Arbor Abacus
Contact Information:
www.arborcollective.com
310.57.1120
info@arborcollective.com
Questions answered by Marketing Director, Brad Farmer
What are the biggest trends shaping the hardgoods market for next year?
The biggest trend continues to be the mass movement toward rocker designs. We have seen such a massive shift in sales to our System Rocker boards, it has been difficult to keep camber options in the line but we have held the line and maintained a solid camber offering.
What is the greatest change affecting your brand since last season?
The biggest change for Arbor has been our move into the core market. Arbor has always been known for offering beautiful, high-quality snowboards for the mainstream but now we are offering several high performance park and jibs boards for the core market which is a significant addition and change in the right direction.
How has the market evolved over the last year and how do you see things changing in the years ahead?
Again, it’s evaluating how to deal with the growing popularity of Rocker designs. While we feel like we have the best Rocker design and want to bring it to as many boards as possible, we still believe that there is a camber market and we need to sever that community as well.
How has sales forecasting changed for your company?
It’s a bit more complicated with the rocker vs camber change. We’ve had to go with our gut a bit and to be honest, we would have never expected such a huge move into rocker.
What lessons have you learned with bookings and production for this season and how will you apply those to next?
We’re always learning lessons as we are always making changes and have been making several additions to the line in the last few years. We are always learning how price, graphic direction and technology effects product movement. We’ll make price shifts when necessary, reconsider demographic appeal in graphics targeted toward the core, mainstream and middle and try to offer the technology our customers demand in more models.
Arbor Westmark in blue and red
How are you working with retailers to help ensure strong margins, the right amount of product in the marketplace, and terms that set them up for success?
We are proud of our relationships with our retailers and happy to say that we have no plans to sell direct. We offer quality Austrian made boards through our entire line. We never sacrifice quality in our lower price point boards and offer all of the best Arbor technology in even our lowest price boards. We offer the highest possible quality in a very competitive price range with an understanding that we are going up against brands manufacturing much cheaper boards in China. We never ask retailers to over order rather we work with them to find the appropriate order for optimal sell-through. We are offering a larger line than ever before with the best price points.
Questions answered by Snowboard Product Line Manager, Matt Patti
How large are your lines going to be compared to years past? Have you seen customers confused by too many different stories?
Our line has been growing. We’ve moved into the youth market now offering our Icon collection with several park and jib boards in addition to our Roots collection that is still very targeted toward the mainstream. We are now offering The System Rocker versions of many of our classic Roots boards in addition to most of our Icon boards and are still making a concerted effort to offer the best camber options on the market. We are introducing two new mini (youth) boards and our first split board.
With the shifting landscape of production abroad, are you reevaluating where you produce your hardgoods?
No! We are 100% committed to working with the Elan factory in Austria and producing the highest quality Austrian made snowboards. We feel like this is a huge advantage and story for the Arbor brand. We feel that working with Elan allows us to develop the best possible new technologies of the future.
What opportunities do you see for growing hardgoods sales? Please explain.
We continue to expand our line to offer more options for our customers. We’re very stoked to introduce the Draft Mini and Element RX Mini – mirco versions of our two best selling models. Both boards feature the Arbor System set of technologies including Grip-Tech, a true Parabolic Rocker, and full wood topsheets. The Draft Mini and Element RX Mini are both available in sizes 120, 130 and 140cm.
Additionally this year we’ve moved the Poparazzi over to a rocker from it’s previous camber construction. The new Poparazzi will feature The System set of technologies giving female riders the widest and most complete range of true rocker benefits with a price that’s hard to resist.
Finally, this year we’re introducing a split board design called the Abacus, which is built on an all-mountain shape perfect for transitioning terrain, riding and landing switch, and all the mixed conditions one might find in the backcountry. It features our System rocker design with Grip-Tech and a Reclined Parabolic Rocker, which is slightly lowered in the tail for added contact with the snow when skinning. The Abacus is available is sizes 156, 160 and 164cm and comes complete with Karakoram attachment hardware.
What do you anticipate prices doing next season?
We anticipate prices staying flat. As long as the economy remains weak, we don’t see any significant price increases. However, production isn’t getting any cheaper so we don’t see significant prices decreases as realistic.
Are you taking any steps to minimize your environmental impact?
With fifteen years of sustainable design experience under our belts, we’re sure about one thing; riders expect performance and relevance, even when choosing a more environmentally friendly alternative. To that end, we work to combine the latest technology and most powerful art with those Eco-materials that allow us deliver better performing products – form still follows function. It has never been an easy task, but nothing worth doing is.
A few of our initiatives with the snowboards include:
Bio-Films – Every board in the Arbor line is built with an ultra thin protective top foil made using 30% caster bean based bio-plastic. Its natural glossy nature eliminates the need for environmentally harmful clear coats.
Real Wood or Bamboo Power Plies – Arbor’s wood and bamboo Power Plies work like a 3rd layer of fiberglass – during construction resin locks the dense natural fibers in place, creating a composite layer that structurally enhances a board for added return and improved durability. Our Power Ply technology allows us to reduce our overall reliance on chemically treated fiberglass and petroleum-based resin by up to 20%, which also provides important weight reduction.
FSC certified sustainably produced poplar wood is used for snowboard cores.
Recycled Steel Edges – made using 60% recycled steel.
What does your company hope to contribute to snowboarding?
Something different! We only strive to be the best at what we do. We don’t have any interest in being like any other brands or playing follow the leader. We contribute high quality, high technology products with a reduced impact on the environment that doesn’t lead to reduced performance. We hope we deliver product that people are proud to ride whether they are the most core shred or a big mountain carver.
