Sutherland Shire family business Wing Wetsuits will cease local Caringbah wetsuit manufacturing and retailing at the end of May.
The business is relocating to the Gold Coast in a bid to change the business model to one that distributes through wholesale and online channels , due to the changing nature of retail .
With online shopping growing every year, Wing products will still be readily available online and through selected stockists.
The Wing family have been manufacturing wetsuits for three generations, and have supplied the Sutherland Shire with wetsuits, waterski and wakeboard products since 1989, while producing National and World champions in these sports.
“We have been a 7 day a week business for many years, and it is time for us to scale down and spend more time with our grandchildren, and ideally pass on our love of water skiing and wakeboarding,” managing director Robert Wing explained.
Wing will soon be operating the head office and warehousing from the Gold Coast, with an administration office still based in the Sutherland Shire.
“Our shire based daughters are raising small children and cannot work the hours that bricks and motor retail demands.
“My son Joel who is based on the Gold Coast will be handling the warehousing and distribution and we will be backing him up from here in the shire,” Mr Wing said
To minimize moving costs, Wing Wetsuits will be having a sale from now until the day the doors close with hugely discounted stock.
“Our family would like to thank the community for their support over the years”
“We want to take as little as possible with us, so we have drastically reduced prices to clear out as much stock as possible,” Wing said.
The Sutherland Shire is very dedicated to their water sports, and the Port Hacking and Georges River are full of boating families every weekend.
“Our family would like to thank the community for their support over the years and want them to know we are still available over the phone and through our online and social media platforms.
“Our brand will continue while we wait for our next generation of waterski and wakeboard champions to come through.
“We have just sponsored Kirrawee High student Eliza Abela who is the current NSW Junior Women Wakeboarding Champion. We will always look to support our local community.”