After our look at the direct sales model and interview with Switch Kites it is time to wrap up the subject with our final interview.
If you have been following this series you would have by now heard of Clash Boards, …but you might not have heard of it’s creator, Alvaro Onieva.
Alvaro has been in kitesurfing a long time, 3 times Spanish champion and European Champion in 2002 and regular on the PKRA tour in the years that followed. Amongst many many other achievements Alvaro in the man behind Clash Boards, who make amazing quality boards and embody the ethos of direct sales whilst also giving back to the world through a direct charity partnership with Charity Water.
KSm: Hi Alvaro, can you tell us a little bit more about your company history and who you started out?
AO: Well, thats a Long Story but I will try to squeeze some words out. I was always involved in the developing of the twin-tips since the very beginning over 13 years ago. Constantly working with custom brands we delevoped the first short and wide tips twin tip on the market. Later on, I Joined the Wikipa international team where we produced the first twin tip model in the history of Kiteboarding. A few years later myself and three friends, started to go a bit more in our own direction as we saw the bigger brands didn’t really share our passion and commitment with what they were doing so we created Balance. For the first two years it was a great success until we decided to sell it and consequently lost the direction of the company.
So two years ago I took all my savings from my the prize money from my competition career and started this passionate and dynamic project where we would keep the same core rider values and fresh ideas from now until the end of our days! Clash, the World with positivity.
KSm: Was it always a clear path form the beginning to sell directly to your customers?
AO: When I started to work on this project there weren’t any brand that were using this business model, so it was always a big question mark in front of us, but after launching the website and showing the products to the world we saw it was definitely going to work out. During the last few months we practically sold out in all the models we have. It’s clear that more and more people are becoming acquainted with this buy direct way, and as every year we have more and more young people in the sport, I’m sure it will get more and more popular.
KSm: Have you faced pressure or other difficulties from the industry for pursuing this path which goes against the accepted model of how things should be done?
AO: That obstacle was always there as the parts of the industry were a little bit concerned to see a new system taking over and facing them, but in my opinion this is a normal human instinct reaction when scared with the potential to loose something. They thought they never will lose their way but it is becoming more and more accepted and respected on both the industry side and the customer.
KSm: How do you feel this business model and direct contact with customers has helped you grow and form your identity?
I felt it was essential, and the customers were always happy and grateful. During my last summer of demos I personal visited many of customers to replace a warranty problem or just meet them and talk about the products. That is actually one of the top priorities of the company for us, keep the customers happy.
KSm: What do you have coming up on the horizon for us to get excited about?
I am working on many new products and projects right now, one day my head is going to explode as i live in a world of constantly brainstorming and getting new and revolutionary ideas. It’s a great feeling to see your ideas become reality after sacrifice and hard work.
Thanks so much to Kite Sista Magazine for letting me express what I think and what I feel. Awesome!. Good winds!.
