I love the North stuff even though the supply has always been challenging here in the uk.
the stuff is all good and good value for what you get.
their website now only shows previous years equipment and has the feel of a brand on its last legs.
any one know anything?
I think it will be a shame if they disappear

Looks like a big reorganisation is happening. Mike Raper is leaving as brand director unfortunately. Maybe Ulli can add something about whats going on exactly.

The article I read says the 26/27 product is complete and will start flowing out March/April. Sounds like it was a good handoff.

I've heard that whole the product team in New Zealand has already been let go, so maybe Uli is gone too. Looking on the North Actionsport site there are lots of job vacancies, which I hope they have filled if the old team are gone already or there could be issues.

but good is the sonar ?

Select to expand quote

WingyDingy said..
I've heard that whole the product team in New Zealand has already been let go, so maybe Uli is gone too. Looking on the North Actionsport site there are lots of job vacancies, which I hope they have filled if the old team are gone already or there could be issues.

Yes I heard they shut the New Zealand office and offered job positions in the Netherlands, which nobody took up !!
Looks like the company is being run by accountants now so is probably going to die a death of zero innovation and cost cutting designs !

Select to expand quote

MrFish said..

WingyDingy said..
I've heard that whole the product team in New Zealand has already been let go, so maybe Uli is gone too. Looking on the North Actionsport site there are lots of job vacancies, which I hope they have filled if the old team are gone already or there could be issues.

Yes I heard they shut the New Zealand office and offered job positions in the Netherlands, which nobody took up !!
Looks like the company is being run by accountants now so is probably going to die a death of zero innovation and cost cutting designs !

That would be too bad. I almost switched to North foils last fall. Ended up trying a Code S foil. Loved it and went that route.

Select to expand quote

MrFish said..

WingyDingy said..
I've heard that whole the product team in New Zealand has already been let go, so maybe Uli is gone too. Looking on the North Actionsport site there are lots of job vacancies, which I hope they have filled if the old team are gone already or there could be issues.

Yes I heard they shut the New Zealand office and offered job positions in the Netherlands, which nobody took up !!
Looks like the company is being run by accountants now so is probably going to die a death of zero innovation and cost cutting designs !

A quick google search shows that they're only looking for graphical designers mostly. But ill give you an A+ for drama!

Personally very happy that I've got a Cedrus mast allowing me to focus on building other quivers and not stuck with North. I'm waiting on a s145 tail to complete my North sf830 set but let's see how long that takes to arrive here

with Mike gone North will turn into a faceless brand. Not saying it was a family thing like Code, F-One (or even Gong) but Mike brought a personal touch to the whole enterprise.
Not holding my breath for anything revolutionary coming our way anytime soon out of North.

Select to expand quote

tvesurf said..

MrFish said..

WingyDingy said..
I've heard that whole the product team in New Zealand has already been let go, so maybe Uli is gone too. Looking on the North Actionsport site there are lots of job vacancies, which I hope they have filled if the old team are gone already or there could be issues.

Yes I heard they shut the New Zealand office and offered job positions in the Netherlands, which nobody took up !!
Looks like the company is being run by accountants now so is probably going to die a death of zero innovation and cost cutting designs !

A quick google search shows that they're only looking for graphical designers mostly. But ill give you an A+ for drama!

I guess Google let you down this time, 7 jobs on their website: northasg.com/career/

Product graphic designer
Senior technical designer - accessories
Senior product designer - kite & foil
Product manger kite
Junior technical designer - hardgoods
Senior product graphic designer
Graphic designer

Select to expand quote

WingyDingy said..

tvesurf said..

MrFish said..

WingyDingy said..
I've heard that whole the product team in New Zealand has already been let go, so maybe Uli is gone too. Looking on the North Actionsport site there are lots of job vacancies, which I hope they have filled if the old team are gone already or there could be issues.

Yes I heard they shut the New Zealand office and offered job positions in the Netherlands, which nobody took up !!
Looks like the company is being run by accountants now so is probably going to die a death of zero innovation and cost cutting designs !

A quick google search shows that they're only looking for graphical designers mostly. But ill give you an A+ for drama!

I guess Google let you down this time, 7 jobs on their website: northasg.com/career/

Product graphic designer
Senior technical designer - accessories
Senior product designer - kite & foil
Product manger kite
Junior technical designer - hardgoods
Senior product graphic designer
Graphic designer

Google actually gave me the same link, reading comprehension taught me that these, like i said before, mostly graphical designer positions. No open positions for R&D/wing/foil.

Select to expand quote

tvesurf said..

WingyDingy said..

tvesurf said..

MrFish said..

WingyDingy said..
I've heard that whole the product team in New Zealand has already been let go, so maybe Uli is gone too. Looking on the North Actionsport site there are lots of job vacancies, which I hope they have filled if the old team are gone already or there could be issues.

Yes I heard they shut the New Zealand office and offered job positions in the Netherlands, which nobody took up !!
Looks like the company is being run by accountants now so is probably going to die a death of zero innovation and cost cutting designs !

A quick google search shows that they're only looking for graphical designers mostly. But ill give you an A+ for drama!

I guess Google let you down this time, 7 jobs on their website: northasg.com/career/

Product graphic designer
Senior technical designer - accessories
Senior product designer - kite & foil
Product manger kite
Junior technical designer - hardgoods
Senior product graphic designer
Graphic designer

Google actually gave me the same link, reading comprehension taught me that these, like i said before, mostly graphical designer positions. No open positions for R&D/wing/foil.

3 are graphics. More wing ones are coming from what I have been told by locals that know people from the office.

Huge transition this is. So first you fire all the talented people only to have to hire and build the whole thing in the other side of the world. Because you didn't believe in remote working / virtual meetings etc. I'm based in Europe and regularly work with Pacific counterparts. Yes the time diff is big but not insurmountable.

They just ditched the NZ / Auckland yachting / sports maritime innovation hub sphere, where they enjoyed great conditions waves etc plus local competition (Axis, Armstrong) to go and sit in offices in Katwijk, Netherlands.

And then they will move product development and testing to where? Again to another wind/wavy hotspot like South Africa? Tarifa? Portugal?

What a massive undertaking

Select to expand quote

MrFish said..

WingyDingy said..
I've heard that whole the product team in New Zealand has already been let go, so maybe Uli is gone too. Looking on the North Actionsport site there are lots of job vacancies, which I hope they have filled if the old team are gone already or there could be issues.

Yes I heard they shut the New Zealand office and offered job positions in the Netherlands, which nobody took up !!
Looks like the company is being run by accountants now so is probably going to die a death of zero innovation and cost cutting designs !

Did the company get sold to private equity?

Select to expand quote

MProject04 said..
Huge transition this is. So first you fire all the talented people only to have to hire and build the whole thing in the other side of the world. Because you didn't believe in remote working / virtual meetings etc. I'm based in Europe and regularly work with Pacific counterparts. Yes the time diff is big but not insurmountable.

They just ditched the NZ / Auckland yachting / sports maritime innovation hub sphere, where they enjoyed great conditions waves etc plus local competition (Axis, Armstrong) to go and sit in offices in Katwijk, Netherlands.

And then they will move product development and testing to where? Again to another wind/wavy hotspot like South Africa? Tarifa? Portugal?

What a massive undertaking

Agree 100%. However we have no idea on the company finances, how much revenue the foil program is creating versus their cost - which cannot be much. I'd be fairly sure there was a business case to it behind the scenes. New CEO comes in, doesn't understand the sport (making assumptions here), looks at the bottom line, can only get details on at awkward times of day and no day to day alignment on strategy - boom, end of story.

Of course, this could be a new direction for North and greater things might grow from it - or could just be the end - we'll know in time. Either way I feel bad for Mike and his team - I think they designed and built product that gives plenty of enjoyment and fun to a lot of folks.

But who is the mastermind behind the foil design? Technically, not the graphic design.
Uli? Will he stay with North?

As mentioned above the whole operation is being moved to the Netherlands to operate under one time zone . All new product lines are all in place for 2027 . Dam shame about the NZ operation I'm a good mate of Mike Rapper but the different time zone made life pretty tough all round . Be interesting to see how this all pans out.

Two new roles added to the vacancies:
- Product Manager - Foil
- Category Director - Hydrofoil and Wing

I would say Uli will be gone soon too. Asking around a bit, it sounds like the foil design was done by another Kiwi guy called Daniel, who contracted to North. But apparently they aren't going to use him any more either.

And they seem to have used the exact same text for the Snr Product Designer - Kite and Wing as for Snr Product Graphic Designer.

There's a product launch in two days.

Select to expand quote

MProject04 said..
Huge transition this is. So first you fire all the talented people only to have to hire and build the whole thing in the other side of the world. Because you didn't believe in remote working / virtual meetings etc. I'm based in Europe and regularly work with Pacific counterparts. Yes the time diff is big but not insurmountable.

They just ditched the NZ / Auckland yachting / sports maritime innovation hub sphere, where they enjoyed great conditions waves etc plus local competition (Axis, Armstrong) to go and sit in offices in Katwijk, Netherlands.

And then they will move product development and testing to where? Again to another wind/wavy hotspot like South Africa? Tarifa? Portugal?

What a massive undertaking

Its always sad when people lose there jobs, but regarding to the testing: we (I live 30min from Katwijk) don,t have the pacific waves, but it is pleny windy here. I can besides a 32h job easily get a 150sessions a year in combined wingfoil, supfoil, DW.North windsurf and Mystic are also located there so from a brand integration pov I get it when they move everything to one spot.
What I do hope that in time they can also bring the production from Asia to Europe...

Select to expand quote

Jeroensurf said..

MProject04 said..
Huge transition this is. So first you fire all the talented people only to have to hire and build the whole thing in the other side of the world. Because you didn't believe in remote working / virtual meetings etc. I'm based in Europe and regularly work with Pacific counterparts. Yes the time diff is big but not insurmountable.

They just ditched the NZ / Auckland yachting / sports maritime innovation hub sphere, where they enjoyed great conditions waves etc plus local competition (Axis, Armstrong) to go and sit in offices in Katwijk, Netherlands.

And then they will move product development and testing to where? Again to another wind/wavy hotspot like South Africa? Tarifa? Portugal?

What a massive undertaking

Its always sad when people lose there jobs, but regarding to the testing: we (I live 30min from Katwijk) don,t have the pacific waves, but it is pleny windy here. I can besides a 32h job easily get a 150sessions a year in combined wingfoil, supfoil, DW.North windsurf and Mystic are also located there so from a brand integration pov I get it when they move everything to one spot.
What I do hope that in time they can also bring the production from Asia to Europe...

Agreed. I'm bummed about losing the NZ crew but they did it the right way by completing the 26 Launch. Hopefully North brings on some great riders for testing and the Technical staff to push our foiling.

Stock has always been a problem since i've been with North. I was actually quite happy with my Nova Pro's from '24. When i switched to the '25 version i was really not happy. For now i'm slowly steering away from them, since no major changes in the equippement is planned. I saw the new Seek board, wich is just the same as the current model, just a bit lighter. It's sad that the whole team is gone, i really liked their foils... but the lack in updates and stock problem is also why i'm now moving away.

Select to expand quote

Shlogger said..
There's a product launch in two days.

Do you mean the one being teased on Instagram? I think that is just a video from their team rider Noe.

Select to expand quote

WingyDingy said..

Shlogger said..
There's a product launch in two days.

Do you mean the one being teased on Instagram? I think that is just a video from their team rider Noe.

Perhaps..my dealer says most companies will launch in March when they ramp up. I have gear from numerous brands but I'm perfectly happy w my North S680 and DW820 and UHM80. I've tested against some Code and KT and it's a toss up. All I want right now is the North 73UHM and I'm set for awhile. It's not my gear holding me back right now ;). I'm working on foil slides and more aggressive moves on the wave this year. ;)