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Brien said...
I agree that the new logo compared to the old is not very good but to think there is any relevance between a logo and sail design is pretty unrealistic.

Well... that's my point. Great companies think through their entire business strategy. It's starts with great products and it ends with the image they portrait to the outside world.

Yes, they might do great sails but if they cut corners (assuming they did with their new logo) with their branding it makes you wonder where else they do the same.

Reason for change is all a copyright issue from what I heard, Gaastra clothing own the copyright so look's like they had no option but I would've thought they could come up with something better.

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HF said..

Reason for change is all a copyright issue from what I heard, Gaastra clothing own the copyright so look's like they had no option but I would've thought they could come up with something better.

Has the windsurfing business been severed from the main arm of Gaastra Int? That would make sense re: copyright

No idea but I would assume so, very strong rumour that they could'nt use the logo and name anymore. Think it was more of a case of they could ue the name but usage was too expensive.

They should put out a global internet challenge for logo design ideas. Best one wins a full quiver of sails. Surely that's a win, win for Gaastra?

Its a real shame Gaastra Sails either has to cough up some cash to use the Gaastra logo or change names and have a new logo. I don't know the fashion scene in Europe however its pretty unlikely the Gaastra clothing brand would be half as big as what it is today without the exposure Gaastra sails gave Gaastra clothing over the last 35 years or more through windsurfing, especially considering how big windsurfing is in Europe.


Perhaps the Gaastra clothing brand will suffer as a result of this short sighted and greedy decision.

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PhilSWR said..

They should put out a global internet challenge for logo design ideas. Best one wins a full quiver of sails. Surely that's a win, win for Gaastra?

I don't think a good brand company works for just a quiver of sails.

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stehsegler said...

PhilSWR said..

They should put out a global internet challenge for logo design ideas. Best one wins a full quiver of sails. Surely that's a win, win for Gaastra?

I don't think a good brand company works for just a quiver of sails.

stehsegler, given your contribution to this discussion maybe you could offer
your services

Maybe they could have a logo unique to each country they distribute sails to. Here's a start.

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HF said..

Reason for change is all a copyright issue from what I heard, Gaastra clothing own the copyright so look's like they had no option but I would've thought they could come up with something better.

Faastra

Nice work Sputnik

or a variation on the castle (looks like the clothing company have a mortgage on that)

Rebranding existing brands by way of changing the logo and behind the scene stuff such as marketing strategies, go-to-market strategies, overall value chain etc is often tax driven as this will allow the company to 'place' brand ownership in low tax jurisdictions and charge a hefty royalty for the use of the brand / marketing management fees or the like...

This is not uncommon for multinationals (google, many banks have done this, pharamCeuticals etc) and many multinational consider it vital to maximise tax 'opportunities' within the bounds of local and international laws... At the end of the day they are just looking to maximise shareholder return / return on investment.

BEPS, transfer pricing, profit shifting, taking the piss.. It's referred to as a lot of different things and with aging populations it will be one if the most important areas of policy in the years to come for all countries around the world.

I'm not saying this is the case with GA and there there might be other reasons for the rebrand (see Cols post above)..

Neil might buy GA....

North kites changed their logo because they no longer wanted to pay royalties to North Sails.

saw this in a 2014 Japanese windsurf catalogue :

ad has the old logo but sails have the new one.....

How can I get me some...?