Not the best way to market a brand

Swedish businessman and passionate sailor Håkan Svensson, with a long pedigree of supporting professional sailing when he bought the World Match Racing Tour in 2015, is now selling it.

After spending three years and tens of millions of dollars transforming it into a marketing vehicle for his M32 Catamarans, he has decided to focus his energies elsewhere. Here’s an excerpt of an interview he did with yachtracing.life:

Not everyone agreed with your vision for the WMRT. Did the detractors make it harder for you?

No not everyone agreed with what we have done or how we did it. But there are also many that have applauded us for making a difference in sailing and contributing to change.

It is good to have nay-sayers sometimes as they generally sharpen your instincts and focus your effort. But then again, only for so long.

I dislike the “I told you so” population who do not invest anything to prove their counter offer or argument is better.

There are too many people out there who complain about the trash on the street but don’t pick it up or make an effort to develop a better system.

I am an engineer and as such have a strong belief system that it is development that will change the world and not by going backwards.

Other than a return to monohulls, what does the deal mean for the future of the World Match Racing Tour?

I doubt that the new owner will only organise racing in monohulls. In my opinion the future of the event includes monohulls, foiling, and multihulls. There are many things happening in sailing’s evolution, so who knows what this will bring.

Just looking at the Olympic classes now with the introduction of foiling kites and an offshore event. Then there is SailGP, the Extreme Sailing Series, the new Volvo Ocean Race, the amazing new boats in the Route du Rhum and Vendee Globe.

If anyone is hoping only to see only monohulls in sailing’s future I think they will be greatly disappointed.

Complete interview… click here.