DAKINE Snow Safety 2024/25 Preview

Retail Buyers Guide: Snow Safety FW24/25 Retail Buyer’s Guide
Brand: Dakine
Interviewee: Rémi Chaussemiche

What are the key trends in the snow safety market?
In term of safety, the biggest market is the Helmet market. Almost every snowboard or ski afficionado wear them nowadays. For winter 24-25 Dakine will launch its helmet line, featuring a good style, high level of protection and competitive price. Protecting your head is important so is protecting your spine. Spine protections are also an important part of the safety market. That is why several years ago we developed the DK Impact Spine Protector, that can be placed in several of our snow packs. Bringing all the tools to face bad situations is also key for safety, ARVA, 2 ways radio sets, shovel, probe etc… So back packs thought and organized to carry all of them ergonomically is also an important part of the market. Another significant part of the safety market is the avalanche backpacks segment. It is getting now very popular for back country riders to wear this type of equipment. Our Poacher R.A.S Series is compatible with the Mammut® Removable Airbag System 3.0 and features Dakine’s exclusive RollTop airbag closure. They also feature a spine DK protector insert and strategic organization for all the tools needed in the back country. Last, for those who doesn’t like to wear backpacks, there is the R.A.S vest compatible with the Mammut® Removable Airbag System 3.0 and features Dakine’s exclusive RollTop closure. It is a bit more niche but is definitely a great tool for safety. And looking at the sales it seems that this segment is definitely growing.

What were your biggest sellers in 2022/23 and why?
In term of safety our best sellers are all the bag featuring the DK Impact Spine Protector, for the simple reason that back protection concerns any skiers or snowboarders not only the backcountry riders. The price is also more affordable than any avalanche airbag system. Then for backcountry specific our Poacher RAS 26 L is our biggest sales of Airbag compatible backpack followed by our 36L version and close behind comes the Poacher RAS vest.

How are you segmenting your snow safety products? In which segment do you expect your biggest growth?
For Safety we work on different product categories. For 24-25 the big launch will be the helmet segment. We come with 2 styles: Charger and Day Tripper, both made with recycled ABS injection molded hard-shell, recycled EPS Foam Liner and recycled PET webbing. Considering this the most mainstream product that is definitely where we expect the biggest growth. Then we have all our Airbag compatible backpacks with the Poacher RAS Series. Available in 18, 26 and 36 liters capacity, we also proposed 32L model with a woman specific shape. We expect a steady growth on this product category, especially on the 26L capacity. As mentioned earlier the Poacher RAS vest is growing and we developed a new one in collaboration with pro free ski Karl Fosvtvedt. Last but not least All of our technical back backs are designed with the best organization possible to carry all of you snow tools: shovel, probe, Avra. They also all features a security whistle on the sternum to allow you to signal yourself in case of accident.

What are the technical highlights of your 2024/25 avalanche backpacks?
Our avalanche backpacks features:

Removable Airbag System 3.0 compatible
100% Recycled high-density nylon materials
Backpanel zippered main access
DK Impact Spine Protector compatible
Vertical snowboard carry
Diagonal or A-frame ski/splitboard carry
Snow tools/shovel pocket with sleeves
Oversized fleece-lined goggle pocket
Snow shedding molded backpanel
Padded hip belt with side pocket
Reverse pull waist belt
Two-way radio handset compatible
Insulated hydration compatible
Rescue whistle on sternum strap

What are the technical highlights of your other avalanche equipment (shovel, probe, transceiver) for 2023/24?
Our Poacher RAS Vests features:

Removable Airbag System 3.0 by Mammut® compatible [sold separately] with RollTop closure
100% recycled high density nylon materialsDiagonal ski carry
Vertical snowboard carry
DK Impact Spine Protector compatible (sold separately)
Two-way radio handset or insulated hydration compatible
front access pockets (incl. beacon anchor)
Snow tool/shovel pocket
Internal web belt and breathable backpanel
Rescue whistle on sternum strap

Do you offer any other snow safety products besides the traditional avalanche ones?
As mentioned above, helmets are our new product category for 24-25. We propose 2 styles the Charger and the Day Tripper. They Features an ABS Hard Shell: The shell, or outer layer of the helmet, is a rigid surface typically made from Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene (ABS) high-impact plastic, and can help protect the head against sharp objects, knocks and abrasions. It also helps spread impact energy over a larger portion of the helmet during a fall. ABS is an opaque thermoplastic and can be heated to their melting point, cooled, and re-heated again without significant degradation and allows them to be easily injection molded and recycled. To complete the shell, the foam of the helmet is injection molded. This is an EPS foam bonded to a separate shell, usually made of high-impact ABS plastic. These helmets offer more durability against everyday knocks and falls compared to in-mold helmets. The inner layer of a helmet is typically made from EPS (Expanded Polystyrene) foam and looks like Styrofoam. It’s designed to absorb impact. The Charger model presents the MIPS Brain Protection system: MULTI-DIRECTIONAL IMPACT PROTECTION SYSTEM. It reduces rotational motion to the brain in the event of a crash.

What are your marketing stories for 2023/24?
We are official bag sponsor of the Natural Selection event which is an amazing platform to promote our Poacher Series which is a big focus of ours. We will support our Poacher RAS Bags and vest thru our team riders series, in particular with Karl Fostvedt for the Poacher RAS Vest. Other team riders’ series are also in the line: Jill Perkins will present the Mission pro featuring a DK Impact Spine Protector and plenty of compartment for your security tools: shovel, 2 ways Radios, security whistle… Jamie Anderson Signature collection has a women shaped Heli pro 20L is also a big focus of the season and is featuring all the compartments for your security tools. And Kai Jones, the new addition to our team series, will have his signature Heli Pro model also featuring the all the compartments for your security tools. B4BC collaboration: We’ve been collaborating with B4BC for many seasons now as breast cancer means a lot to us. It was making sense to make it happen again this season. The B4BC colorway is inspired by the forest and the riding between the trees. Light green pattern on a faded white reminding us of the snow energy. Our last collaboration celebrates the great and legendary surfboard manufacturer Mayhem (Matt Biolos) from Lost Surfboards. Also, actively present in the snow industry, Mayhem collaboration represents the perfect link in between our snow and surf DNA. Let’s bring that surf Punk vibe back into snowboarding

How are you helping retailers to sell this category?
First we try to provide as much content as possible on those products so they can explain them in details. The customer service is also key especially on those very technical products. We have our premium dealers’ program, which consist in allocating a special budget to reinvest in custom marketing action for each shop. That can be materialized as events, window displays, shop in shop, digital marketing activation, etc… if a retailer has played the card of the Poacher and the helmets, we will make sure to help him out displaying and explaining those products on the shop floor. We are also implementing the grass roots program which aim is to create a team of local heroes in collaboration with some selected partners. This program will be key in promoting our helmets.

What’s your situation regarding stock and deliveries?
Deliveries have been an issue during covid time, but fortunately today everything is back to normal. Stock has been a challenging topic for the past 12 to 18 months. We managed to get it at the satisfactory level without acting unreasonably. Indeed, it was important for us to respect the market, our retailers and our prices.

Charger Helmet

MIPS® Brain Protection System, 30% Recycled ABS Injection Molded Hard Shell,100% Recycled EPS Foam Liner, 100% Recycled PET Webbing,100% Polyester Open Cell Padded Lining, Fidlock® Magnetic Strap Buckle, 100% Polyester Removable Padded Ear Pads, Audio System Compatible, Adjustable Fit System Dial, Goggle Strap Holder,4 Active Vents, 7 Passive Vents and CE EN 1077:2007 Class B Certification

CHARGERHELMET-

Poacher RAS 26L

Removable Airbag System 3.0 compatible, 100 %Recycled high-density nylon materials, Backpanel zippered main access, DK Impact Spine Protector compatible, Vertical snowboard carry, Diagonal or A-frame ski/splitboard carry, Snow tools/shovel pocket with sleeves, Oversized fleece-lined goggle pocket, Snow shedding molded backpanel, Padded hip belt with side pocket• Reverse pull waist belt, Two-way radio handset compatible, Insulated hydration compatible and Rescue whistle on sternum strap

POACHER

Team Poacher RAS Vest X Karl Fostvedt

Removable Airbag System 3.0 by Mammut® compatible [sold separately] with RollTop closure, 100% recycled high density nylon materials, Diagonal ski carry, Vertical snowboard carry, DK Impact Spine Protector compatible (sold separately), Two-way radio handset or insulated hydration compatible, front access pockets (incl. beacon anchor), Snow tool/shovel pocket, Internal web belt and breathable back panel, Rescue whistle on sternum strap

TEAM POACHER