Just a year ago, the Surfwheel looked poised to catch on, after winning innovation awards and going on sale in toy stores across the United States for US$399 (HK$3,092).
The company behind the one-wheel electric skateboard, which made users look like they were surfing on land, was Koofy Development, a Hong Kong start-up which got its product off the ground in neighbouring Guangdong province.
It made prototypes at low cost in Shenzhen, the mainland city nearest Hong Kong, before proceeding to manufacture in Dongguan, 65km away.But co-founder and CEO Ondy Ma Song-qi said theCovid-19 pandemic had hit business, with sales in the US crashing to a mere 10 per cent of targets.Read more…
