Rythm Snowboards
The Exploit
Contact Info:
rhythmsnowboards.com
Questions answered by Matt Griffin
What are the biggest trends shaping the hardgoods market for next year?
All the different variations of camber and technology pertaining to board construction. Snowboarders are going bigger and harder each year. High-quality boards driven by rider feedback are what will dominate the market.
What is the greatest change affecting your brand since last season?
The economic climate. Consumers aren’t riding or purchasing as much as they have in the past because snowboarding has become such an expensive sport. By manufacturing our boards in-house, we are able to control everything that goes into our products. For example, we have the freedom to create our cores in-house as opposed to importing pre-built cores. By making smart choices when selecting materials we can continue offering a line of high end hand-built boards at an affordable price.
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 working with selective retailers in order to ensure strong margins. We do not want to distribute to the masses and wind up biting off more than we can chew. By controlling who we partner with we are able to manage the amount of inventory we manufacture each year.
How large are your lines going to be compared to years past? Have you seen customers confused by too many different stories?
Our product line is going to be the largest it’s been to date, offering 6 different models. Yes, customers are often overwhelmed by all the new technology that is put into snowboards each year, but we want to make sure that we have a board for everyone. Since we are a small company, we often speak with our customers about what kind of ride they want and recommend the board that will best fit their needs.
With the shifting landscape of production abroad, are you reevaluating where you produce your hardgoods? If so, why?
No. We choose to produce our boards in-house, without outsourcing any of the building to other companies. We have complete control of every inch of the boards and the direction the company is going.
What do you anticipate prices doing next season?
Our prices have increased slightly to factor in the amount of labor that goes in to each board, but they are still being offered at an affordable price.
Are you taking any steps to minimize your environmental impact? If so, what are some of these steps?
We continuously strive to make our process as environmentally friendly as possible. We reduce, reuse, and recycle: minimize the material wasted creating each board, reuse biodegradable material as fertilizers, recycle plastics and emulsions. We also power our factory with low-carbon nuclear technology. Being green is part of our core beliefs and will continue to be an intricate part of our company.
What does your company hope to contribute to snowboarding?
We want to offer a high-quality product that is 100% rider driven while continuing to push the limits of snowboard design and technology. We also want to show how passionate we are about snowboarding through the design of our boards. There’s nothing like a bottomless Pow day with your friends on boards that were completely designed by you.
What are the biggest forces shaping the changes and developments you’ve made to your boards?
Rider driven feedback and environmentally friendly approaches. We are constantly using our riders’ feedback to shape our products. These guys are putting in hundreds of days a season in every type of condition each year. By using their feedback we are able to manufacture boards that can take a beating. At the same time we’re trying to figure out ways to produce boards with the least environmental impact as possible.
To what degree are you emphasizing camber shape in your lineup?
Different varieties of camber play a major role in our lineup. Offering 3 different kinds of camber (regular, reverse-V rocker, and minimal-close to 0), allows us to cater to a wider variety of riders with different styles and preferences.
Are you cooking up any new materials or construction techniques?
Yes. Always. We have a hybrid core construction snowboard. We have successfully integrated an aluminum honeycomb core with a poplar core. This hybrid configuration of light-weight aluminum and poplar is one way that we are living up to the high aspiration that we have for ourselves. We also test new composites every year. Currently we are testing basalt, aramid fiber, and glass fiber weaves.
What themes are you seeing for graphics?
We changed it up a bit this year – instead of just using one in house designer, we pulled in work from some amazing artists from all over the map. We’re very excited to showcase the 2011/2012 line…it’s our best yet!
