Naish or Slingshot......
I have a pretty good estimation of North, Naish and Slingshot's sales, and Best sold more Waroos than those 3 companies combined. Add in the Yargas, Yarga Pros and Nemi Pros, and it was a landslide. The only company that sold close to what Best sold in 2006 was Cabrinha, but based on my info, Best sold about 5400 more Waroos than Cab sold crossbows - and remember, we only started selling the waroo in February, Cab started in August of 2005... Then you have to take into account the inventory that these companies didn't sell...
These 4 companies combined, in my estimation, have about 20,000 kites, some dating back to 2004, sitting in inventory that they can't sell. This is why distributors are selling direct at reduced prices and killing the schools and retailers that support brands other than Best. Meanwhile, Best is still trying to catch up with 2006 demand and we've presold thousands of kites for 2007 already. Our warehouses, both in Spain and Florida are completely bare - the day a shipment comes in, it's re-packaged and sent out the same day - we have no backstock at all and in fact we've just upped our next three months production to full capacity based on the pre-sales we have in hand for 2007.
Best couldn't be in a better position and all of the other used to be "top" brands are seriously distressed with debt issues and huge cash flow problems. Cabrinha may be the exception, but I think they're not as well off as they thought they would be because they based production numbers / demand forecasts on sales before the waroo hit the market, so I think they have a fair bit of leftover 2006 inventory that they can't turn into cash too.
The results of Best's and the Waroo's huge success this year will really start to be apparent next year, as it takes about a year and a half for a full cycle of kite turnover, that's why you still see so many 2005 kites on the water now. And with the 07 Waroo which is greatly improved upon an already amazing kite, and the waroo Pro just being hands down the best kite ever made, I almost feel bad for the other companies, but I don't - but I am psyched for our customers!