INDUSTRY UPDATE
popular Australian designed brand. “It has been an exciting ride developing the Vaikobi business over the past ten years. We have been super fortunate to have partnered with a number of amazing water sport athletes who have helped guide our direction. We are a very product and customer focused business and understand that the importance of the quality and performance of our products are integral to our success. “When we have not quite got it right, we always respond quickly to improve the products to ensure the customer is able to experience the highest level of performance and comfort that should be expected from Vaikobi.” said Langley, sharing his passion on Vaikobi’s progression to date and continues with what the future holds. “Our move into the competitive sailing market is one which is driven by our pure passion for the sport. We essentially love to make gear that we like to use and for me, the sport of sailing is a big part of my life, so we feel quite privileged to be able to produce product that can improve the user’s experience on the water, which ultimately increases enjoyment! “We are super excited about some of our key product developments that we will be launching in 2023 which will position us as one of the world’s best small boat sailing gear brands, which is our ultimate goal.” Langley added. Images supplied courtesy of Vaikobi
Vaikobi rides a fresh wave of success in the global water sports market
Expansion into sailing As a lifelong competitive yacht racing sailor from dinghies to offshore yacht racing and with previous experience in performance sports brands, Vaikobi Founder, Patrick Langley launched a specific sailing product range in 2018 called ‘Vaikobi Ocean Performance’ once again engaging with professionals but this time with sailors and slowly expanded the product line up as the Vaikobi brand built up its awareness. Vaikobi’s sailing range is most popular in Australia where the brand is most established but over the past 18 months, Vaikobi has been growing in popularity in the UK and Europe and more recently in USA sailing circles as the distribution continues to expand internationally. Vaikobi is the official ‘Technical Clothing Partner’ to the USA Sail GP Team which provides integral feedback from some of the world’s top professional sailors. Now distributed in over 23 countries through over 170+ dealers, Vaikobi continues to expand the product line up and distribution from its Australian and European locations and is looking forward to continuing the global expansion of this
Founded on the Northern Beaches of Sydney in 2012, Vaikobi came to life through a desire to make apparel and equipment for Surfski Paddling which was growing in popularity. At that time, Surfski paddlers wore everything from sailing, cycling and surfing gear but there was no brand specialising in manufacturing clothing product specific to the sport. The Surfski was an Australian invention in the 1940’s and they became an important part of the Australian Surf Life Saving scene. Essentially, an ocean-going kayak, the Surfski has evolved over the years to today where these sleek craft are designed to be super lightweight to catch even the smallest of swells and are able to travel over 30 km/h on waves. After a significant product development program involving a range of top paddlers and with an emphasis on comfort, Vaikobi hit the market with a top line up of products designed to control body temperature so as to maximise performance on the water for the paddlers. The range was well received within the paddling community and the brand expanded internationally gradually adding to their product range with other paddling accessories.
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