In October, Liquidlogic opened a factory store in Asheville, North Carolina, and launched a new website where customers can order boats directly. “We want to be a self-sustained whitewater company,” says Liqiudlogic’s Shane Benedict. He says the price pressure customers put on dealers is passed along to manufacturers—direct sales allow them to sell boats at a price people will pay without sacrificing quality. “It was a very, very long, hard decision” to pull out of long-standing dealer relationships, Benedict says.
Fluid Kayaks made the same move in April 2013 with a similar goal of creating a more sustainable margin. Director Celliers Kruger says there have been other benefits too: “We’re able to deal with kayakers directly, allowing us to give better service and handle warranties more efficiently,” he says. “It’s certainly the future for us.”
Curious if this trend would spread, we spoke to Pyranha, Wave Sport, Dagger and Jackson, who all said dealer networks are an important part of how they do business and that they have no plans to change their business models.
Crossovers, drones and wicked onesies—read about more hot whitewater trends in the free desktop edition of Rapid Media’s 2015 Paddling Buyer’s Guide.
This article originally appeared in the 2015 Paddling Buyer’s Guide. Read the entire issue on your desktop, Apple or Android device.
