Amplid 2023/24 Splitboarding Preview

Retail Buyers Guide: Splitboarding 2023/24 Retail Buyer‘s Guide
Brand: Amplid
Interviewee: Peter Bauer, CEO

Please provide an overview of how 2023/24 is shaping up for your brand within the splitboard market.
With raising prices for lift passes splitboarding will continue its growth of the past seasons. For that reason we have added a few lengths and also new models to our existing line up.

Everyone has been affected by raw materials and shipping prices increases and transport issues. Have you had to make any significant changes with regards to manufacturing, sourcing, or logistics? Are there any examples you can share of how your business pivoted effectively? Any positive developments with regards to these issues and the changes you’ve made?
Since shipping is not only more expensive, but is also showing very slow running times – especially on the sea freight side – we started our 22/23 production already in October 2021, to be sure retailers get their goods on time.

After two years of heavy carry over in the industry and more of a return to normalcy last season, what’s your overall sales and production/inventory strategy for 23/24?
Approximately 50% of our boards are 2-season models. Amplid has introduced this cycle already prior to Covid. It helps retailers keep the value of their inventory, and avoids a price death match right after x-mas.

Do you anticipate any shifts in the ratio of e-commerce sales vs. brick-and-mortar sales now that most Covid-19 restrictions are gone?
Now after Covid growth on brickand mortar is very positive again.

Boards:

What about new board construction, innovation, or shape trends? Any big advancements in functionality? Skinning, transitions, etc, as well as riding? Any specific effort on ranges for 23/24? If yes, where and why?
All Amplid boards will feature skin holes and/or notches in the tail for easiest skin mounting. Amplid is continuing its seek for the lightest splitboard on the market. Our carbon construction in combination with our patented STRATOSPHERIC TOPSHEET makes Amplid Splitboards the lightest on the market.

Accessoires:

What are your three biggest European markets for splitboard accessories?
D-A-CH and France.

Pricewise, which area of the market do you cater to?
With our new Kodama Split and Freequencer Split we are entering a – for us – new lower price segment of around EUR 640.- for a splitboard.

Best Sellers

KODAMA

Kodama

A surface shifted board, which provides the best float sensation a splitborder can dream of. Bursting with lift-generating surface-area, this stumpy pow-surfing delight floats equally well in raucous steeps and low angle, snow-filled meadows. Fat, but also nimble and playful. Fresh-legged or weary, the KODAMA planes so perfectly in deep snow that you’ll be exploding pillows and clocking-up turns until last lifts without a hint of leg burn.

SURF SHUTTLE

Surf Shuttle

Splitboarders who want a buoyant shape and the quick-turning, rooster-kicking goodness of the Millisurf, yet with a focus more on bombproof construction than shaving off every last milligram, will be pumped to ferry themselves around the backcountry on the new Surf Shuttle. Fish tailed and with the kind of nose a Mandril would be proud of, the Surf Shuttle is built to float effortlessly over powder, chop and crud. Our Knuckle Sandwich construction is reinforced in areas prone to damage when splitboarding, while our homegrown Amplid hardware makes for hassle-free transitions to have you quickly back to getting pitted in the whiteroom. Thanks to our patented STRATOSPHERIC topsheet light also means light while skinning out there.

MILLIGRAM

Milligram

The Milligram proved that splitboard weight can be dramatically reduced without sacrificing charismatic board-feel, all-conditions capability and durability. Beneath its sleek carbon skin is a weightless core, pieced together from ultra-light wood varieties and honeycomb. Impact Pads protect your shred from dings without a weight penalty. Week-long adventures or a quick after-work dash from the trail head, you’ll soon appreciate the weight advantage. In ride mode it’s so flowing and responsive to rider inputs that it’s easy to forget you’re riding a splitboard. Holes in tip and tail make skin fixing even more convenient. The new “gummy wall” used along the center split sets an end to unnerving crunching and enhances the friction of the two board halves when assembled.