{"id":79380,"date":"2024-09-24T13:50:05","date_gmt":"2024-09-24T17:50:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/?p=79380"},"modified":"2024-09-24T13:50:45","modified_gmt":"2024-09-24T17:50:45","slug":"sailmakings-big-three-now-one","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/gear\/sailmakings-big-three-now-one\/","title":{"rendered":"Sailmaking’s Big Three Now One"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\"2024 <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n The big-three sailmakers once battled over inventories for the 52 Super Series fleet, and that will continue, even though all are now owned by NTG.<\/span>\n Nico Martinez\/ 52 Super Series<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

North Technology Group, the parent company of North Sails, announced in early August that it acquired both of its primary rivals, Quantum Sails and Doyle Sails\u2014a significant industry shift that now puts the big three of sailmaking under one roof.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Quantum and Doyle have become the latest additions to NTG\u2019s expanding sailing and \u00adlifestyle portfolio, which now includes businesses in the \u00admast-building and rigging space (former rivals Southern Spars, Hall Spars and Future Fibers and Rig Pro continue to operate independently), electronics and apparel, kite and wingfoil gear, and even the ubiquitous regatta management platform, YachtScoring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the announcement, North, Doyle and Quantum will continue to operate independently, \u201cretaining their unique brand identities and competing for market share,\u201d and \u201ccontinuing to manage its own lofts, sales and marketing teams, and product suites.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a lucrative but niche industry known for its talent-\u00adpoaching and enduring market-share battles, the idea of having staunch brand-loyal salesmen suddenly playing nicely for the benefit of the sport is a novel but realistic one, says Sam Watson, NTG\u2019s Connecticut-based CEO. \u201cI kind of want that to continue, \u00adactually. I think that\u2019s going to be part of us having an ongoing healthy business and climate for the customers. I want our guys out there to be still battling to win over the customer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

North, Doyle and Quantum will continue to operate independently, retaining their unique brand identities and competing for market share. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

North Technology Group and North Sails was purchased in 2014 by Oakley Capital Investments, founded by UK businessman Peter Dubens, who, as a keen sailor, says that he\u2019s committed to growing his marine business portfolio. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe want to grow the sport by investing in skills and innovation,\u201d Dubens said in the announcement, \u201cby supporting new technologies in sailmaking, and by committing to accomplishing all this in a sustainable way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watson is confident that the fruits of NTG\u2019s manufacturing capabilities and future investments will be welcomed by Doyle and Quantum loyalists. \u201cMy expectation is that the different groups will continue to live and breathe in the world that they kind of come from,\u201d he says. \u201cWe want the brands themselves to continue to innovate using their own technology platforms, and we\u2019ve got to invest in some stuff that\u2019s going to be good for all of them and good for our sport. New material technologies, for example, are something that we\u2019ll be able to invest in, to another level.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Watson says that certain technical developments will soon trickle down from the Louis Vuitton 37th America\u2019s Cup, of which North Sails has exclusivity across the fleet, technology that will be applicable to the superyacht market, which continues to grow in size and scale. \u201cThere\u2019s a whole bunch of clever stuff coming when it comes to using machine learning and AI that really speed up and improve the quality of the design tools,\u201d Watson says, \u201cand there will be positive repercussions for all the brands.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NTG has been investing heavily in the watersports space (wing and kite) for the past two years, and some of that development, Watson says, will usher in new materials for its sailmaking brands, allowing them access to materials and resources that may have been hard to come by before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\"Sam <\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n
\n North \u00adTechnology Group CEO Sam Watson<\/span>\n NTG<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\t <\/figcaption>\n <\/section>\n\t\t\n\n\n

\u201cThe decision for Doyle Sails to combine forces with NTG was a no-brainer for David Duff, Richard Bouzaid and me,\u201d says Doyle Sails CEO Mike Sanderson, who will continue to lead the company. \u201cIt ensures the longevity of the brand we are so committed to; it will keep challenging innovation in sailing; and it brings significant opportunities for our team, \u00adsailors and customers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What excites Watson the most about NTG\u2019s \u00adsailmaking acquisitions is the \u201caccess to talent,\u201d but for NTG, he says, succession planning is on the table, \u201cwhich means bringing new talent into the business, teaching them the skills, and creating career paths for \u00adpeople. It\u2019s a really important thing for us to sustain [in the] long term.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

NTG says that Ed Reynolds and Andrew Scott will continue to lead Quantum Sails, and Doug DeVos will remain involved in the business, and as an investor in North Technology Group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The acquisitions do not affect Doyle One Design, currently based in Salem, Massachusetts, which continues to operate as a subsidiary of Doyle Sailmakers Inc., founded in 1982 by Robbie Doyle. Jud Smith, Doyle and Tom\u00e1s Hornos continue to manage the Doyle One Design business independently.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

North Technology Group has acquired Quantum Sails and Doyle Sails and says each will operate independently.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":79383,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"BS_author_type":"BS_author_is_guest","BS_guest_author_name":"Dave Reed","BS_guest_author_url":"","hydra_display_date":"","hydra_display_updated":false,"_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":"","_yoast_wpseo_metadesc":"","_yoast_wpseo_title":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","arc_story_id":"","arc_website_url":"","custom_permalink":"","arc_subtype":"","arc_exclude_from_feeds":false,"sponsored":false,"sponsored_label":"Sponsored Content","sponsored_display_label":false,"sponsored_image":false,"post_right_rail":true,"post_right_rail_ad_1":true,"post_right_rail_ad_2":true,"post_right_rail_ad_3":false,"post_right_rail_ad_4":false,"post_right_rail_recirc":true,"fixed_anchor_ad":true,"post_top_ad":true,"post_off_ramp":true,"post_taboola":false,"labels":true,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":"\"\"","apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":"","ad_settings_ads_on_this_page":true,"ad_settings_automatic_ad_injection_into_the_content":true,"ad_targeting":"","alternate_title_newsletter":"","alternate_content_newsletter":"","sponsored_url":"","social_share":true},"categories":[155],"tags":[165,2955,2954,784],"class_list":["post-79380","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gear","tag-gear","tag-north-technology-group","tag-print-fall-2024","tag-sailmaking"],"acf":[],"apple_news_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79380","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=79380"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/79380\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/79383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=79380"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=79380"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sailingworld.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=79380"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}