Thierry Kunz Talks Nidecker Rebranding

Nidecker is rebranding: a revised logo and a new tagline, to keep the brand fresh & in line with the brand’s position on the global stage. We caught up with their Brand Lead, Thierry Kunz, to learn the details.

Nidecker is one of the oldest and most well known names in the industry… why the rebranding?
Nidecker is a company which has had lots of rebrands since our foundation in 1887. Each rebrand has happened at the same time as a significant change in the strategy of the company. In 2015, we were in a situation where the Group, thanks to brands like Jones, YES., and Now, was in a phase of growth, and the Nidecker brand was left on the sidelines somewhat. That’s the reason I returned to the brand – to reorientate the brand and put it back on the path to success. Back then, to mark this new era, we changed the Nidecker logo and brought in a tagline, Swiss Crafted Riding Devices Since 1887, which helped people define us within the industry.

Which product over the last 5 years are you most proud of and why?
After seven years of rebuilding and of development, we’ve made so many changes that it’s hard to narrow it down to just one product, but I’d say all of the products on the list below we are extremely proud of:

• The Supermatic – easily the biggest revolution in snowboarding for decades,
• The new boot collection launched by Maurizio Molin and Julien Lefrançois,
• The Biomimicry board line which draws inspiration from the study of the animal kingdom,
• The Classics Series which won Whitelines’ prestigious Graphic of the Year in 2019,
• The Snow.Surf series of course…but that’s a personal one for me.

Now the logo has been refreshed. Why?
Again, the idea of this change – even if the new version isn’t a massive departure from what we had before – is to mark a new era. And to establish a clear brand identity, as we start to shake things up.

What did you change and why?
We made the logo more compact and above all, more bold, because the brand has developed a lot of strength since the relaunch. We also took off the previous tagline “Swiss Riding Devices Since 1887“  and replaced it with the word “SNOWBOARDS” because that shows that our focus is 100% snowboard – and we removed the Swiss verbiage to show that our brand is more global, which is already the case – our biggest markets are the USA and Japan, who are at one and two, even ahead of our European territories.

What was the biggest single challenge in the change?
The biggest challenge was obviously to make a huge update on the products and graphics, but also in the marketing – even if we know that the previous logo will still be out there on some materials, we’ve put in place a two-year transition to allow us to retain mindshare and evolve slowly.

Who were the team behind the changes?
The brand team has gotten bigger and bigger – just as we grow every day, our team does so too. The closest involved were the brand team of course, but the family – Henry, Xavier, and Cedric Nidecker – are 100% behind this project and stoked that their family name is getting the recognition it deserves. We’re not just growing because we’re 100% focused on snowboarding, we’re growing because we’re a brand which has been in the same family for 135 years – and that’s so, so cool…such a rarity today.

Please give us an overview of your current line, including best selling products.
For Winter 23/24 we’ve consolidated our offer around Supermatic but also introduced new lace-up boots and new boards like the Gamma and Gamma APX (another first for snowboarding – an asym twin with 3D nose and tail shaping in the Biomimicry Series).

Where do you see the most opportunity for growth in the coming years?
We believe in diversity and think that Nidecker has a real role to play in creating new snowboarders young and old, or getting former snowboarders back into riding. That’s why we created products which bring immediate fun and simplify the access to snowboarding so everyone can find their niche, whether it’s All Mountain lovers, Snow Surfers or even carvers or freestylers.

The brand’s new message: