Kayak Distribution Inc. has acquired San Clemente-based paddleboard company Corran SUP in a bid to complement its outdoor-adventure offerings with a product for a growth segment of the market.
Corran SUP founder Corran Addison said the deal allows him to keep an equity stake in the brand while gaining financial backing for growth plans.
Terms of the acquisition by Canada-based Kayak Distribution were not disclosed.
“We were at a point with Corran SUP where we needed to make a significant business decision—stay small and fiddle around with cool paddleboard projects, or take this to the next level,” he said. “To do that, we needed to partner up with someone who had the means to take our potential to its fulfillment.”
Addison’s vision for Corran SUP was to design and sell paddleboards that are manufactured domestically. He founded the company in 2012, shortly after selling his previous venture—surfboard brand Imagine Eco—to Hong Kong-based Neil Pryde Ltd.
“I wanted to do something different, to appeal to the (local) dealer and the end-consumer,” Addison said.
“But we realized that people [are] not going to spend the extra money” for products made in the U.S.
Kayak Distribution owns a factory in China and has a distribution and manufacturing agreement with Tahe Outdoors in Estonia. That will enable the Corran SUP brand to adjust its prices down to match market valuation and focus on pursuing larger orders.
“If Dick’s Sporting Goods says they need 6,000 pieces, you have to manufacture those boards, and it may take up to eight months until you [get paid],” he said, explaining that such an endeavor would be cost-prohibitive for a small company.
Kayak Distribution plans to keep the company headquarters along with design and marketing teams in San Clemente. Addison, referring to other SUP brands that call Orange County home, such as Hobie and SIC, said, “To have your finger on the pulse of the industry, you have to stay where it is; you have to be in the middle.”
The acquisition is also a homecoming of sorts for Addison, an Olympic kayaker and three-time world freestyle kayak champion.
He co-founded Riot Kayaks in 1996, and left in 2004 to pursue other business ventures, including Imagine Eco and a stint as a designer for an Italian kayak brand DragoRossi.
Kayak Distribution bought Montreal-based Riot in 2007 from Addison’s former partner Jeff Rivest, and plans to use his design expertise to revitalize the Riot’s once-cutting-edge products.
“Riot was an iconic brand that everybody wanted to be associated with,” said Addison. “We’re returning it to what it was back in the day.”
