Naish 2023 Wing Preview

Retail Buyers Guide: Wing 2023 Retail Buyer‘s Guide
Brand: Naish
Interviewee: Scott Trdon, Brand Manager

What are the main trends in wing foiling, in terms of riding styles?
It’s a really exciting time in Wing Foiling as were still seeing growth in all aspects of WING FOILING. From flat water locations across the globe to down wind swell surfing to wing foilers enjoying the surf in wave rich locations all three trends are flourishing.

What customer profile is driving more product demand at the moment (newcomers/experienced, kite/wind riders/exclusive wingfoilers)?
Being such a new sport I think it’s a healthy mix of Newcomers, experienced and exclusive wingfoilers driving the market. Again, it’s largely due to wingfoiling being such a new sport.

In what market section do you expect the biggest growth?
We’re seeing now and in the near future seeing a healthy cycle of our business coming from experienced wingfoilers as ther into their second and third purchases as the designs and technology progress.They want to have the latest Wings, Foils and Boards to push their progression. Additionally we see the the beginner market remaining healthy as well.

How popular are and will become land variants of the sport?
I think the interest for land versions of winging will always be there but mothing very significant from a business standpoint. It’s been pretty cool to see people winging on so many different platforms from skateboards, ice skates, ski’s etc.

Which of your wings are selling well and why?
Our current SA26 Wingsurfer and the Matador have had great sellthrough at retail. But we just recently released our all our all new forth generation wing the MK4 which is looking like it’s going to be our best selling wing to date. It combines the perfect balance of low-end power, rigidity, and twist for optimum sheet-in-and-go power and speed. An increased diameter leading edge and strut adds to the MK4’s stiffness, resulting in great stability and power. For those who are in search of the best combo of get-up-and-go power, a wide wind range, insane top speed, and unmatched jumping ability, the Wing-Surfer MK4 is the wing you can’t live without.

How many wing designs will you offer this year?
3 different designs.The Matador, Matador LT and the MK4. The Matador is compact, light, and powerful. It is designed for wing foilers that want to use the smallest wing possible for the prevailing wind conditions, with a focus on riding swells and waves. With it’s deeper draft and larger diameter leading edge power and ease of maneuvering in the surf and ocean swells. For an even lighter overall weight, the Matador LT comes with a window-free canopy and with no removable Y-Handles. Strut shape and diameter have been modified to provide even tighter canopy tension and an additional boost in overall power. Where the Matador has five individual strut handles, two in the front and three in the back, the LT has only three – wide ergonomic grab handles.3rd is the MK4 are around most popular one wing does all design. It’s by far the best combo of get-up-and-go power, a wide wind range, insane top speed, and unmatched jumping ability, the Wing-Surfer MK4 is the wing you can’t live without.

What are the main trends in Wing construction, materials and design that the industry is progressing towards?
Wing construction will continue to more refined and inheirit more of it’s own construction and design parameters as much of it has come from kite and sail world of design. In regard to materials were already seeing exciting new materials enter the market place and into the future there will only be more light weight hi performance options. If the consumer is willing to pay for it !

What materials and construction techniques are you using this year? Will you launch any innovations for 2023?
Were continueing to use the same Dacron we‘ve been using in our leading edges as well as the same Poly in our canopy’s we use in our kites.

Any standout graphics, artwork collaborations or pro models in your current collection?
Not in our wings but are doing a line of limited edition “LE” graphics in Hover Carbon Ultra Series of boards.

Have you implemented any new sustainable practices in your production and shipping processes?
We haven’t implemented any sustainable practices in our production but have greatly reduced the amount of packaging and untilized as many recylable materials as possible.

How are you supporting retailers to sell this category?
Instore sales promotions, volume pre order sales discounts, digital and print advertising, daily update of all our social media feeds.

Have you suffered any stock or delivery issues due to supply chain bottlenecks?
If so, what solutions have you implemented? Were happy to say production and delivery’s are almost back to normal however shipping costs have greatly increased as well as your options.

Best Sellers
The MK4 combines the perfect balance of low-end power, rigidity, and twist for optimum sheet-in-and-go power and speed. An increased diameter leading edge and strut adds to the MK4’s stiffness, resulting in great stability and power. The Wing-Surfer MK4 has three long and ergonomic control handles for added comfort and control as well as an added ‘power handle’ for sheeting in hard and jumping. Smaller windows have reduced the Wing-Surfer’s overall weight with zero compromises in visibility. For those who are in search of the best combo of get-up-and-go power, a wide wind range, insane top speed, and unmatched jumping ability, the Wing-Surfer MK4 is the wing you can’t live without.

The Matador has a deeper draft and larger diameter leading edge and strut than a comparably sized Wing-Surfer, with the power placed even further forward. The leading-edge taper is more pointed at the center and carries more dihedral across the wingspan. This all comes together to create a wing that drives upwind with ease, then flags in neutral with amazing stability and balance for riding waves, swells, and doing downwinders. With tons of sheet-in-and-go power, even heavier riders will find it easy to get up on their foil. Once flagged into neutral on a wave or swell, the light and nimble airframe all but disappears like a bull fighter’s cape — allowing you to carve and glide with ease. Thus, the name “Matador.” Unlike the all-around Wing-Surfer, the Matador is designed to be ridden mostly upwind then flagged downwind, so the windows are small and placed where an experienced rider needs them when riding windward, knowing that most of the time the wing will be flagged behind them with full visibility.

The Matador LT takes the Wingsurfer Matador and makes it even leaner and meaner. With the same basic outline, shape, and overall structure of the Matador, the Matador LT remains a powerful and stable wing. But sometimes less is more. For an even lighter overall weight, the Matador LT comes with a window-free canopy and with no removable Y-Handles. Strut shape and diameter have been modified to provide even tighter canopy tension and an additional boost in overall power. Where the Matador has five individual strut handles, two in the front and three in the back, the LT has only three – wide ergonomic grab handles. If you want all the power and stability, but with the minimum swing weight possible for flagging on bumps, swells, and waves, the Matador LT does more with less!