S N O W B OA R D B I N D I N G S 2022/23
retail buyer’s guide
RETAIL BUYER’S GUIDE
NIDECKER
No matter a rider’s style, bindings are an essential interface that bring everything to life. No wonder veteran manufacturers and newcomers alike work relentlessly to develop new designs while also refining proven models. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Snowboard Binding 2022/23 Retail Buyer’s Guide.
For every brand, the search for the perfect interface serves as the foundation of its efforts. As Florian Lang at Nitro states: “Designing the ‘ultimate interface’ is the driving story of our binding program.” Despite how challenging life on planet earth can be at the moment, brands continue to offer new designs and refined collections in order to be loyal to the retailers and the end consumers. Whether discussing brick and mortar sales, ecommerce or sales through physical stores with an online portal, most brands believe it’s all about finding the right balance and creating transparent relationships —while still placing a strong focus on retailers with a physical presence. George Kleckner states that “Brick and Mortar is the backbone of Union’s business” and Lucien Vink at Flow asserts that “Brick & Mortar has been and will remain the cornerstone of snowboarding.” Kleckner continues, “We are delivering retailers’ product on time, complete and they are making full margin on it. When we perform, they succeed.” Brands also emphasize the importance of keeping their fingers on the pulse of the industry and local retail. Baptiste Chaussignand at Salomon argues that in the midst of the pandemic, “being close to our local organizations and managing our business with a sweet dose of common sense, is the right way to go.” WHAT’S UP FOLKS? On the battle field, brands are throwing down lots of major moves — from fuelling innovation to controlling all stages of a binding’s production. As an example of what brands have accomplished in these difficult times, Karakoram, a well-established splitboard binding provider, brought its
‘‘getting quality bindings out the door in the face of adversity has forced us to take a lean approach to everything from our ordering processes to packing processes’’ Kyle Hansenkhan, Karakoram first solid binding to the market this winter while also completing the first year in its new factory in North Bend, Washington. Revealing just what it takes these days to run a binding business profitably and sustainably, Karakoram’s marketing director Kyle Hansenkhan comments, “getting quality bindings out the door in the face of adversity has forced us to take a lean approach to everything from our ordering processes to packing processes.” On another note, Kyosuke Ogata notes that winter 22/23, will be “Flux’s turning point. FLUX will return to the origin of manufacturing and propose to pursue the ‘fun of snowboarding’ for Flux 30th anniversary.” Following others brands’ recent binding developments, Nidecker is ready to introduce an all-new automatic binding, the SuperMatic. Lucien Vink reveals, “We’re betting this will make Winter 22/23 a year of major disruption for snowboard bindings moving forward.” Who said brands are keeping a low profile? Talking about keeping a low profile, Bataleon does not! After a successful 23
