BestKiteboarding.com Secures Financing

BestKiteboarding.com, the Web-based action sports manufacturer and retailer founded by internet entrepreneur Alex Shogren and professional wake-boarder turned kite-boarder, Shannon Best, has closed on its first round of funding led by Allen & Co., the New York investment bank. Other investors include several influential names from Wall Street and the action sports industry.

Ian Huschle, CEO of parent company Best Action Sports, Inc., said, “We’re extremely well positioned with the business experience and financial backing of our new partners. This investment gives us the wherewithal to push forward with our broad development plans for the brand, both within kite sports and the wider action sports market.”

Only two years after BestKiteboarding.com’s disruptive online business model rocked the action sports world, the company has achieved tremendous success and is now the leading kiteboarding manufacturer in the world. The company’s content rich Web site merges e-commerce and community of interest features, allowing for a truly unique and effective approach to marketing and selling action sports equipment. This strategy is further supported by its extensive traditional distribution chain, through 300+ retailers around the world.

Best Action Sports, Inc. Founder and Executive Chairman Alex Shogren said, “We sold our first kite two years ago this month, and now we are the largest kiteboarding company in the world. This incredible achievement has perked the interest of Wall Street and we’re very pleased to welcome our new partners. Best Kiteboarding is already positioned for its best year yet in terms of retail sales. We’re only two months into the year and pre-orders for our new user-friendly kite, the Waroo, exceed those placed by dealers last year for our entire product range.”

Partner and Founder Shannon Best said, “We knew we had market leading product this year as soon as we got feedback from our European dealer conference in November. We then got additional positive reinforcement at the SIA show in Vegas for our snow-kite product line. While other kiteboarding companies are suffering due to decreasing market share, we are both consolidating our leading position in the market and increasing the size of the market by attracting new participants with our aggressive pricing model”

Terms of the deal and amounts were not specified but the company reported that capital will be used to broaden and accelerate its’ significant R&D program, helping fund further advances in kiteboarding development and seed its aspirations within the action sports and mixed-media delivery markets.

Best Kiteboarding is the largest kiteboarding manufacturer and retailer in the world, and its philosophy is simple: offer the best kites, boards, bars and all other equipment one needs for a safe and fun kiteboarding experience at extremely affordable prices. Best Kiteboarding is staffed and run by kiteboarders - people who live, breathe and dream of kiteboarding. Its unique approach to selling and distributing kite gear, combined with a work hard/play hard ethic that runs through all levels of the company, has enabled it to consistently deliver the Best prices and products in the industry.

Jeetje, da"s wel erg op het internet moeten vertellen dat je niet genoeg geld kon verdienen met kites verkopen, en dus geld bent gaan ophalen bij je ouwe vriendjes. Best gaat er dus voor zoveel mogelijk concurrenten kapot te maken met goedkope kites, en dan als er niet zoveel meer over zijn de prijzen omhoog gooien, aangezien die investeerders hun centjes natuurlijk wel terug willen zien.

Het was te verwachten van iemand die zijn geld verdient heeft met hedgefunds...

t gaat iig om de 1ste zin. Ze hebben nu gewoon mensen in backup staan mocht t toch fout gaan tegen hun verwachtingen in... Zo begrijp ik t...

En ja dat verhaal van we zijn de grootste en blablablabla geloof ik ook niet helemaal. Maar dat wil niet zeggen dat niet goede producten maken... Want welk merk dan ook maakt nog "slechte" kites...