New Laser Rag

Can you back up your assertions about the volume of sails they were/are selling? I know of 2 Sales based LP employees (now former employees) who had serious concerns about the downward trend of sales of sails and the increasing proliferation of replicas? 

If they charged a reasonable price they would sell a lot more sails (just my view and experience of my own club and other local clubs). We are talking a volume of possibly 40+ sails at my own club (which is a small inland club) over the 7-8 years. Extrapolate that out over the number of clubs in the country and there is going to be a significant volume there.

I am with you 100% on other parts, official is the only way to go for me, they are not consumable items.

As for class events, look at what % of the Lasers in the country travel? Take Grafham as an example they have easily 100+ Lasers in the boat park. How many of them do you see on the Open Circuit?

That's just supposition - and some of you guys are all making some grand assumptions about the value chain- it's hardly a standard low volume:high value vs high vol:low value model that can be inverted at the flick of a switch.

There will be pockets of high volume and high value - especially at the elite end of the spectrum.  Even a seasoned masters sailor wouldn't think twice about life cycling a couple of sails- one for club, one for events... buying at strategically important times through their season  (is it a bit pretentious to call it a campaign when you're in your 40's & 50's...?)   And there's a whole myriad of levels of Laser sailor who are quite prepared to pay for the proper sail - I know I fall into that category, just... and a much welcomed price and durability improvement can only transfer into support from folks like me further.

Whereas your average 800 quid sunday morning hack probably will keep the same tatty sail until such time as they move the whole boat on, or unless they can buy a reasonablish second hand one and not worry about changing the numbers.  So why would Laser fight with the 'me toos' in what is probably a restricted, low value end of the private owners market?  You won't find BMW chasing services on old plate models...  but there's plenty of market space for independents to trade too, it's called an 'after market' for a reason.

Where Laser are seemingly falling short is at training centres and holiday places... but then I think they get around that by offering non-buttoned rags direct from the co-manufacturer iirc and I bet your sunsail buyer isn't talking £400 per unit, not by a long stretch.  Not that this is really of interest to me, or the context of this discussion, as even as something as spankingly new as an RS Aero is customised and reinforced for the greek beach brigade.

Possibly supposition but a volume of 10 units is not really that big a volume to offer such a large discount (IMO). I know that at my local club that were sails a more reasonable price then people may still have grumbled about the quality but the club would have been unlikely to allow replicas to be used. Some might say it is a bit chicken and egg but Laser/ILCA/UKLA have known there was a quality/price issue for many years. They chose to do nothing until it was too late which was then further delayed by years of court cases (BKI and LP have now been in court for approaching 3 years and in dispute for a few more than that).

As for Sunsail, Neilson and co I believe they have their own deal on sails with differing sailmakers that they get elsewhere (so effectively replicas). I know the guy at Minorca Sailing stores the Laser sails and uses his own and then sells the boats on with a new sail when he rotates his fleet.

 - I guess they need to also go through several layers of bureaucracy and stakeholders to get the green light, and the court case has delayed it somewhat AIUI, but from my POV, 'better late than never' and I'll try an official sail at £399 now rather than have a serious look at the replica option.  

The price they were offering would have meant 10 sails would have been more like £2k delivered and this would have been a spring order so a busy time in the market as people dig boats out of winter storage (well those who actually stop sailing).

As for distributed, 2 hops. Sailmaker, LPE Customer. As LPE (as they were at the time) buy in bulk they could not cite getting a discount themselves from Hyde who would be unlikely to offer such a huge discount on a 10 unit order.....

I put this to the LPE sales guy at the time. Unsurprisingly he could not come up with an naswer except to indicate they were still making a worthwhile profit on the order.