Riot Receives Accolades
Posted on Wednesday, September 3 2003
Voodoo Technology, parent corporation of Riot Kayaks, has made some changes over the last year. While gearing up for changes, Riot was honored by Outside]i with Gear of the Year for whitewater kayaks. This recognition followed closely after Riot received the product innovation award from the Canadian Plastic Industry Association. In a move to continue this success, the company has expanded its production capabilities and is bringing new technologies to the table to produce touring kayaks. Riot is also revamping its marketing strategy to focus on its reputation for innovation rather than its one-time, bad-boy image.
On the production side, Riot executives are launching two new boat lines to take advantage of the recognition they have received for kayak innovations. Dealers who carry Riot whitewater boats will now be able to carry Riot Control, a line of six recreational kayaks, and Riot Adventure, a line of 11 touring kayaks. With the addition of Riot Control and Riot Adventure, the Riot brand now has 33 boats, up from 11 last year. The Riot brand will continue to be managed by parent company Voodoo Technology, as will sister companies Sun and Azul, which are sold in non-specialty outlets. Guy Fortin, Voodoo’s executive vice president of marketing, says Riot Control and Adventure give a dealer already carrying whitewater boats the chance to sell Riot’s innovation throughout three paddling disciplines. “So they have something really special to sell,” he says. “All 33 models are available for shipment to dealer Sept. 1.”
On the commercial side, Fortin says the company's aggressive and sometimes controversial marketing, such as bringing strippers into its OR booth, was not always appreciated by more traditional retailers. “The former strategy targeted to Riot core whitewater consumers required a strong message to differentiate itself from the pack,” he says. “The very successful effect of that consumer campaign backfired in some segments of the trade.” Now the company will be focusing on its innovations for marketing strategies, while keeping the core of whitewater at the foundation of Riot.
Curry Launches Astral Buoyancy
Posted on Wednesday, September 3 2003
When Philip Curry sold Lotus Designs to Patagonia, part of the agreement was that he would have to abide by a three-year no compete clause. So he moved to Idaho from North Carolina to boat and think about what he would do at the end of those three years. That period ended in April, and he launched Astral Buoyancy, a new manufacturer of lifejackets. “Three years went by and Patagonia hadn’t followed his ideas and direction, which was to get away from PVC,” says cohort Mark Mickey.
So with that, Curry, 31, floated the business with an eye toward simple-yet-functional lifejackets that do not use PVC foam for flotation. PVC cannot be recycled and it produces harmful chlorofluorocarbons into the environment during production. Mickey says he and Curry have done research that proves there are other materials out there that provide flotation while protecting the environment. One such material is a tree fiber in India—known as kapok--that can be harvested without harming the trees, Mickey says, adding that the material is biodegradable. “The whole purpose is to get out there, so you shouldn’t be destroying it at the same time,” Mickey says.
For 2004, the company will offer nine models of PFDs, from a techy, advanced whitewater model called the Aquavest to a touring vest called the Tempo, which utilizes hand-warmers in a front pocket. Astral Buoyancy currently has four employees and a few part-timers as needed. Asheville, N.C.’s Stahlsac, makers of adventure and marine luggage, does contract sewing and temporarily housed the Astral operations before it moved to nearby Woodfin. Mickey says he expects the company to grow and to make a splash at OR and to influence the eco-friendly future of the outdoor industry. “Philip has been a great influence in the whitewater industry, and PFDs is what he knows best,” Mickey says. “We’re going to try to push the industry to live up to new environmental standards.” Info: (828) 255-2638, www.astralbuoyancy.com.
Sevylor Sold to National Ventures
Posted on Wednesday, September 3 2003
Any time a company is sold to a new owner, there’s always the possibility that staffing changes will sweep through the business. But that wasn’t the case when Sevylor was sold in June by parent company Zodiac SA to National Ventures. “It won’t affect our operation here in the United States and Canada,” says President and CEO Conny Klimenko. “Our entire management team, all our reps, and all our employees will remain the same.”
Sevylor will continue to concentrate on designing, developing, manufacturing and supplying inflatable products for the leisure industry in supported and unsupported PVC. The new parent company, National Ventures, has been the principal investor in Sevylor since 1973. “I personally am looking forward to new challenges, opportunities, and new freedom a privately held corporation will offer us,” Klimenko adds. “Sevylor will be vertically integrated and we again will have a PVC factory as a parent.”
Outdoor Business Flexes Political Muscle
Posted on Wednesday, September 3 2003
By flexing its political muscle in May, the outdoor industry has helped further the goals of wilderness protection in Utah, where conservationists and local lawmakers have battled for more than 30 years over how to manage vast tracts of pristine lands and waterways.
After Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt sealed a back-room deal with Interior Secretary Gale Norton to remove 6 million acres from wilderness consideration, Utah business leaders and the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) threatened to remove the Outdoor Retailer Market and Trade Show from Salt Lake City. In a May 9 letter addressed to Leavitt, OIA President Frank Hugelmeyer states, “As far as we’re concerned, anyone who deserves the largest outdoor tradeshow in the world needs to not only be a public lands steward, but also a public lands champion.”
The summer and winter OR tradeshows contribute $24 million annually to Utah’s economy. So with the threat of yanking OR from Utah, business leaders hit the governor where it counts--in the pocketbook--and he responded. “The governor is talking wilderness,” says Riley Cutler, a partner of the paddling and outdoor shop Wasatch Touring--one of the businesses involved in the discussions. “We’re trying to get him to find a way to re-protect the areas that were taken out of protection picture. He can get people to do that.”
In the Leavitt-Norton deal, Muddy Creek, a popular river for runoff-happy boaters in central Utah’s San Rafael Swell, and portions surrounding the San Juan River were removed from wilderness consideration by Leavitt and Norton. Now, Leavitt has told industry leaders that he will work with them to determine how lands in Utah will be protected. “Because his office wants to work with us, it seems to me that things are going well because there’s talk of compromise,” Cutler says. “We’re moving in the right direction. It’s too bad that there had to be the threats and that this acreage became unprotected, but if you ultimately get wilderness areas protected then maybe it’s a good thing.”
Cutler says using business to promote wilderness can speed up the protection process. “We don’t want to put this off until the governor’s next election,” he says. “We’re in the business of outdoor recreation. And the reason the show is in Salt Lake is because people like to come here and recreate and play as well as go to the show. That’s why the show is not in Las Vegas.”
The OR show is contracted and confirmed to be held in Salt Lake City through summer 2004. But Peter Devin, group show director, noted in a letter sent this summer to all OR members, customers and exhibitors that the actions by Leavitt have caused his company to pause to consider other potential host cities. “If the industry and the OIA recommend to us that we should look at other locations or venues for the shows to be held, then we will absolutely consider that recommendation,” Devin wrote. “It is important to note, however, that no decision about moving the show will be made without exhaustive research and planning with our entire customer base, the OIA, and the infrastructure and make-up of any future potential host city and state.”