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Australasian Surf Business Magazine Women in Business ASBMAG.COM AUS $6.95 (INCLUDING GST)

FEATURE ARTICLES: Interview with Sophie Marshall, Hurley new owners Adopt & Adapt, The Bushfire Crisis

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CONTENTS

ISSUE #91 MARCH

inside this issue

contents 08

Industry News

Feature Article

Media Meter

Buyers’ Guide

ActionWatch OZ Insights

Buyers’ Guide

Feature Article

Talking Shop with Brian Walker

Faces in the Lineup

HURLEY NEW OWNERS ADOPT & ADAPT

THE BUSHFIRE CRISIS

FRESH

BOARDIES

SUMMER WETSUITS

SWIMWEAR

FOOTWEAR

INTERVIEW WITH SOPHIE MARSHALL

WHY IS PUREPLAY ONLINE RETAIL SO RARELY PROFITABLE?

RESILIENCE

PUBLISHER ASB is published five times a year by Australian Surf Business Pty Ltd ABN 38 109 415 983

AUSTRALIAN SURF BUSINESS PTY LTD PO Box 747 Torquay VIC 3228 Australia Phone/fax 03 5568 3488. Mobile 0417 747 855. Email info@australiansurf.biz

CREATIVE

If you have any comments to make about ASB, or any aspect of the surfing industry, drop us a line: editorial@australiansurf.biz

urchin.com.au studio@urchin.com.au

ACCOUNTING & FINANCE Montgomery Carey & Associates www.mcaaccounting.com.au ADVERTISING Keith Curtain 0417 747 855 keith@asbmag.com FASHION CO-ORDINATOR Fiona Hampson fiona@asbmag.com SUB EDITOR Jock Serong

EDITORIAL PLATFORM Australasian Surf Business (ASB) magazine objectively reports on all aspects of the Australasian surf market. ASB is committed to editorial excellence and provides the only one-stop forum for the entire Australasian surf industry. Views expressed in ASB do not necessarily represent the opinions of the editors or publishers. No responsibility is accepted by ASB for the accuracy of advertisements or information within the publication.

ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT Australasian Surf Business Magazine is printed using ECO-CLEAN print processes. We use vegetable based inks and recyclable metal plates during the printing process. ASB is printed on FSC® accredited stock. Our printer is accredited for ISO9001, ISO14001, AS/NZS 4801 and is an FSC® certified printer ensuring that we uphold the highest international standards for the prevention of pollution and promotion of a clean environment. No animals were harmed during the production of ASB.

SOCIAL MEDIA @asbmag https://www.linkedin.com/in/keith-curtain https://twitter.com/asbmagazine https://www.facebook.com/asbmag2004/

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If we had to choose one word to sum up this issue, it’d be ‘resilience’. The Black Summer bushfire crisis, as it’s now being called, was an unprecedented natural disaster that captured world headlines. Over the Christmas-New Year period, temperatures soared in places already made dangerously dry by drought. A statewide state of emergency was declared in NSW, and for the first time ever, tourists were mass-evacuated from coastal towns. Some traders experienced losses of 80 per cent in January, the month when they normally take a third of annual revenue. Yet Kent Saunders, for one, radiates optimism. “We’ll be strong,” he said. “There’s so much generosity in the town.” Kent and his wife, Juanita, have been running Southern Man for forty years, and there’s no way they’ll let a bad summer beat them. But the financial toll is becoming clear. The surf industry is way down, conservatively 11% YOY across the country in January. The emotional toll doesn’t come with a statistical measure, but we’ll be feeling it for years.

Speaking of resilience, we first interviewed Sophie Marshall back in 2013 when she launched swimwear label Neon Tide. In the latest instalment in our Women In Business series, writer Tim Hawken sat down with Soph to capture her amazing career from Rusty sales rep to Rip Curl CEO award-winning product manager. Sophie was once the lone woman on Quiksilver’s exec team. She’s a fearless Mum. Sophie Marshall’s rise in the surf industry over the last 25 years has been an amazing story of hard work, passion and plenty of rollercoaster moments. Looking back over her early career, Sophie’s philosophical: “I don’t think the surf industry will ever be like that again,” she says. “It was creative chaos. It was pure, core surf at its best.” We’ve drawn a lot of inspiration for this issue from Sophie’s story: the hard work, dedication and passion that drive us all forward. Each of us has had our share of roller-coaster moments and it’s tempting to look back at our body of work and take the foot off the gas, but there’s no sense looking in the rear-view mirror, that’s not the direction we’re headed at ASBMAG. COM. For the full length video interview with Sophie head to ASBMAG.COM There’s some subtle changes throughout this issue: evidence that the work of growth and renewal goes on. We hope you enjoy them! Keith Curtain

ON THE COVER: Sophie Marshall, Global Product Manager at Rip Curl for our Women in Business cover series. Cover photo: Shane Thomson For daily news and analysis www.asbmag.com

BLEACH-FREE + DYE-FREE + VEGAN | SURPLUS + LOS ANGERED II

For Spring we introduce two styles featuring a bleach-free and dye-free organic cotton twill. An estimated 20 percent of water pollution comes from textile dyeing and treatment. Even after wastewater has been treated, residual chemicals remain in water supplies. These residues can be carcinogenic, toxic, mutagenic and have detrimental effects upon human reproductive systems. These bleach-free and dye-free shoes are part of our on-going effort to do better for our environment. Living Low Velocity.

@globebrand | GLOBEBRAND.COM | est. Australia 1994

For daily news and analysis www.asbmag.com

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brand news HURLEY AUSTRALASIA SECURE REGIONAL TRADEMARKS FOR APAC REGION Hurley’s new owner Conquest Group recently formed under Hurley Australasia Pty Ltd, taking on the trademarks for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. We first announced the new distribution partnership in January following the Blue Star Alliance LLC acquisition of the Hurley brand in December 2019.

While maintaining a laser focus in surf, Hurley Australasia will also look to other action sport initiatives to support its position in those markets by exclusively tying in the right athletes and influencers, and Haydon Gray said there are several exciting global deals in the works that will be announced over coming weeks.

MATUSE RE-LAUNCH IN OCEANIA & SIGN JOSH KERR. Matuse Wetsuits announced their partnership with Chris Burke of The Design Collective agency for the management and distribution into the Oceania territories of Australia, New Zealand & Indonesia. Chris came on board as an ambassador in 2018 with the partnership closely following.

Conquest Group are a high-performing group of companies who own and operate “I’ve been a long-time fan of the unique wholesale and retail businesses across the offering and branding of Matuse and started Australian and New Zealand Ath-Leisure working with them in late 2018 by reLifestyle sectors. A privately-owned business, establishing a distribution base of key retail Conquest employs a team of 465 staff, is the partners while we re-introduced Matuse to longest-serving licensee for the Converse local markets.” brand globally and were awarded the Chris has also been working on wetsuit global licensee of the year 2019. In addition, development programs, managing external Conquest are the licensee for the Nike and global territories of South Africa, UK/ Brand Jordan Kids Apparel. Ireland, Japan and South America and According to Group General Manager expanding the ambassador program by Haydon Gray, this means Conquest has a recently introducing Josh Kerr to the family. heavy vested interest in the Hurley brand. Matuse is expanding its apparel program “We will get after this opportunity the only with a global launch due early 2020 of way we know how, and that’s to go about new categories including shirting, shorts things strategically in a very measured, & bottoms to compliment the current equitable, authentic manner – building technical based offering of tees, sweats and strong partnerships along the way with board shorts. all associated parties,” said Gray. “We will Chris confirmed Matuse is currently ensure strong alignment back to Blue Star finalising a NSW-based distribution centre Alliance in the US. We have co-operative to service Oceania retailers from March agreements in place to see a strong global onwards. narrative and relationship for the brand and ourselves.” Part of the company’s commitment is to remain at the core of performance surf with an extension into skate, snow, art, music and culture and to realise founder Bob Hurley’s ‘original vision’ for the brand. Conquest Group have exclusively secured the global licenses (product) across all categories for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, whilst the Indonesian license remains vacant at this time. Haydon Gray said Hurley Australasia have the ability to ‘adopt and or adapt’ all product as relevant to this marketplace. “We have the ability to produce product locally (ourselves) as required, to optimise all opportunities,” said Gray, adding “The product opportunity is significant, which is especially exciting, however as always we will construct strategically and distribute as we must by channel at a good/better/best level. “As with merchandising, a strong global narrative and close focus on an aligned above-the-line and below-the-line, 360-degree approach will be evident. This will be absolutely at the core of our planning and execution.” Global athletes such as Julian Wilson, Kolohe Andino, Filipe Toledo, Kai Lenny, Koa Smith and recently-announced re-signings Eli Hanneman and four-time World Champion Carissa Moore remain with the brand.

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LIGHTNING BOLT MAKE KEY SIGNINGS. Lightning Bolt has re-launched under Teamworx Australia, announcing the recent signing of Brand Ambassadors Tony and Addis Ray. Tony Ray has been surfing his whole life and honed his skills competitively at the highest level on the world championship tour for a decade. Tony is perhaps best known as a master big wave surfer and twice ‘runner up’ in The Eddie Aikau Invitational. Tony was a sales agent with Rip Curl within Victoria for many years. Tony’s youngest son, Addis, has inherited his father’s oceanic obsession and charges like Tony. Lightning Bolt have also signed new team riders Jesse Carter (WA) and Anthony King (Sunshine Coast).

BRAD BRICKNELL LAUNCHES RYD (ACCESSORIES), SIGNS ON AS BRAND DIRECTOR. RYD the gear and accessories brand, launched in 2014 with roots in Cape Town, South Africa, has their eyes set on Australia, announcing that Brad Bricknell has officially joined the business as the company’s newly-created Brand Director (and part owner) of its Australian business. Brad, RYD Founder Barend Buys and newly -inked team rider, Brand Ambassador and world #17 Caio Ibelli, recently debuted RYD at Surf Expo in Florida USA. “Brad caught the heart of the brand very quickly,” said Barend. “We shared a lot of the same ideas on the brand direction and future of the brand. As we started to gear up to expand globally, we needed someone to come alongside us, to spread some of that workload that comes with managing a fastgrowing brand.” “We’ve held off looking at Australia, but when we met Brad and things evolved so quickly, it was an easy decision for us to bring him into the family full-time. The fact that he can help drive the global brand direction and take the brand to Australia is a win for all of us.” In this newly-created Brand Director role, Bricknell will head brand direction and global marketing from the RYD Brand Australia offices. He will work directly with the current marketing team based out of Cape Town, South Africa. Commenting on the new partnership, Bricknell said: “We have some exciting plans for a global brand campaign in 2020, we’re talking to some more amazing surfers about joining our roster, and I’m really looking forward to introducing the brand to Australia later this year.” Commenting on launching into a highly-competitive marketplace in Australia, Bricknell observed: “From a positioning stand-point, we’re looking at this space, and the future of the industry with a fresh point of view — one that’s inclusive, participation-based and focused on progressing our tribe through their surfing journey — and creating some fun and lasting memories along the way. “Then, from a business standpoint, for us it’s about building something home-grown for the long term and working with likeminded retail partners to ensure both sides are always winning.” The brand aims to launch its product in Australia in time for Spring/Summer 2020 and the team will spend the next few months finalising the business set up down under. RYD will also spread its wings to the USA this year.

Head shaper Murray Bourton has crafted a very tight range of contemporary surfboards in keeping with the roots of the brand. The new Lightning Bolt Australia 2020 includes twin fin, swallow tail, round tail and a stepup pintail.

More information https://rydbrand.com or on social media @rydlandsea

Meanwhile, Composite Retail Group has been appointed as a Distributor for New Zealand.

SURF LAKES & APP CORPORATION ANNOUNCE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP Surf Lakes Holding Ltd, owner of the 5 Waves prototype concentric wave machine in Yeppoon, Queensland, have signed a global Strategic Project Delivery agreement with national property and infrastructure consultancy APP Corporation (APP).

The agreement appoints APP as Project Director for Property Strategy and Development Advisory Services for the expansion and potential rollout of the Surf Lakes 5 Waves technology to a range of licensees nationally and internationally. APP will initially produce a Development Delivery Strategy report and provide general advice. 5 Waves is the world’s largest wave pool, with the capacity to generate five types of waves in one activation of a central swell. At its highest capacity, the wave pool can generate 2000 waves per hour across the 360-degree lake design. Recognising the potential for expanding the wave technology into regional communities, APP’s Project Director Lewis Glynn approached Surf Lakes with an offer to set up a governance structure which would identify project development risks early. “We’ve been working in the sporting and hospitality sector for almost three decades, helping organisations to manage and mitigate their risks on major public projects. I wanted to help Surf Lakes because it’s exciting to be part of a new industry and they are at the forefront globally”. Aaron Trevis, CEO of Surf Lakes, welcomes the business acumen, strategic capability and risk management that APP brings to drive the venture to the next level. “The Delivery Strategy is a roadmap for how we take our patented Australian technology to the world,” said Trevis. “It will provide a reassuring level of comfort for investors and licensees, as part of their decision-making process, that this venture is a sound economic investment.” APP’s CEO Adam Castro is delighted to be part of an innovative project that will brings surfing within reach of regional and inland populations. “5 Waves is a game-changer on many fronts and as a piece of social infrastructure it has the capacity to act as a catalyst for regional activation. Other businesses will be drawn into the area and this has to be a good thing for regional economies.”

media news SEVEN NETWORK SET TO DELIVER WSL EVENTS THIS YEAR. The (WSL) announced that the Seven Network will be the exclusive Australian free-to-air Television Broadcasting Partner for all things WSL in 2020. The deal will see Seven broadcast WSL programming including live contests and highlights shows across the Seven Network and their online streaming platform 7plus. “We see 2020 as a huge year for audience growth in surfing,” said WSL Asia Pacific General Manager, Andrew Stark. “With the introduction of the WSL Challenger Series and WSL Big Wave At Large, and a new exotic location on the Championship Tour, not to mention the Olympics, this will be the most exciting year in surfing, and we couldn’t be happier to have Seven onboard as a key partner for the ride. As Australia’s most iconic sporting broadcaster and an organisation with a For daily news and analysis www.asbmag.com

INDUSTRY NEWS

passion for surfing, Seven are the perfect partner to bring our sport to the masses in a country that already has saltwater in its DNA.” Managing Director Seven Melbourne and Head of Network Sport, Lewis Martin, said, “We’re thrilled to be showcasing the WSL on Seven. Surfing is one of Australia’s favourite sports, and 2020 is a marquee year for the sport, with its debut in the Olympics in Tokyo. As the home of Australia’s most-loved sports and Tokyo 2020, we’re delighted to be bringing the WSL to Australian audiences.” In addition to live events, 2020 will also see Seven launch World Surf News Weekly on 7Mate, which will feature event recaps, a pre-season preview show, weekly newsreels, and athlete profiles. “I grew up watching all of my favourite sports on Channel 7,” said current WSL No. 1 Australian, male Owen Wright. “Sunrise was always on the telly before school and before my surfs so to compete on Seven now is really cool. For all of us on tour to have a platform like Seven to perform on is something I would only have dreamt of and I hope there will be more grommets watching us and being inspired to pick up a board and go surfing.”

MICK FANNING NARRATES ‘THE SURFERS CODE’ Director Justin McMillan has teamed up with production house Heckler to tell the story of ‘The Surfer’s Code’ for the Surfrider Foundation Australia. Former three-time world champion Mick Fanning narrates the 90-second film, which uses footage of epic waves shot by cinematographers from around Australia. Scott McClelland, board member at Surfrider Foundation Australia said: “The powerful words of Shaun Tomson’s Surfers Code, written back in the 80s for Surfrider to encourage local surfers to respect the sport, each other and the ocean still ring true. Justin is one of the world’s best surf directors, and he pulled together an incredible cast and crew to help bring these words to life. We wanted a film to help people reconnect with the ocean and Justin brought that to us with goosebumps.”

team news ETHAN EWING RE-SIGNS WITH CREATURES OF LEISURE Creatures of Leisure have re-signed Ethan Ewing leading up to the 2020 WSL Season. Through a consistent display of power, style and competitive prowess Ethan’s 2019 WQS season culminated with back-to-back final appearances - a 4th at the Hawaiian Pro at Haleiwa and a 3rd at the Vans World Cup of Surfing at Sunset Beach. These strong results locked him into a requalification position for the WSL 2020 Season. Creatures of Leisure’s Global Brand & Product Manager Beau Campi is proud of what Ethan has accomplished over the years and looks forward to watching him throughout the WSL 2020 season: “I am a huge fan of Ethan’s brand of surfing. He is now a stronger, smarter and hungrier version of himself that I’m really excited see back on the WSL tour. It’s a testament to see someone like Ethan work so hard to achieve their goals and take control of their destiny. Creatures are stoked to continue our partnership and enjoy the ride to come.”

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SISSTREVOLUTION SIGNS LAKEY PETERSON

JEVON LE ROUX EXITS SURFSTITCH

Sisstrevolution has announced the signing of 2020 World Title contender and current WSL ranked world number three, Lakey Peterson (USA) almost twelve months after launching the brand in 2019. Commenting on the new deal, Lakey said “I like that Sisstrevolution is a modern brand with a totally female point of view that can take from what’s worked for the surf industry and avoid what hasn’t. It’s exciting to be a part of the new evolution of such a femalefocused surf brand.”

Jevon Le Roux has exited the role of Managing Director of SurfStitch after just eleven months in the role. In an internal announcement to staff, Alceon Group Managing Director Richard Facioni said that after commuting from Sydney on a weekly basis, Jevon felt the role was taking ‘too much of a toll on his family and his personal life’. Le Roux joined SurfStitch in March 2019 after two years as the Divisional Director at Gloria Jeans Coffee.

2020 marks Peterson’s ninth year on the World Tour. “When you come as close as I have to achieving something, and just fall short a few times in a row, for me, it’s a lot more motivating. I’m pretty fired up to beat people and win, to be my best, and achieve what I want, which is to win a world title. I’m not here to get second place,” said Peterson. “We’re really honoured and excited to welcome Lakey to Sisstr. She is such a world-class talent. As a brand we’re enthusiastic about the progression in women’s surfing and no one embodies that quality more than Lakey. I’ve always thought that she does the best turns on the Women’s WCT so to have her join us at Sisstrevolution is simply amazing,” said Paul Naude, Stokehouse Unlimited Founder + CEO. “With this comes the expectation to perform as well as the men in all conditions. I think it’s great for the evolution of women’s performance surfing and I’m up for the challenge,” said Peterson.

RUSTY WELCOME WADE CARMICHAEL Rusty announced that Australian underground powerhouse Wade Carmichael is joining their team. Rusty are delighted to add the Championship Tour surfer to their roster and can’t wait to see his huge turns supercharged further with their foam underfoot. “I’m super-psyched Wade is joining Rusty,” said the man the company is named after, legendary shaper Rusty Preisendorfer. “I love his style – all-out power. I feel good things coming for Wade, and I can’t wait to start fine-tuning his boards!” “Working with a legend like Rusty is really exciting,” said Wade. “And to see the list of powermongers who’ve ridden his boards in the past – Occy, Taylor Knox, Powelly – is wild! I’ve only ever looked up to those guys, and now hopefully a few people out there might start looking up to me too.”

on the move HURLEY CLOSES SYDNEY OFFICES Big changes at Hurley Australasia with former NSW agent Josh De Souza moving back to Melbourne and taking the sales and brand reins for new company Conquest Group, while Blake Levitt remains at Hurley along with the same sales force. Sales and Marketing Manager Michael Talbot will exit the business. Hurley has closed its Sydney offices and will consolidate in Conquest Group’s Melbourne office. See more on the integration plans this issue and our Professional Edition.

There was no outgoing statement from Jevon Le Roux and the decision is effective immediately. Former SurfStitch Managing Director Justin Hillberg has agreed to step back into the role of Managing Director. Mr. Facioni said this is a ‘critical time’ for SurfStitch. “Justin was the SurfStitch Managing Director for a number of years before moving into a Group Operations role within the Alquemie Group (the retail portfolio at Alceon). With the recent sale of Ezibuy to Mosaic Brands, Justin now has the capacity to step back into the SurfStitch Managing Director role.”

JUSTIN MCMAHON SIGNS ON WITH STOKEHOUSE Stokehouse Australia have put on a new sales representative for Vissla/Sisstr in the NSW territory. Justin McMahon of Next Level Agencies is well known across the NSW account base, having worked as NSW Brand Manager for Brixton, Carve, Spy Optics, Go Pro, Hydro Flask and various other brands since 2005. “All other reps remain the same,” said Stokehouse’s John Mossop. The Vissla/ Sisstr sales team are Matt Drape from Evolve Agencies for Vissla/Sisstr in Victoria, Rob Goyen from BobbyG for Vissla/Sisstr in WA, Joel McCabe from Inspired Youth for Vissla/Sisstr in QLD, Troy Riley from Life of Riley for Vissla/Sisstr in NZ and Sara Cavuoto from Needle & Thread for Vissla/ Sisstr in SA.

STUART BATES TO ARCH & HOOK After working in the surf and fashion industry for over 23 years across all areas of retail and wholesale, former Hurley National Sales Manager and industry veteran Stuart Bates has joined Arch and Hook. Bates started working with Arch & Hook as a brand ambassador about 18 months ago and seized the opportunity to drive the brand forward in 2020. “I always viewed the coat hanger as an afterthought,” admitted Bates. “We’d spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on shop fit-outs and design, and then outlay hundreds of thousands more on stock and apparel to fill the stores and then days before opening we would hustle to quickly order some cheap, unsustainable coat hangers from a catalogue to get the store opened ASAP.” Bates says that an estimated 85 billion plastic hangers are thrown away each year, ending up in landfill and the oceans. “We just moved into a new office in Manly and I’m really stoked to be on board with A&H and working in a sustainable business that is making a difference caring for the environment and cleaning up our oceans,” said Bates. More information; https://archandhook. com

IN BRIEF Shane Azar started as Marketing Director at Volcom Australia Holding Co Pty Ltd. Former Rhythm Women’s Brand Manager, Daniella Ciano moves to Global Head of Design - Womens at Quiksilver. Former Billabong Girls National Sales Manager Amber Hassell has left Billabong Group after eight years and formed a freelance Sales and Consultancy business, Amber Hassell Consulting Former Billabong Brand Manager and Sales Director Luke Bennett has exited the company and is seeking new opportunities (between surfs).

retail news SANBAH GRINDHOUSE CLOSURE OF SKATEPARK AND CAFÉ. NEW STORE OPENING Sanbah Grindhouse announced the closure of the skatepark and café sections of the business. The decision has ‘paved the way’ to extend its current retail footprint and allows for the addition of a new store. In an announcement to customers via Facebook, Sanbah Grindhouse said: “Whilst this is sad news, particularly for our team and our valued customers, we are happy to be unveiling an extension to the existing retail space along with an exciting new store which will become our neighbour and take over the skatepark space. “As a business we are passionate about being more than just retail: we want to provide our team and the community with opportunities to get out and be active in a fun and inclusive environment. The skatepark was part of this vision and the café combined with this to bring an exciting mixed retail and active space unlike anything else in the Newcastle area. “Due to the existing retail space expanding, it will take over the space of the café. We are currently working with our team on the logistics of closing the café to renovate the space. We will keep our customers updated when more information on the closing date is available. “We are proud of what we have achieved and thankful to our team who have worked with us during this time. From April 2020 the retail store will be re-branded, with the addition of snow apparel and hardware to its offering. This is an exciting new direction while staying true to our purpose of sharing the love of an active lifestyle.”

BRIXTON OPENS FIRST RETAIL STORE Brixton has opened its first brick-andmortar retail location in Sydney, Australia. The new retail space, which officially opened its doors in the neighborhood of Surry Hills in December, is an exciting milestone for the Southern California-based brand as it looks to expand its global retail footprint. “We’re so proud to launch our first modular retail concept in Sydney, a city that’s adopted Brixton from its earliest days,” said CEO Raphael Peck. “In addition to Australia, we’ll be focused on retail experiences in the US, as well as Japan in 2020, to give consumers an opportunity to touch and feel Brixton in a well curated, elevated space that creates community in the cities in which we open.” “This is something we’ve always dreamed of. Surry Hills was the perfect location for us to For daily news and analysis www.asbmag.com

bring our retail space to life – with its bluecollar roots and creative energy - being part of an authentic community that breathes our lifestyle was very important to the brand.” said Australasia Managing Director Mark Nelmes. The Brixton Australia flagship is located at 374 Crown Street, Surry Hills NSW.

“I don’t want to see it disturbed in 20, 30, 40 or 50 years’ time. I want to make sure that this area of the coast is absolutely protected as a surf reserve.” Mr de Brenni said surfing offered immeasurable benefits to the community. “As a surfer and as the Minister for Sport, I hear from a lot of people that they would like to see ongoing protection and conservation of our wave zones, our beaches and everything that surrounds them,” he said. Surf science researcher Ed Atkin said New Zealand introduced laws to protect surf breaks in 2010.

RIP BOB COOPER Late last year Mark Eymes had the opportunity to interview Bob and Wils Cooper on the occasion of Coopers Surf ’s 50th Anniversary. This may be Bob’s last interview and we’re very proud to have shared it with our readers. The artwork depicted in our ASB Gold Retail Award shows a young Bob Cooper, hanging out the front of the old store. Mark Eymes wrote on his instagram account @eymesy: “Thanks for sharing your stories and wisdom with me recently for @asbmag@ cooperssurfaustralia for the 50th Anniversary. Apart from being a big contributor to the surf industry over many years you were one of the best retailers I have ever met. Your comment that you wanted to build a shop so that everyone wanted to visit it will never date. It certainly was a great shop and it continues to be a great shop via @andrewlindsay73. You were also a great surfer and a great human and loved by many. RIP Bob” @eymesy

environment news SURFERS MAKE WAVES AS PREMIER VOWS TO PROTECT FAMED GOLD COAST BREAKS Organisers of the Global Wave Conference have welcomed the Queensland Government’s announcement that it would look at laws to protect the State’s world-famous surf breaks. QLD Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk together with Global Wave Conference chair Andrew McKinnon, surfing great Wayne Rabbit Bartholomew, Labor’s candidate for the State seat of Currumbin Kaylee Campradt and Minister for Sport Mick de Brenni, said she had asked Minister de Brenni to look into legal protection for the Gold Coast World Surfing Reserve. The 16km stretch of coast from Burleigh to Point Danger was officially declared the 8th World Surfing Reserve in March 2016. “What I’ve been hearing from people is that they would like a bit more security around the reserve and my government is now going to actively look at legislating the surf reserve here in Queensland,” said the Premier. “That’s something I know many people have been talking to us about. Kaylee’s raised it with me. So that’s something we are going to do because this area is beautiful. It is loved by surfers. “We’re going to actively look at legislating. “We’ll be looking at what’s happening around the world and we’ll be making sure that we get the top people working on this to ensure how we can legislate to protect this for future generations.

“In New Zealand we have an incredible platform, a legal framework under which surf breaks are recognised and that allows us to leverage the situation to ensure that our surfing resources are looked after,” he said. “It’s about maintaining access to and the enjoyment of the surf breaks. What it allows is a fair go for any kind of activity in a coastal environment. You can’t just come along and start building marinas or what was it, a (cruise ship) terminal or even change the water quality. It’s about maintaining the existing environment and preserving it. “You can undertake your activities but you can’t change our existing resource.” Save the Waves Coalition executive director Nik Strong-Cvetich said the Premier’s announcement was “very, very timely.” “From an international perspective, we at Save the Waves, with the World Surfing Reserves program, and a number of other efforts are really looking at how we use surfing and surf amenities to get additional protections for our coasts,” he said. “Some of the large international goals that are out there right now are protecting 30 per cent of our marine resources by 2030, so when we are incorporating the surfing community in those goals, it’s really significant. “So, this announcement it actually falls in line with a number of really big, important things that are happening at the international level, so the Gold Coast is leading the way on that front and you guys should be very proud of what you’ve done and what you’re doing.” The Global Wave Conference opened as the Premier revealed the Government would partner with Surfing Queensland as part of the new $32 million, three-year Active Industry Fund. The fifth of six pilot partnerships with state-level sport and recreation organisations, the Surfing Queensland alliance will see even more Queenslanders dip their toes into surfing, regardless of their age, gender, background, ability or location. “My government fought to protect this part of the Gold Coast for surfers and ocean lovers, and we want more people to take part in surfing at all levels from recreation to elite,” said the Premier. “When surfing makes its Olympics debut this year in Tokyo, Queenslander Julian Wilson is set to inspire us all. So, supporting people who face barriers into surfing makes sense right now.” Mr de Brenni said there were already 370,000 surfers in Queensland. “Anyone who’s ever learnt to surf can tell you it changes your life for the better and I want to give more Queenslanders that opportunity,” he said. “This partnership delivers diversity and inclusion programs for recreational, club

and surf school participants that will allow individuals to overcome barriers to participation, including targeted programs for people with a disability, women and girls, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and other under-represented groups.”

NOOSA BECOMES 10TH WORLD SURFING RESERVE The iconic Noosa Heads point break was declared the 10th World Surfing Reserve at a dedication ceremony in Noosa National Park. The World Surfing Reserves program, administered by the California-based Save The Waves Coalition, recognises not just world-class surf breaks, but the strength of the local surfing community and the commitment of the surfing community to protect its surf eco-system. A standout member of this local surfing community is former World Longboard Champion and one of the event favourites, Josh Constable (AUS). “I’m born and bred here in Noosa,” said Constable. “I grew up learning to surf here, with my parents and sister so to see it become a World Surfing Reserve and be protected in this way is really special. Knowing that the beauty and perfection of this place will continue for my kids and their kids feels amazing.” The five-kilometre stretch of coast from Noosa Rivermouth to North Sunshine, which incorporates several of the best righthand point break waves in the world, will become only the third Australian surf destination to be awarded this honours (after Manly/Freshwater and Southern Gold Coast) following a five-year campaign by the local stewardship council. It is a proud day for all Noosa locals, especially President of the Noosa World Surfing Reserve Committee, Phil Jarratt. “I’m really excited to finally say that Noosa is the third World Surfing Reserve in Australia and in my opinion the most beautiful,” Jarratt said. “It’s a beautiful part of the world for waves and I’m proud that we now know it can stay that way.”

The Wilderness Society and Great Australian Bight Alliance have welcomed the announcement. The Wilderness Society of South Australia had earlier issued legal proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia to challenge Equinor’s environmental approval. Equinor is the fourth fossil fuel company to withdraw from the Bight in recent years, following the exit of BP, Chevron and most recently Karoon Gas. They had been required to re-submit their plans to the federal exploration regulator, NOPSEMA, on multiple occasions. “The Wilderness Society welcomes Equinor’s decision to responsibly withdraw from the marine wilderness that is the Great Australian Bight. It’s been a while coming, but the right decision is the right decision and we have no doubt that the hundreds of thousands of people who have supported the campaign to Fight for the Bight will be both delighted and relieved to hear this news,” said Wilderness Society South Australian Director, Peter Owen. “We’ve worked tirelessly alongside the community to ensure that the Bight can be protected from irresponsible fossil fuel exploitation. “Four major oil companies have now left the Bight since the Fight for the Bight began. It’s clear that drilling the Bight is not a sensible proposition. Opening up a new high-risk frontier oil field when we are hurtling towards catastrophic climate change is madness. We are now calling on the Australian Government to listen to the people and permanently protect the unique waters of the Great Australian Bight from drilling for good,” said Mr Owen. NOPSEMA, Australia’s offshore oil and gas regulator, conditionally approved Equinor’s controversial ultra-deepwater Stromlo-1 exploration well proposed for the Bight on 18 December, in the lead-up to Christmas. Both Wilderness Society and the Great Australian Bight Alliance have said they will consider further steps to ensure the future protection of The Bight.

GSI GOES WITH PLASTIC-FREE PACKAGING Over the past twelve months, Global Surf Industries has been working on a program to eliminate all single-use plastic from their Surfboard and Stand Up Paddleboard packaging, taking advice from an Environmental Advisory service on best practices for packaging and working with vendors to source the best materials.

EQUINOR WITHDRAWS FROM THE BIGHT Norwegian resource company Equinor announced that it will abandon its plans to drill for oil in the Great Australian Bight. It’s vindication for the tens of thousands of protestors who’ve been vocal in paddle-outs, protests and petitions since Equinor first announced their risky plans. The people of Australia have clearly demonstrated they want the Bight protected from oil drilling and Equinor’s decision sends a clear message that the time has come for the Australian Government to provide permanent protection to the Great Australian Bight. Further, today’s decision reinforces the country’s movement towards renewable energy and the public demand that climate change targets be at the very top of the political agenda.

In September 2019, GSI moved all production to only use 100% recycled cardboard, 100% recycled paper and 100% recycled paper packing tape in their packaging. 100% of the packaging can be recycled. This helps to form a continuous loop whereby no virgin material is ever used in GSI’s packaging. These products have already started to flow to the marketplace. This initiative stops the use of over 300,000 square metres of plastic a year, which equates to approximately 75,000 litres of oil being used to create that plastic. “We see this as a vital first step in the greening of our product offering. We hope you see the value in this initiative and can make small adjustments in your own life that add up to bigger ones over your lifetime,” said Mark Kelly, CEO, Global Surf Industries.

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association news

see some of surfing’s biggest international stars and New Zealand’s most promising talent descend on Piha shores this coming March.

“WSL is really excited that Corona is coming on as the title partner for such an important event on our 2020 Calendar,” said WSL Asia Pacific General Manager Andrew Stark. “This is going to be a huge event on Surfing Australia has launched a new the Challenger Series and our first in New female participation program that will give Zealand in over five years, so to have one of women the opportunity to get moving in, our major global partners in Corona come on or around the ocean thanks to Sport Australia’s Move It AUS Participation Grant. on board is a great fit. We can’t wait for the inaugural Corona Piha Pro.” Programs will be delivered by Surfing Australia’s accredited surf schools and coaches across seven locations from February, with further expansion planned throughout 2020.

SURFING AUSTRALIA LAUNCH FEMALE PARTICIPATION PROGRAM

sponsorship news

Emily Souvras, Roxy Global General Manager spoke of Roxy’s long-standing goal and vision for women in sport. “For 30 years, ROXY has been driven by the single purpose of empowering women worldwide. With action sports and fitness sitting at the very heart of our efforts, we are proud to take part in the Shore Thing program. “Collectively, ROXY, Surfing Australia and Sport Australia will work to provide a yearround pathway to get women active in, on and around the ocean on some of the best and most iconic beaches in the world, which is very exciting.”

SURFING AUSTRALIA AND LIVEHEATS ANNOUNCE DIGITAL PARTNERSHIP Surfing Australia and LiveHeats have announced a national partnership to roll out LiveHeats event management and live scoring technology across all Surfing Australia, Surfing NSW, Surfing QLD, Surfing Victoria, Surfing WA, and Surfing Tasmania events in 2020. The partnership will bring all regional, state, national, and specialty events onto a single platform, creating a high quality and consistent digital event experience for competitors, spectators, and fans - with heat draws, scheduled heat times, live scores, results, and rankings automated and available instantly. As part of the deal, LiveHeats will develop a national ranking and seeding system that will feed regional, state and national events into a national leaderboard - setting a new standard for event seeding and junior talent identification. “We’ve been working hard over the last three years on growing our boardrider club community across Australia,” said LiveHeats CEO Chris Friend. “To now be partnering with Surfing Australia and all states is hugely exciting, as LiveHeats technology will now be utilised at all levels - from club and grassroots events through to the State and National Championships.”

CORONA PIHA PRO The World Surf League (WSL) announced that Corona will be the title partner of the 2020 Piha Pro Challenger Series (CS) event in New Zealand. The Corona Piha Pro will play as the second event on the newly announced WSL Challenger Series and will 12/ Australasian Surf Business Magazine ISSUE #91

AIRASIA CONTINUES AS THE OFFICIAL AIRLINE OF SURFING AirAsia and the World Surf League (WSL) Asia Pacific announced the extension of their partnership for 2020. As the Official Airline Partner of the WSL APAC, the world’s best low-cost airline will continue to roll out the AirAsia Beach Club and the AirAsia Flight Cam at each event of the Aussie leg. The activations will begin with the Sydney Surf Pro, Corona Open Gold Coast, and continue through to the Rip Curl Pro Bells Beach and Margaret River Pro. AirAsia CEO Benyamin Ismail said “Our guests love surfing as much as we do and we now have thousands of surfers travelling with us each year, taking advantage of our extensive network and ‘Surfboards Fly Free’ policy. “Our research shows that when they’re not taking up homegrown waves Australians love places like Bali, Padang, the Maldives and Sri Lanka for their surfing fix. A newcomer on our network, Lombok, is also proving to be a fast-growing favourite.” AirAsia will extend its ‘Surfboards Fly Free’ initiative in 2020, meaning surfers from Australia will be able to travel with their surfboard with no excess luggage cost, to any of the surfing hotspots found in AirAsia’s network of more than 160 destinations.

STAB HIGH IS COMING TO URBNSURF MELBOURNE Vans Stab High presented by Monster will take place at Melbourne, Australia’s URBNSURF facility on March 21ST. There will also be a live broadcast on stabhigh. com with all pay-per-view and ticket sales donated to Greening Australia, a group who specialise in tree planting and carbon offset initiatives. “It’s STAB’s small contribution after the devastating fires that hit Australia the past few months,” STAB said in a statement. The ethos of Stab High is simple: a fun, progressive, and brutally honest surfing event that doesn’t take all day. Surfers committed so far include Harry Bryant, Noa Deane, Matt Meola, Eithan Osborne, and Dion Agius. Stab’s Ladybirds will be making their return in Melbourne, hosted by Vans ambassador Hanna Scott. The first Ladybirds event winner, Sierra Kerr, will also be there to defend her title.

“We’re proud to announce that Vans is coming back as the headline sponsor of Stab High in 2020. This means a return of the Vans Acid Drop, hosted by Nathan Fletcher, in which surfers attempt to jump from the top of the pool’s concrete wall straight onto a wave. This year, with a smaller wall, it’s more tech tricks than car crash antics,” said STAB.

MAMBO ANNOUNCES ‘LIFESTYLE’ PARTNERSHIP WITH URBNSURF Mambo has announced a new surf lifestyle partnership with Australia’s first surf park, URBNSURF Melbourne. Mambo’s opportunity to celebrate 35 years of influencing Australian generations and their connection with art, street, surf lifestyle with an irreverent sense of humour are the key aspects that have continually set the brand apart and led to this latest partnership with URBNSURF in Melbourne. “We’re thrilled to be partnering with URBNSURF as their official surf lifestyle partner and look forward to providing the signature Mambo art and vibes on and off the waves,” said Paul Cannon, CEO Caprice Australia (Mambo).

BOOST MOBILE SIGNS AS TITLE PARTNER FOR MARGARET RIVER Boost Mobile is set to continue their strong affiliation with professional surfing in 2020 as the title partner of the third stop on the World Surf League (WSL) Championship Tour (CT) in Western Australia. The Boost Mobile Margaret River Pro will run from April 22 to May 2, 2020. Boost Mobile General Manager Jason Haynes said “Boost Mobile has been supporting surfing and surfers for over twenty years. We are proud to expand on our great partnership with WSL to become the title sponsor for the third stop on the dream tour. Surfers in general travel, especially when looking for the next best wave, including great locations like Western Australia, so our product is very relevant. Boost Mobile is on the Telstra mobile network, which provides a lot more geographical coverage than any other network in the country. This is important if you want to stay connected.” The Boost Mobile Margaret River Pro will run from April 22 – May 2, 2020.

THE AUSTRALIAN BODYBOARDING TOUR HAS BEEN SUSPENDED The Australian Bodyboarding Association (ABA) announced the suspension of the ABA Tour.

finance news KATHMANDU GETS RIP CURL BOOST Kathmandu Holdings said same-store sales rose 1.5 per cent in the 26 weeks to January 26, although margins have declined. A Kathmandu statement also said it would post a 40 per cent earnings boost for the half-year to January 31, thanks to the A$350 million Rip Curl acquisition completed late last year. Rip Curl is expected to add at least 10 per cent to Kathmandu’s per-share earnings. Kathmandu is the latest to identify a shift in shopping patterns to the heavily discounted events of Black Friday in November and Boxing Day, saying it experienced low foot traffic in between. Rip Curl branded stores in Australia traded up +8.3% on a comparable basis in the important summer trading period. “The Christmas trading period has seen a further shift towards Black Friday and Boxing Day events. Low December market foot traffic between these two events, unusually hot weather, and bushfires in Australia, have combined to moderate first half sales,” said chief executive Xavier Simonet. “We are delighted to have completed the successful acquisition of Rip Curl, allowing us to significantly diversify our products, geography, and channels to market.” Online sales were up by 30 per cent versus the same period last year, and its Oboz footwear division’s sales were up 10 per cent. Kathmandu said its diversification strategy was already showing benefits, with Rip Curl’s total sales for the first three months under Kathmandu’s ownership expected to be more than 2.7 per cent higher than the comparable period last year. The company said it was actively monitoring any supply chain developments as a result of the coronavirus outbreak in China. However, it said it does not expect a material supply impact from coronavirus in the short term, and consumer demand so far had not changed significantly. “The group has mitigation plans in place if there is a prolonged disruption to our Chinese suppliers.” Kathmandu will release its full result for the half-year on March 30. Shares in the outdoor clothing retailer closed at $3.44 yesterday, having risen by more than 40 per cent over the past 52 weeks.

The non-profit bodyboarding organisation decided to take a step back, “recharge, restructure and renegotiate for a better competitive platform in 2021.” The cancellation of the 2020 ABA Tour is the result of the lack of financial support from sponsors, local authorities, and other major stakeholders. “The financial viability of running a tour across such a large country has always been a challenge for our business,” the ABA said in a statement. The good news is that the board of directors is already working on a new system and competitive structure to make a viable comeback in 2021. For daily news and analysis www.asbmag.com

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OVERSEAS NEWS

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us news BLUESTAR ALLIANCE CLOSES ACQUISITION OF HURLEY Bluestar Alliance, LLC announced that it has completed the acquisition of Hurley International, LLC from Nike, Inc. “Bluestar has had huge momentum since we established the firm in 2007,” commented Joseph Gabbay, Chief Executive Officer of Bluestar Alliance. “Bluestar is a premier brand management and marketing company and Hurley is a pinnacle asset with a long runway of growth ahead. As surf culture resonates throughout pop culture and its influence is felt across fashion, music and more, we see opportunity for global organic brand extensions and partnerships.” “Hurley is certainly one of the world’s bestknown surf brands yet still has the capacity to grow, particularly in skateboarding and snowboarding,” commented Ralph Gindi, Co-Founder of Bluestar Alliance. “We have had initial discussions with real estate owners to expand Hurley’s presence at surf and skate parks, create deeper connections with our consumers and the brand, while keeping the locations convenient for the action sport aficionado.” In addition, Bluestar will continue to grow the women’s business, which will be fuelled by connecting fashion and function. The company recently announced the resigning of four-time world champion Carissa Moore to Hurley, as well as rising star Eli Hanneman. Hurley is well represented at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Japan, including Carissa Moore, Kolohe Andino and Julian Wilson. Bluestar Alliance, founded in 2006 by Joseph Gabbay and Ralph Gindi owns, manages, and markets a portfolio of consumer brands including Hurley, Bebe, Tahari, Kensie, Limited Too, Brookstone, Nanette Lepore, Catherine Malandrino, Joan Vass, English Laundry and others that span many tiers of distribution. Bluestar Alliance specialises in developing and marketing consumer brand companies through extensive relationships with leading retailers, brand licensing manufacturers and a network of media and strategic partners. Bluestar Alliance’s current international and domestic partners offer the opportunity to take a niche brand to a visible worldwide lifestyle brand. Bluestar’s retail footprint includes over 250 stores, shop in shops, and distributors in North America, Europe, South America, Japan, China, Korea, Australia, the Middle East, UAE, Kuwait, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, and many more. Since its inception, the company has acquired select brands with retail sales expected to exceed $3.0 billion in 2020.

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BRETT SAVAGE JOINS FIREWIRE Firewire Surfboards welcomes industry veteran Brett Savage to the position of Global Marketing Director, overseeing the stable of brands that Firewire now brings to market. Brett joins the company after holding senior positions at a number of action sports brands, as well as consulting for others, as we all try and navigate this brand-new world. “Brett’s hire is pivotal in a number of ways,” said Firewire CEO Mark Price, “clearly we’re adding significant expertise in the areas of targeted marketing, consumer research and the increased integration of technology across all of our marketing and sales efforts, but the benefits don’t end there.” Price continued “While product is always king, in this age of electronic media and short attention spans, the content that we create to support our product launches is vital to their success, and our in-house crew have done an amazing job on that front. Brett’s addition will enable the content team to focus even more on that, as well as leverage Brett’s expertise to give the Firewire band a bigger stage to play on.”

VF NAMED ONE OF THE 2020 WORLD’S MOST ETHICAL COMPANIES VF Corporation has been recognized by Ethisphere, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices, as one of the 2020 World’s Most Ethical Companies. “We’re proud to be recognized for the fourth consecutive year as one of the world’s most ethical companies,” said Steve Rendle, VF’s Chairman, President and CEO. “This recognition demonstrates the commitment shared by all our associates around the world to live with integrity and hold ourselves to the highest ethical standards. As a purpose-led company that is powered by a performance-driven workforce, we are dedicated to continual improvement and leading by example, which we hope inspires others in our industry to do the same.”

TED LI EXITS BOARDRIDERS Ted Li, the SVP of Sales for Boardriders in the Americas, has exited the company. During his tenure at Boardriders, Ted was responsible for sales of the Quiksilver, Roxy and DC brands. After acquiring Billabong and its family of brands, Boardriders is continuing its integration efforts on the commercial side of the business. Ted joined Quiksilver Inc. in 2015 from Oakley, where he worked for seven years, including as Vice President of North America. Talking with SES Ted said: “As a team we went through a lot and really built a strong connection. Going through bankruptcy and integration allowed me to learn a ton and build a world-class business within the action sports space. Boardriders is set up for great things in the future and I wish them the best. I will definitely miss the team! The timing was right for me to venture out and tackle a new challenge.”

nz news SKY SPORT BROADCAST PARTNER FOR CORONA PIHA PRO & NZ WSL CHALLENGER SERIES The WSL has announced that Sky Sport New Zealand will be a major sponsor and broadcast partner for the upcoming Corona Piha Pro WSL Challenger Series event this March. The partnership is part of a new threeyear deal that will also see Sky Sport hold exclusive television broadcast rights in New Zealand for WSL’s major global live events, along with other WSL-owned content. Sky Sport will also be the naming rights sponsor of the Piha Pro New Zealand Trials event which will give four local surfers the opportunity to compete in the major Challenger Series event this March. Tex Teixeira, Sky’s Chief Content Officer, said “Surfing is a growth sport and as a key sponsor for the Corona Piha Pro and with broadcast rights for a huge range of international events and other content, we’re supporting surfing at all levels and making this exciting sport more accessible to more fans. “We know the last time New Zealand hosted a surfing event of the scale of the Corona Piha Pro, there was a huge surge in the number of people taking up surfing. Ensuring every New Zealand fan can be inspired by seeing local and global stars compete on the waves here and around the world, is an exciting proposition for Sky Sport.” Andrew Stark, General Manager WSL Asia Pacific said “We are excited to partner with Sky Sport to showcase the WSL year-round to New Zealand fans. In addition to our live WSL Championship Tour broadcast of every tour stop on Sky Sport, we look forward to introducing Kiwi fans to other WSL Studios lifestyle content. Our partnership also includes the Corona Piha Pro, where Sky will be a major support partner of the event, including securing name rights to the Sky Sport Piha Pro New Zealand Trials, the trials event for the Corona Piha Pro.” The Sky Sport Piha Pro New Zealand Trials will run on March 15, in the lead up to the Corona Piha Pro Challenger Series event, which will run from March 16 through March 22, 2020.

indo news ONBOARD STORE OPENS AT PADANG, BALI Channel Islands Surfboards & Onboard Store has officially opened a new store on the Bukit Peninsula, right in the heart of Padang and two minutes from the worldfamous surf breaks of Uluwatu. The store staged a soft opening in September and really kicked things off in November by teaming up with Vans to screen their surf film Tanned Madonna, by Alex Knost. The final stage was completed this week with Souq Organic Café opening, offering early morning coffees, breakies and lunches.

“We’re excited to finally have a presence up on the Bukit complementing our Seminyak & Canngu stores - now you can buy a CI board or order a custom ready in seven days, just two minutes from Ulus” - Andrew Down The new store will carry a full line of Channel Island’s offerings, including its leading performance surfboard models in PU and Spine-tek like the Happy / Happy Step Up, the Black Beauty, Fever, OG Flyer and Rocket Wide. Complimenting the CI offer, you will see full lines of Christensons, from Lane splitters to Huntsmans, Carreras and Sicarios. You can find the Channel Islands Store Padang-Padang at JL. Labuan Sait Pecatu, Kuta Selatan, Badung – 80362 Bali, Indonesia Ph: +62 81246418308 For further information Instagram - @cisurfboardsbali Website – www.onboardstore.id

euro news FLEXI HEX LAUNCH CROWD FUNDING CAMPAIGN Adaptable plastic-free packaging firm Flexi Hex will launch a crowdfunding campaign to community fund the next stage of their journey. Flexi-Hex is now available in 19 countries with over 154,000 sleeves sold, removing the equivalent of 389km of bubble wrap, enough to extend from London to Paris. According to Flexi Hex, current sales are showing 174% year-on-year growth. The global protective packaging industry is estimated to be worth $756 billion annually, and the potential for FlexiHex is far-reaching. Founders Sam and Will Boex recognised the impact that single use plastic was having on their local and the world’s marine environment. Their passion for surfing and their personal experience of transporting boards around the globe inspired them to create a sustainable packaging sleeve for the board sports industry. Consumers and industry are seeking sustainable alternatives to single use plastic packaging. Flexi-Hex have achieved investments from Sky Ocean Ventures and Innovate UK and in 2019 won industry awards including the Surfers Against Sewage Plastic Re-Innovation Award and the Eco Pack Challenge. The company recently featured in National Geographic as one of the ‘5 UK innovations that could change our relationship with waste.’ More information https://www.flexi-hex. com/invest/

FORMER NIKE EXECUTIVES BUY HURLEY EMEAS BUSINESS Javier Carrera and David Meire, two Spanish executives with backgrounds in Nike and Quiksilver, have acquired Hurley in Europe, Middle East and Africa. After the deal, Carrera, who has been named as CEO of the company, and Meire will maintain Hurley headquarters in Barcelona and “will continue with the surf project for the brand”. The two executives will be focused on a fluid transition after the change of ownership. For daily news and analysis www.asbmag.com

SUMMER 20 WETSUITS

We live in the Ocean

FEATURE ARTICLE / WORDS ASB MAGAZINE

“WE WILL GET AFTER THIS OPPORTUNITY THE ONLY WAY WE KNOW HOW AND

HURLEY NEW OWNERS ‘ADOPT & ADAPT’ Hurley’s new owners outline the company’s ‘heavy vested interest’ in the brand.

THAT IS TO GO ABOUT THINGS STRATEGICALLY IN A VERY MEASURED EQUITABLE AUTHENTIC MANNER – BUILDING STRONG PARTNERSHIPS ALONG THE WAY WITH ALL ASSOCIATED PARTIES.”

Hurley’s new owner Conquest Group recently formed under Hurley Australasia Pty Ltd, taking on the trademarks for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. We first announced the new distribution partnership in January following the Blue Star Alliance LLC acquisition of the Hurley brand in December 2019. Conquest Group are a high-performing group of companies who own and operate wholesale and retail businesses across the Australian and New Zealand Ath-Leisure Lifestyle sectors. A privately-owned business, Conquest employs a team of 465 staff, is the longest-serving licensee for the Converse brand globally and were awarded the global licensee of the year 2019. In addition, Conquest are the licensee for the Nike and Brand Jordan Kids Apparel. According to Group General Manager Haydon Gray, this means Conquest has a heavy vested interest in the Hurley brand. “We will get after this opportunity the only way we know how, and that’s to go about things strategically in a very measured, equitable, authentic manner – building strong partnerships along the way with all associated parties,” said Gray. “We will ensure strong alignment back to Blue Star Alliance in the US. We have co-operative agreements in place to see a strong global narrative and relationship for the brand and ourselves.” Part of the company’s commitment is to remain at the core of performance surf with an extension into skate, snow, art, music and culture and to realise founder Bob Hurley’s ‘original vision’ for the brand.

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- HAYDON GRAY.

Conquest Group have exclusively secured the global licenses (product) across all categories for Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, whilst the Indonesian license remains vacant at this time. Haydon Gray said Hurley Australasia have the ability to ‘adopt and or adapt’ all product as relevant to this marketplace. “We have the ability to produce product locally (ourselves) as required, to optimise all opportunities,” said Gray, adding “The product opportunity is significant, which is especially exciting, however as always we will construct strategically and distribute as we must by channel at a good/better/best level. “As with merchandising, a strong global narrative and close focus on an aligned above-the-line and below-the-line, 360-degree approach will be evident. This will be absolutely at the core of our planning and execution.” Global athletes such as Julian Wilson, Kolohe Andino, Filipe Toledo, Kai Lenny, Koa Smith and recently-announced re-signings Eli Hanneman and four-time World Champion Carissa Moore remain with the brand. While maintaining a laser focus in surf, Hurley Australasia will also look to other action sport initiatives to support its position in those markets by exclusively tying in the right athletes and influencers, and Haydon Gray said there are several exciting global deals in the works that will be announced over coming weeks.

PROFESSIONAL EDITION

HAYDON GRAY GROUP GENERAL MANAGER CONQUEST GROUP To read more about Hurley Australasia’s distribution plans, channel management (including views on entering the value ‘big box’ channel) licensed stores as well as market leading dispatch and logistics and the pending launch of Hurley’s new website and B2B portal we talk exclusively with Haydon Gray for our Professional Edition subscribers.

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THE BUSHFIRE CRISIS:

SOUTH COAST SURFERS ARE EVEN TOUGHER THAN WE THOUGHT

It’s hard to imagine the feeling of watching a thirtyfoot wall of flames engulf your family home unless you’ve actually lived through it. That’s exactly what South Coast legend Phil McDonald endured near his hometown of Tomakin. When a surfer of Phil’s stature recounts the story with a tremble in his voice, you begin to get a fuller appreciation of what has played out in the news and through social media this summer. The “Black Summer” bushfire crisis, as it’s now being called, is an unprecedented natural disaster that captured world headlines. Over the Christmas- New Year period, temperatures soared in places already made dangerously dry by drought. A state-wide state of emergency was declared in NSW, and for the first time ever, tourists were mass-evacuated from coastal towns. The fires destroyed millions of hectares of bushland and almost one billion animals, as well as homes and other assets. Thankfully, the human toll was minimal thanks in no small part to the brave firefighters (most of them volunteers) on the frontline. The financial toll is beginning to filter through, and the surf industry is way down, conservatively 11% YOY across the country in January. The emotional toll ? It’s still ongoing… While the bushfires were widespread along the East Coast and parts of Victoria, Tasmania and South Australia, the South Coast of NSW has been synonymous with the terrible impact of the fires, and also the road to recovery. Kent Saunders reckons takings for Southern Man were down by 80 per cent for January, the month when he normally takes a third of his annual revenue. Yet he radiates optimism. “We’ll be strong,” he said. “There’s so much generosity in the town.” Kent and his wife, Juanita, have been running the business for forty years, and wouldn’t rule out another forty if nature doesn’t intervene.

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While there were many surf shops affected, you’ve got to feel for the new owners of Offshore Surf in Moruya and Broulee. Not only did they confront the stark economic realities the fires brought with them, but they also did it all within the first few months of taking over the business.

“We were prepared as best as possible, doing everything promoted by the RFS as precautions and our own O&E staff brigade on standby. The stress, dealing with this prolonged fire threat, is significant and I can’t imagine what it would be like to lose your home or property after weeks of being on emotional

“THE STRESS, DEALING WITH THIS PROLONGED FIRE THREAT, IS SIGNIFICANT AND I CAN’T IMAGINE WHAT IT WOULD BE LIKE TO LOSE YOUR HOME OR PROPERTY AFTER WEEKS OF BEING ON EMOTIONAL EDGE” “It’s insane,” new owner Brett Muskett told us. “You couldn’t make it up.” Brett bought the business in August, together with fellow long-time employee Ned Cootes, and was looking forward to experiencing the full benefits of the annual tourist boom. Sussex Inlet and South Coast icon Ocean & Earth were right on the frontline and lucky that their employees were safe and none lost their homes. Fortunately, O&E’s factory escaped the fires for a second time. “After almost losing our factory in January 2001, those fires happened quickly and was a bit ‘wham-bam’ shock, over and done deal. It took a couple of weeks to recover from,” said Brian Cregan, CEO of Ocean & Earth. Cregan held vigil overnight in the factory, flames licking at the doorstep, hose in hand. “The fires this time had been lingering for around a month, causing disruption, destruction and heart ache along the south coast. Twice over the ChristmasNew Year period we’ve been threatened and fortunately saved by a southerly change, just in time.”

edge. You have to feel for those 450-odd families that lost homes on the south coast (and hundreds of homes elsewhere) but and after talking to a couple, they’re happy to have escaped alive,” recalled Cregan. As the road to recovery begins, it’s worth considering how we as an industry respond, be it through Go Fund Me campaigns or by donating profits from online sales and merchandise all the way through to charity events. The bushfire crisis also highlighted the ingenuity of two South Coast locals, Turia Pitt and Grace McBride, who created the Instagram account @spendwiththem featuring businesses (like Southern Man) that have been affected by the bushfires and encouraging people to ‘spend with them’. The account has now amassed 201K followers since it was launched, and represents a simple way to provide direct support to business in fire-ravaged areas. There are too many events, charities and funds to list here, but whatever you choose, keep doing it. These businesses need your support, well after the flames have been extinguished.

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ASB MULTI MEDIA METER 2020

Surfers Media Meter PRINT Rank

KELLY SLATER

↑

Athlete

Total

KELLY SLATER

↑

PACHA LIGHT

↑

LOUIE HYND

— JACK ROBINSON

↑

KOA SMITH

↑

TYLER WRIGHT

— KANOA IGARASHI

— KIP CADDY

— OWEN WRIGHT

— JODIE COOPER

— ANDREW STARK

↑

OLLIE DOUSSET

↑

LAURA ENEVER

— HEATH JOSKE

↑

ITALO FERREIRA

Advertising

Editorial

10 10

SOCIAL Rank

GABRIEL MEDINA

Athlete

Total

↑

GABRIEL MEDINA

10,092,579

Twitter

↑

KELLY SLATER

5,402,552

↑

MICK FANNING

2,143,754

↓

JOHN JOHN FLORENCE

2,090,058

↑

FILIPE TOLEDO

1,481,340

↑

JULIAN WILSON

1,461,674

↓

STEPH GILMORE

1,273,949

↑

JORDY SMITH

1,023,400

↑

KAI LENNY

821,286

↑

OWEN WRIGHT

688,096

↑

TAJ BURROW

663,987

↑

TYLER WRIGHT

398,375

↓

MATT WILKINSON

305,373

↑

KANOA IGARASHI

281,653

↑

DANE REYNOLDS

276,995

Facebook

Instagram

SOCIAL MEDIA COMMENTARY

JOHN JOHN FLORENCE

KAI LENNY

TYLER WRIGHT

ALANA BLANCHARD

It’s interesting to see what part (if any) an athlete’s social media profile plays into their sponsorship negotiations. Having a large fan base is no doubt appealing to some brands, but so too is activity. In the social media world ‘new followers’ represents activity through fan engagement. The ability to pull new eyeballs and fans to a brand or athlete is arguably more important than total number of followers. According to Stab, Hurley is doubling-down on Kai Lenny, who they want to be the new face of the brand. In January, the ‘Millennial Laird’ increased his ‘new followers’ by 3.8k despite only 15 ‘posts’ and coming in at #9 on our Social Media Meter. In December, the social media world was abuzz, when new owners Bluestar Alliance parted ways with John-John Florence who comes in at #4 on our Social Media Meter. Similarly, Rip Curl recently re-signed 2 time World Champion Tyler Wright, who increased her ‘new followers’ by 1.1k in January and is ranked #12 here. Meanwhile, Rip Curl parted with social media star Alana Blanchard whose total followers is 2.2m. While Alana doesn’t rank on our listing, she had much fewer ‘new followers’ in January and almost half the followers of Rip Curl’s Bethany Hamilton with 3.7m followers. While an athlete’s total fan base is no doubt desirable to brands, there’s a mounting argument, at least statistically, that surfers need to remain active on social media, grow ‘new followers’ and continue to bring new eyeballs and fans to their sponsors or risk losing them.

22/ Australasian Surf Business Magazine ISSUE #91

ASB MULTI MEDIA METER 2020

Brands Media Meter PRINT Rank

Brand

THE PRINT MEDIA METER SHOULD BE USED AS A GUIDE ONLY TO SURFERS’ AND BRANDS’ IMPRESSIONS IN THE FOLLOWING MAGAZINES OVER THE SAMPLE PERIOD OF JANUARY THROUGH UNTIL MAY (2020) MAGAZINE COVER DATES.

Total

↑

RIP CURL

↑

QUIKSILVER

↓

BILLABONG

— RED BULL

↑

FOSTERS

↑

GLOBE

↑

OAKLEY

— AL MERRICK

↑

ATOLL ADVENTURES

↑

DRAGON

↑

NIXON

↑

REEF

↑

DHD SURFBOARDS

↑

SHARP EYE SURFBOARDS

— CREATURES OF LEISURE

Magazines Tracks Magazine Australia’s Surfing Life Magazine Surfing World Magazine Surfers Cumulative advertising and editorial impressions using the point score legend opposite. Brands First past the post. To qualify company logos must be clearly legible to the average person. Corporate advertising bearing more than one company logo earns one impression. Brands accrue one point for every legible impression including all editorial and advertising.

SOCIAL Rank

Brand

Total

↑

NIKE

143,521,219

↑

GO PRO

29,913,927

↑

VANS

20,324,497

↑

NIKON

15,325,417

↑

QUIKSILVER

9,124,802

↑

HURLEY

6,618,022

↑

OAKLEY

5,302,853

↑

BILLABONG

4,667,404

↑

VOLCOM

4,424,457

↑

NIXON

2,023,175

↑

REEF

1,810,420

↑

O’NEILL

1,253,200

↑

RVCA

1,189,805

↑

RIP CURL

845,565

↑

SPY OPTIC

783,701

Advertising & Editorial Ratios Magazines are ranked in order of highest editorial content percentage. The Pointscore Legend Cover Poster (pull-out) Three-page action gatefold Double page spread Full-page plus column Full-page Half-page Quarter-page Less than Quarter-page

20 20 15 10 7 5 2 1.25 1

#SOCIAL_MEDIA_METER Using top brands and surfers we’ve tallied surf brands or brands operating in surfwear distribution as the baseline for our social media list. Using the social media links from each brand’s Australian website homepage, we’ve combined their Facebook ‘likes’ as well as Instagram and Twitter ‘followers’ to determine our overall social media top performers. If there’s a brand that deserves to be on the list, write to us and let us know. If the link to your social media site isn’t the right one or there’s an alternative social media page for your brand we should be monitoring, also let us know.

MAGAZINES / PRINT

Rank

Ads

Pages

Brand

—

SURFING LIFE #349

—

TRACKS #575

116

—

SW #409

116

MAGAZINES / SOCIAL Brand

Facebook

Instagram

Twitter

Total

STAB

1,274,064

887,00

32400

2,193,464

346,693

154000

1126

501,819

TRACKS

246,048

118000

33500

397,548

SURFING LIFE

128,704

142000

77900

348,604

Editorial

#SOCIAL MEDIA METER (ALPHABETICAL ORDER) NB NO TOTAL OR RANK DUE TO THE MIX OF GLOBAL AND REGIONAL SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELS. SHOULD BE USED AS A GUIDE ONLY. TABLE CORRECT AT FEBRUARY. TABLE REPRESENTS THOSE BRANDS ON THE PRINT MEDIA METER ONLY. NOT EVERY BRAND.

For daily news and analysis www.asbmag.com 23/

GRAPHENE IS A NOBEL-PRIZE-WINNING WONDER MATERIAL. FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER, WE’VE ADDED IT TO A WETSUIT. WITH GRAPHENE-INFUSED YARNS IN YOUR WETSUIT LINER, YOU’LL BE:

WARMER FASTER FOR LONGER* *IN AN INDEPENDENT LAB STUDY, GRAPHENE HEATS UP FASTER AND MAINTAINS HEAT MUCH LONGER THAN TRADITIONAL THERMAL LININGS...EVEN AFTER YOU STOP MOVING. FOR MORE INFO, VISIT BILLABONG.COM.

F E A T U R I N G

Y O U ’ R E

G E T T I N G

W A R M E R

GRIFFIN COLAPINTO

FRESH

O’NEILL PSYCHOTECH 3/2 FUZE Code: 5336OA Colourway: GG6 RAVEN/ACIDWASH RRP$: $599.99 Available: Now Description: The new pinnacle in wetsuit technology with ultra warm TB Firewall liner, enhanced windproof meshskin panels, advanced external single fluid seams, and internal TB3-X taping.

O’NEILL BAHIA 3/2 FUZE Code: 95424 Colourway: KL2 BLK/CACTS/TWOR/ GOLD RRP$: $349.99 Available: Now Description: The rock solid Bahia 3/2 Fuze with Ultraflex DS Neoprene, GBS Seams, Supergril liner & updated Seasonal Floral print.

PATAGONIA GERRY LOPEZ POCKET RESPONSIBILI-TEE® Code: 38509-PGBE Colourway: Pidgeon Blue RRP$: $69.95 Available: August Description: Producing this 100% recycled pocket T-shirt uses 96% less water and creates 45% less CO2 than a conventional cotton T-shirt. Fair Trade Certified™ sewn.

PATAGONIA SILENT DOWN JACKET Code: 27935-CEP Colourway: Century Pink RRP$: $379.95 Available: September Description: One of the softest and most supple down jackets we have ever made. Designed with comfort and warmth in mind to be the ultimate everyday and travel jacket.

BILLABONG ONE FISH TWO FISH PRO Code: 9503480 Colourway: Black RRP$: $79.99 Available: May Description: Billabong is proud to collaborate with Dr.Seuss and the unique art messages from oh, the places you’ll go!

RIP CURL MIRAGE MEDINA 10M ULTIMATE Code: CBOBT9 Colourway: Red RRP$: $129.99 Available: September Description: Black. White. Royal blue and blood red. Performance fabrics and Vapor Cool technology. Bold colour blocking. Pop striped rib detailing. Comfortable, easy wear fabrics. 10M is all of these things yet conveys one simple message. Just like Gabriel Medina, you’re not in this game to come second.

QUIKSILVER HIGHLINE SUB TROPIC 18 Code: EQYBS04422 Colourway: Pacific Blue– BGZ6 RRP$: $79.99 Available:July Description: Plastic bottles to boardshorts. This boardshort is made from recyclable 4-way stretch fabric with performance fit and fly. Features include Dryflight water repellent treatment and a pocket with key bungee cord inside.

ROXY SYNCRO 2MM BZ LS SPRING QLOCK Code: ERJW403024-XXXM Colourway: Black/Bright Coral RRP$: $209.99 Available: August

VISSLA TC DESTINATION FIN LS Code: M483QDES Colourway: Bone RRP$: $59.99 Available: July Description: From the Thomas Campbell spring collaboration

SALTY CREW BALLAST QTR ZIP FLEECE Code: 21535008 Colourway: Navy RRP$: $79.99 Available: July Description: Mockneck Pullover.100% Polyester. Midweight polar fleece fabrication. Zippered back hem security pocket. Elasticized cuffs and hem.

SALTY CREW BEACHCOMBER S/S PREMIUM TEE Code: 20035313 Colourway: Camel RRP$: $49.99 Available: July Description: 100% Cotton jersey. 30 Singles combed ringspun. Screen printed front and back.

26/ Australasian Surf Business Magazine ISSUE #91

For daily news and analysis www.asbmag.com

SISSTREVOLUTION PIPELINE L/S KNIT HOODED FLEECE Code: GF02QPIP Colourway: Pitaya RRP$: $79.99 Available: July Description: Old school print with modern styling for the morning surf check.

ROXY JUST SHINE ELONGATED TRI & HIGH LEG MINI BOT Code: ERJX304229/ERJX403994 Colourway: Bright White Mahe S - WBB9 RRP$: $59.99/$55.99 Available: July Description: Swimwear is made from a textured fabric. The top is complete with a functional self-tie fabric bow at center front, fixed straps at the back and removable padding. The shape is an elongated triangle and is best suited for cup size A/B/C. The bottoms are a high leg mini – mini being the coverage.

BILLABONG DAHLIA BRA BIKINI TOP/HI RISE BIKINI BOTTOM Code: 6503746/6503749 Colourway: Rust RRP$: $65.99/$65.99 Available: August Description: Part of the Gypsy Oasis collection this bikini is in a favourite vintage Hawaiian print on a bold red hue, the colour of the hour. In a beautiful ribbed texture, the bra bikini top is a flattering fit, while the Maui Rider is one of Billabong’s best selling high-waisted bikini bottoms.

RIP CURL GOLDEN DAYS CHEEKY ONE PIECE Code: GSIFW9 Colourway: Cream RRP$: $99.99 Available: July Description: Celebrating the tradition of surfing culture and all that Rip Curl stands for, this is Surf Revival. A highfive for our colourful history and the fine madness that is Rip Curl. Designed to be completely seamless and cut for a cheeky and flattering look with a striking shirred neckline this one piece is your must-have staple for the season.

GLOBE LOS ANGERED II Code: GBLAII 11782 Colourway: Bleach Free RRP$: $129.99 Available: August Description: The sequel to the Los Angered originally designed for Dion Agius, the second coming has morphed into a preferred high top of our skate team. Globe’s Shockbed™ insole for impact control and Super-V™ outsole for enhanced grip and board feel highlight the details of this future classic.

GLOBE SURPLUS Code: GBSURP 11782 Colourway: Bleach Free RRP$: $99.95 Available: August Description: A utilitarian vulcanized skate silhouette featuring Globe’s Shockbed™ insole for impact control and Super-V™ outsole for enhanced grip and board feel. Tested and developed for skateboarding by our team, this evergreen staple is essential. Shockbed™ Insole | Super-V™ Outsole.

VANS SURF BOOT HI Code: VN0A45K5QW7 Colourway: Black/True White RRP$: $159.99 Available: March Description: Placing a premium on board feel and grip, the Surf Boot Hi takes everything we know about skate shoes and packages it up in a surf bootie. Featuring 360° grip, second-skin fit, and rubberdipped neoprene for cold water comfort, the Surf Boot Hi is designed to keep you Off The Wall and in the water.

VANS ULTRARANGE EXO Code: VNA4U1KRED Colourway: Red RRP$: $149.99 Available: Now Description: The UltraRange EXO is an all-around upgrade designed to deliver prolonged comfort, reliable grip and increased durability with a molded heel to eliminate heel slippage. The redesigned Lite midsole and reverse waffle lug outsole maximize traction, grip and durability while maintaining lightweight versatility. The EXO skeleton provides built-in support across the toes and medial sidewall, with a heel lock for a secure fit and UltraCush® tongue with breathability ports for superior airflow.

HAVAIANAS TOP STRIPE ZAG BLACK Code: HTPS 1071 Colourway: Black/ Black RRP$: $34.99 Available: September

HAVAIANAS SLIM LEOPARD Code: HSPL 1069 Colourway: Black/ Black RRP: $39.99 Available: September

27/

BUYERS' GUIDE

BOARDSHORTS

RIP CURL MIRAGE 3/2/1 ULTIMATE Code: CBOBU9 Colourway: Indigo RRP$: $99.99 Available: August

RIP CURL MIRAGE OWEN SALTWATER Code: CBOBX9 Colourway: Blue RRP$: $79.99 Available: July

RIP CURL MIRAGE MASON SURF HEADS Code: CBOBW9 Colourway: Washed Black RRP$: $79.99 Available: June

BILLABONG SUNDAYS AIRLITE Code: 9503400 Colourway: Neon RRP$: $89.99 Available: July

BILLABONG T STREET AIRLITE Code: 9503402 Colourway: Night RRP$: $89.99 Available: July

PATAGONIA STRETCH HYDROFLOW BOARDSHORTS 19” Code: 86570-INBK Colourway: Ink Black RRP$: $139.95 Available: August

PATAGONIA STRETCH HYROPEAK GERRY LOPEZ BOARDSHORTS 18” Code: 86670-TCSA Colourway: Tiger Tracks Camo- Saffron RRP$: $99.95 Available: August

QUIKSILVER HIGHLINE SUB TROPIC 18 Code: EQYBS04422 Colourway: Pacific Blue– BGZ6 RRP$: $79.99 Available: July

O’NEILL SHAKA ZULU BOARDSHORT Code: 6311802 Colourway: Black multi RRP$: $69.99 Available: September

O’NEILL HYPERFREAK HAVEN Code: 6311800 Colourway: RRP$: $79.99 Available: September

SALTY CREW TAILWIND ELASTIC BOARDSHORT Code: 30335074 Colourway: Mint RRP$: $79.99 Available: July

SALTY CREW BEACONS ELASTIC BOARDSHORT Code: 30335057 Colourway: Burgundy RRP$: $79.99 Available: July

CRITICAL SLIDE BREEZIES Code: BS2010 Colourway: Black RRP$: $69.99 Available: August

CRITICAL SLIDE CAHOOTS Code: BS2016 Colourway: Steel Blue RRP$: $79.99 Available: August

BRIXTON PALMAS TRUNK Code: 04103 Colourway: Washed Navy/Honey RRP$: $69.95 Available: August

BRIXTON PALMAS TRUNK Code: 04103 Colourway: Aqua RRP$: $69.95 Available: August

28/ Australasian Surf Business Magazine ISSUE #91

For daily news and analysis www.asbmag.com

BOARDSHORTS

RUSTY STILL SURFING BOARDSHORTS Code: BSM1425 Colourway: Black RRP$: $79.99 Available: August

RUSTY DRESS CODE BOARDSHORT Code: BSM1450 Colourway: Coal RRP$: $79.99 Available: August

VISSLA MISSION 18.5” Code: M110PMIS Colourway: Aqua RRP$: $89.99 Available: July

VISSLA PALA PALA Code: M102PPAL Colourway: DKD RRP$: $79.99 Available: September

RHYTHM COLADA TRUNK Code: JUL20M-TR10 Colourway: Mineral Blue RRP$: $79.99 Available: July

RHYTHM CLASSIC TRUNK Code: JUL20M-TR01 Colourway: Navy RRP$: $79.99 Available: July

MATUSE NEPTUNE BOARDSHORT Code: NEPTN-SHOR-NVY Colourway: Navy RRP$: $130 +gst Available: March

OUTERKNOWN NOMADIC STRETCH SHORT Code: 1810025 Colourway: CAN RRP$: $160.00 Available: Now

OUTERKNOWN APEX SHORT Code: 1810036 Colourway: CHH RRP$: $160.00 Available: Now

OKANUI HERITAGE HIBISCUS Code: MS32OSW01 Colourway: Olive RRP$: $89.99 Available: March

OKANUI THE FARRELLY Code: MS32OSW07 Colourway: Denim RRP$: $89.99 Available: March

VOLCOM INNER VALLEY STONEY Code: A0832000 Colourway: Horizon Blue RRP$: $80.00 Available: September

VOLCOM FLORAL ERUPTER STONEY Code: A0832001 Colourway: Black RRP$: $80.00 Available: September

LSKD REP SHORT Code: L105D1003-Shark Colourway: Shark RRP$: $59.99 Available: Now

RIP CURL GOLDEN DAYS 5” BOARDSHORT Code: GBOAR9 Colourway: Maroon RRP$: $59.99 Available: July

PATAGONIA STRETCH HYROPEAK SURF SHORTS Code: 76015-TGIB Colourway: Tiger Tracks Camo Small- ink Black RRP$: $99.95 Available: August

SISSTREVOLUTION DEEP AZUL Code: G102LDEE Colourway: CHR RRP$: $79.99 Available: August

VOLCOM SIMPLY SOLID 2 BOARDSHORT Code: O0811701 Colourway: Black RRP$: $45.00 Available: August

GIRLS

BRIXTON PALMAS TRUNK Code: 04103 Colourway: Washed Navy/Ginger RRP$: $69.95 Available: August

BILLABONG WOMENS OCEANWALK BEACHSHORT Code: 6503582 Colourway: White RRP$: $49.99 Available: August

29/

MEN’S SUMMER WETSUITS

BUYERS’ GUIDE

RIP CURL DAWN PATROL LONG SLEEVE CHEST ZIP SPRING SUIT Code: WSP9HM Colourway: Black RRP$: $249.99 Available: July

RIP CURL E-BOMB ZIP FREE LONG SLEEVE SEALED JACKET Code: WVE8CE Colourway: Navy/Red RRP$: $199.99 Available: August

QUIKSILVER 3/2 HIGHLINE LTD MIKEY GBS FULLSUIT Code: EQYW103075 -KVD0 Colourway: Mikey Black RRP$: $449.99 Available: July

QUIKSILVER SYNCRO CZ SPRING Code: EQYW503023-XKKB Colourway: Black/Navy/Ink RRP$: $209.99 Available: August

BILLABONG REVOLUTION PRO JACKET Code: 9703170 Colourway: Black Tie Dye RRP$: $179.99 Available: July

BILLABONG REVOLUTION CZ SPRING Code: 9703420 Colourway: Antique Black RRP$: $229.99 Available: July

PATAGONIA M’S R1® LITE YULEX® FRONT-ZIP LONG-SLEEVED SPRING SUIT Code: 88497-BLK Colourway: Black RRP$: $399.95 Available: September

PATAGONIA M’S R1® LITE YULEX® FRONT-ZIP FULL SUIT Code: 88482-BLK Colourway: Black RRP$: $649.95 Available: September

O’NEILL HYPERFREAK 1.5MM TB3X LS CREW Code:5 034OA Colourway: T10 Graph/Graph RRP$: $189.99 Available: August

O’NEILL HYPERFREAK FUZE 2MM S/S FULL Code: 5066 Colourway: ZZ5 Abyss/ABbyss RRP$: $369.99 Available: August

BUELL RB1 2MM S/S FULLSUIT MENS Code: WRB10322M-998 Colourway: JOB CAMO RRP$: $449.99 Available: TBA

BUELL RB1 2MM L/S SPRINGSUIT MENS Code: WRB10422M-998 Colourway: Black Graphite RRP$: $374.99 Available: TBA

MATUSE CHAPTER 1 WETSUIT JACKET Code: CHAPTR1LSTOP-CURBLACK Colourway: Black RRP$: $239.00 +gst Available: March

PEAK CLIMAX PRO ZIP FREE S/SL SPRINGSUIT Code: PQ607M Colourway: Black – 0090 RRP$: $149.99 Available: July

PEAK CLIMAX PRO L/SL JACKET Code: PQ517M Colourway: Black - 0090 RRP$: $99.99 Available: July

VISSLA 2MM SOLID SETS FZ Code: MW02OSST Colourway: PCB RRP$: $149.99 Available: July

VISSLA GADOO FZ JACKET Code: MW02MGAD Colourway: EAR RRP$: $159.99 Available: July

ADELIO HYBRID COMPRESSION TOP Code: 18HBCL Colourway: Black RRP$: $99.95 Available: September

XCEL COMP-X 2MM S/S FULLSUIT Code: MN22Z2C0 Colourway: Black RRP$: $329.99 Available: Now

OUTERKNOWN BY TRM WETSUITS SAMURAI - 2/2 L/S VEST TOP Code: TRM14 Colourway: Black/Army Green RRP$: $299.00 Available: Now

30/ Australasian Surf Business Magazine ISSUE #91

For daily news and analysis www.asbmag.com

G I R L’S S U M M E R W E T S U I T S

RIP CURL SEARCHERS G-BOMB LONG SLEEVE SPRING HIGH CUT Code: WSPYJW Colourway: Multico RRP$: $219.99 Available: August

RIP CURL TROPIC SOL G-BOMB LONG SLEEVE SPRING HIGH CUT Code: WSP7LW Colourway: Green RRP$: $209.99 Available: August

BILLABONG SALTY DAZE 2MM LS SPRING Code: 6703500 Colourway: Black Pebble RRP$: $199.99 Available: August

BILLABONG 202 SYNERGY SPRING Code: 6703401 Colourway: Navy RRP$: $179.99 Available: September

PATAGONIA R1® LITE YULEX® FRONTZIP LONG-SLEEVED SPRING SUIT Code:88498-BPSI Colourway: Bayou Palmetto Simple: Ink Black RRP$: $399.95 Available: September

PATAGONIA R1® LITE YULEX® SPRING JANE Code: 88508- BPSI Colourway: Bayou Palmetto Simple: Ink Black RRP$: $179.95 Available: September

O’NEILL BAHIA 2MM LS CHEEKY SPRING Code: 3023010 Colourway: NP3 PEONY/BLK/ ORANGE/BLK RRP$: $189.99 Available: August

O’NEILL WOMENS HYPERFREAK LS CREW Code: 61201OA Colourway: A00 BLK BLK RRP$: $189.99 Available: August

SISSTREVOLUTION BUCERIAS JACKET Code: GN01LBUJ Colourway: BWW RRP$: $139.99 Available: September

SISSTREVOLUTION PESCADORA CHEEKY Code: GN04LPEC Colourway: MUL RRP$: $199.99 Available: July

PEAK ENERGY BACK ZIP S/SL SPRINGSUIT Code: PQ404L Colourway: Navy - 0049 RRP$: $79.99 Available: July

TRM WETSUITS SAMURAI SISTER- 2/2 LS CAT SUITS Code: TRM11 Colourway: Black Rubber/ Leopard RRP$: $429.00 Available: Now

XCEL AXIS 2MM L/S SPRINGSUIT Code: WN211AX9 Colourway: Jet Black RRP$: $159.99 Available: Now

ADELIO HARPER SPRING Code: WNH19 Colourway: Black RRP$: $169.95 Available: September

MATUSE MIRIAM L/S REVERSIBLE SPRING Code: MIRIAMLSS-CUR-BLK/ RED Colourway: Red / Black reversible RRP$: $190 +gst Available: March

For daily news and analysis www.asbmag.com 31/

ActionWatch INSIGHTS ANALYSIS OF BOARDIES, SANDALS, SWIMWEAR, WETSUITS ActionWatch Insights is only a snapshot of top line results from our ActionWatch Oz Retail panel. For more information please email keith@actionwatch.com DEFINITIONS

Dollar Share – Market share measured by sales revenue during reported month. Average margin – Average margin earned by retailers from sales during the reported month. Average Price – Average selling price of units sold during the reported month. Sales to Stock (EI) – Percentage of month-end inventory units sold during the reported month.

Unit Sales/Inventory – This measure is a ratio of monthly unit sales to month-end inventory. It is using the “sell through” concept but is slightly different than the traditional weekly sell-through metric retailers commonly use. It is simply taking our Avg Inventory measure and dividing it by our Avg Unit Sales measure. This measure gives an annual unit inventory turn rate when a 12-month period is selected. Equation: Avg Unit Sales ÷ Avg Inventory

TOP 10 MENS BOARDSHORT STYLES / JANUARY

BRAND

BRAND X STYLE

BRAND $ SHARE

AVG MARGIN

PSS-AVG UNIT SALES

SALES TO STOCK (EI)

BILLABONG

ALL DAY OVERDYE

6.60%

53%

11.5

60%

BILLABONG

ALL DAY

3.80%

54%

8.3

47%

BILLABONG

ALL DAY OVERDYE LAYBACK

3.60%

53%

11.2

99%

BILLABONG

SUNDAYS LAYBACK

3.30%

54%

4.4

33%

VOLCOM

CENTRE 17"

2.40%

55%

5.9

49%

RIP CURL

SHOCK

1.60%

52%

3.3

89%

HURLEY

ONE & ONLY GRADIENT VOLLEY

1.60%

56%

5.1

46%

BILLABONG

TRIBONG LT

1.40%

54%

3.5

93%

QUIKSILVER

HIGHLINE SLAB 20"

1.40%

52%

3.5

51%

HIGHLINE NEW WAVE 20

1.30%

60.00%

3.5

104%

10 QUIKSILVER

#1 BOARDSHORT / JANUARY

#1 SANDAL / JANUARY BRAND

BRAND

HAVIANAS

BILLABONG

BRAND $ SHARE

6.60%

11.9%

AVG PRICE

$28.46+

$47.81

AVG MARGIN

53%

54%

PSS-AVG UNIT SALES

46.1

11.5

UNIT SALES/INVENTORY

26%

60% BILLABONG - ALL DAY OVERDYE

32/ Australasian Surf Business Magazine ISSUE #91

HAVIANAS - SLIM

TOP 10 SWIMWEAR BRANDS / JANUARY

BRAND

BRAND $ SHARE

UNIT SHARE

AVG MARGIN

AVG PRICE

SALES TO STOCK (EI)

SEAFOLLY

24.60%

19.20%

44%

$69.19

22%

BILLABONG

21.50%

23.90%

47%

$48.76

19%

RIP CURL

11.20%

12.40%

47%

$49.30

25%

O’NEILL

7.90%

8.60%

50%

$49.88

25%

SUNSEEKER

6.50%

3.60%

52%

$96.79

39%

RHYTHM

5.40%

8.80%

41%

$33.48

34%

ROXY

4.60%

4.80%

49%

$51.53

17%

QUIKSILVER

3.40%

3.60%

50%

$51.08

29%

RUSTY

3.30%

4.10%

51%

$44.67

24%

10 BAKU

1.60%

0.90%

49%

$89.96

29%

100.00%

47%

$54.26

23%

ALL BRANDS

TOP 10 WETSUIT BRANDS / JANUARY

BRAND

BRAND $ SHARE

UNIT SHARE

AVG MARGIN

AVG PRICE

SALES TO STOCK (EI)

RIP CURL

26.10%

27.50%

46%

$90.30

36%

O’NEILL WETSUITS 25.10%

17.70%

54%

$135.66

28%

BILLABONG

13.70%

17.40%

50%

$74.68

33%

VISSLA

7.40%

4.20%

51%

$166.74

36%

QUIKSILVER

6.30%

6.50%

52%

$92.06

26%

PEAK WETSUITS

4.50%

6.80%

53%

$63.24

41%

ROXY

4.00%

5.00%

51%

HURLEY

3.90%

4.30%

50%

XCEL WETSUITS

Top Styles, Men's/Boys' Sandals, Jan-Sep 2019 HAVAIANAS - RUBBER LOGO

HAVAIANAS - TOP

$76.16 HAVAIANAS - TOP MIX

26%

$87.84

35%

REEF - CUSHION BOUNCE PHANTOM

$107.15

26%

NIKE - BANASSI JDI

3.70%

3.30%

37%

10 C SKINS

1.10%

0.60%

48%

REEF - FANNING LOW

$165.06

16%

100.00%

50%

REEF - REEF J-BAY III

$97.81

32%

ALL BRANDS

REEF - FANNING

REEF - REEF ROVER REEF - REEF SWITCHFOOT LX $0

#1 MEN’S STEAMER / JANUARY

$40

$60

$80

$100

#1 WOMEN’S STEAMER / JANUARY

BRAND

VISSLA

O’NEILL

BRAND $ SHARE

6.20%

13.10%

AVG PRICE

$294.45

$160.25

AVG MARGIN

51%

60%

PSS-AVG UNIT SALES

4.8

3.5

UNIT SALES/INVENTORY

23% VISSLA - 7 SEAS 3/2 CZ

$20

44% REACTOR II 3/2 BZ

For daily news and analysis www.asbmag.com 33/

SWIMWEAR

BUYERS’ GUIDE

BILLABONG WOMENS SUMMER BRA BIKINI TOP/ SUMMER HIKE BIKINI BOTTOM Code: 6503783/6503806 Colourway: Cool wip RRP$: $65.99/$55.99 Available: September

BILLABONG WOMENS BRAID RIB BRALETTE BIKINI TOP/ BRAID RIB HIKE BIKINI BOTTOM Code: 6503839/6503793 Colourway: Dandelion RRP$: $55.99/$49.99 Available: September

BILLABONG WOMENS TROPICALE DD BRALETTE BIKINI TOP/ TROPICALE BONDI BIKINI BOTTOM Code: 6503798/6503801 Colourway: Black RRP$: $65.99/$59.99 Available: September

PATAGONIA NANOGRIP SUNSET SWELL ONE-PIECE SWIMSUIT Code: 77340-TGIB Colourway: Tiger Tracks Camo Small- Ink Black RRP$: $229.95 Available: August

PATAGONIA NANOGRIP CUTBACK TOP/ BOTTOMS Code: 77405-TFBG/72130-TFBG Colourway: Tencel Fusion- Bud Green RRP$: $119.95/$99.95 Available: August

VOLCOM LEAF IT BE TRI/V BOTTOM Code: O1422002/O2722001 Colourway: Black RRP$: $55.00/$50.00 Available: August

VOLCOM SIMPLY SEAMLESS HALTER/ SIMPLY SEAM CHEEKY Code: O1322000/O2111900 Colourway: Pomegranate RRP$: $65.00/$55.00 Available: August

VOLCOM Y’ORCHIDDING 1PC Code: O30320R0 Colourway: Black RRP$: $110.00 Available: August

O’NEILL FINCH ONE PIECE Code:4721939 Colourway: Rose Floral RRP$: $99.99 Available: September

O’NEILL FLEUR BIKINI TOP Code: 5721921 Colourway: Navy Peony RRP$: $49.99 Available: August

RUSTY STELLA BLOCK BANDEAU BIKINI TOP/ HIGH CUT BIKINI PANT Code: SWL1452 & SWL1454 Colorway: Marigold RRP$: $49.99/$49.99 Available: August

SISSTREVOLUTION KIKI KNIT ONE PIECE Code: GSO6QKO Colourway: Black RRP$: $89.99 Available: August

SISSTREVOLUTION KALANI KNIT RACERBACK Code: GST35OKR Colourway: DPN RRP$: $49.99 Available: August

SISSTREVOLUTION LANI KNIT BRALETTE Code: GST4QLB Colourway: PIT RRP$: $49.99 Available: August

RIP CURL SALT WATER CULTURE CHEEKY L/S SWIM SUIT Code: GSIGU9 Colourway: Lilac RRP$: $129.99 Available: July

RUSTY SANDY MEADOWS ONE PIECE Code: SWL1450 Colourway: Marigold RRP$: $89.99 Available: September

RIP CURL TROPIC SOL MIRAGE CROP Code: GSIGJ9 Colourway: Vanilla RRP$: $69.99 Available: July

RIP CURL SEARCH GOOD ONE PIECE Code: GSIFM9 Colourway: Multi RRP$: $199.99 Available: August

RHYTHM MAHINA CROP TOP/ MAHINA HI-WAIST PANT Code: JUL20W-SW38/ JULY20W-SW41 Colourway: Scarlet RRP$: $69.99/$59.99 Available: July

RHYTHM MOROCCO ONE PIECE Code: JUL20W-SW45 Colourway: Spice RRP$: $99.99 Available: July

34/ Australasian Surf Business Magazine ISSUE #91

For daily news and analysis www.asbmag.com

www.sisstrevolution.com

O P E N-TO E F O OT W E A R

GUYS

BUYERS’ GUIDE

RIP CURL FOUNDATION Code: TCTG30 Colourway: Black RRP$: $59.99 Available: July

REEF PHANTOM II Code: A3YMH Colourway: Black/Black RRP$: $49.99 Available: May

BILLABONG BRUNSWICK LEATHER THONG Code: 9603953 Colourway: Brown RRP$: $79.99 Available: July

BILLABONG BRUNSWICK THONG Code: 9603954 Colourway: Black RRP$: $59.99 Available: July

HAVAIANAS TOP BEACH WHITE Code: HTPB 0003 Colourway: White RRP$: $34.99 Available: October

RUSTY HIGHBALL SLIDE Code: FOM0346 Colourway: Black RRP$: $35.99 Available: August

ETNIES FIELDER BLOOM Code: 4101000522-579 Colourway: Black/Grey/Gum RRP$: $59.99 Available: August

VOLCOM FATHOM SANDAL Code: V0811884 Colourway: Faded Army RRP$: $50.00 Available: July

VOLCOM ROCKER 2 SANDAL Code: V0811887 Colourway: Stoney Black RRP$: $25.00 Available: July

RUSTY BLINGIN THONG Code: FOL0375 Colourway: Black Glitter 1 RRP$: $24.99 Available: July

RUSTY MINIMALIST SLIDE Code: FOL0194 Colourway: Leopard RRP$: $29.99 Available: August

RIP CURL IBIZA Code: TGTC48 Colourway: Black RRP: $59.99 Available: July

RIP CURL SOUTHSIDE ECO Code: TGTC49 Colourway: Sand RRP: $49.99 Available: July

HAVAIANAS SLIM RAINBOW Code: HSPP 0134 Colourway: Black/ white RRP: $39.99 Available: October

BILLABONG WOMENS SALTY SHORES SANDAL Code: 6603809 Colourway: Desert Daze RRP: $39.99 Available: August

REEF CUSHION BOUNCE VISTA BRAIDS Code: A52OA Colourway: Natural RRP$: $59.99 Available: April

REEF CUSHION BOUNCE SCOUT Code: CI2981 Colourway: Natural RRP$: $59.99 Available: April

VOLCOM SEEING STONES SANDAL Code: W0812013 Colourway: Leopard RRP$: $45.00 Available: July

VOLCOM NEW SCHOOL II Code: W0812004 Colourway: Black RRP$: $35.00 Available: July

GIRLS

RIP CURL KANGAROO ULTIMATE Code: TCTG41 Colourway: Brown/Black RRP$: $119.99 Available: July

36/ Australasian Surf Business Magazine ISSUE #91

For daily news and analysis www.asbmag.com

FEATURE ARTICLE / WORDS TIM HAWKEN

38/ Australasian Surf Business Magazineâ&#x20AC;&#x192; ISSUE #91

WOMEN IN BUSINESS

WORK HARD. PLAY HARD. WIN BIG. How Sophie Marshall became one of the surf industry’s leading ladies. Words Tim Hawken

AWARD-WINNING PRODUCT MANAGER. LONE WOMAN ON QUIKSILVER’S EXEC TEAM. FEARLESS MUM. SOPHIE MARSHALL’S RISE IN THE SURF INDUSTRY OVER THE LAST 25 YEARS HAS BEEN AN AMAZING STORY OF HARD WORK, PASSION AND PLENTY OF ROLLERCOASTER MOMENTS. WRITER TIM HAWKEN SAT DOWN WITH SOPH TO CAPTURE HER AMAZING CAREER. Sophie Marshall has been in the surf business for over two decades. From retail, to sales rep, to product manager, to running her own brand, Sophie has seen more parties and pressure cookers than most. She has balanced her career as a single mum. She has commuted between Australia and Hong Kong. She was, at one stage, the only woman on Quiksilver’s executive team. In 2019, Sophie had a pinnacle year, helping Rip Curl become SBIA women’s brand of the year, bikini brand of the year, and personally winning the Rip Curl CEO’s award. Her entire career has been one of hard work, passion, and persistence to get where she wants to be. It all started with pestering a sales rep for a job she knew would get her a foot in the door.

For daily news and analysis www.asbmag.com 39/

FEATURE ARTICLE / WORDS TIM HAWKEN

“John Blake was repping for Mambo and Vans and I had been buying from him for the shop I was working at in Perth,” recalls Sophie. “I think I harassed him, non stop for months to be his first employee and he finally hired me. I learned so much from him, particularly how to cold call and how to sell. That was really the first step in my career.” “I saw immediate potential in Sophie,” recalls John about hiring her. “She was a natural fit having done buying for the shop where she worked. Sadly for me it wasn’t long before the boys at Rusty made her an offer to go work there. Since then, she’s just gone from strength to strength.”

“I DON’T THINK THE SURF INDUSTRY WILL EVER BE LIKE THAT AGAIN,” SAYS SOPHIE. “IT WAS CREATIVE CHAOS. IT WAS PURE CORE SURF AT ITS BEST.

After repping with John Blake, Sophie did indeed go to work for Rusty - by far the biggest surf brand based in Western Australia at that point. This was in the 90s, when the industry was experiencing a major boom. The R dot was one of the hottest brands in the market. It was wild times in the wild west. Everyone played hard and worked hard. There was even a little sleeping spot in the warehouse amongst the picking slips for those who were a little too hungover. “I don’t think the surf industry will ever be like that again,” says Sophie. “It was creative chaos. It was pure core surf at its best. My showroom was in the shaping bays, we were doing board testing up at Lancelin. We partied like it was 1999, because it was! The Rusty parties, I just remember were a blur of dress ups, drinking, music, which was a big part of the culture. We had music videos done at my house, we had boat parties, beach parties, we had warehouse parties. It made the brand what it was - pretty cool, on the pulse and a lot of fun.”

“BEING A SINGLE MUM, YOU HAVE NO ONE ELSE TO RELY ON FINANCIALLY. I KNEW THAT GETTING UP EVERYDAY DOING WHAT I WAS DOING WAS BENEFITING OUR TEAM. DUKE AND I. I THINK NOW DUKE WILL GROW UP WITH AN AMAZING WORTH ETHIC. HE’S WATCHED HIS MUM SACRIFICE A LOT FOR HIM.” Those were the days where job descriptions were pretty flexible too. As a sales rep, Sophie was also a visual merchandiser and model. On her first day, she did a photo shoot for the Rusty Red Denim campaign and later had to hang posters of herself in shop windows, which she says was “a pretty surreal moment”. Sophie also ended up as the lead story on the Daily Telegraph for a risque ad where she was posing with a plastic gun. The paper asked whether this was the image we wanted our kids to look up to. Given Rusty’s sales in those years, the kids definitely did buy into that irreverence. It was also a time when Sophie herself blossomed in her talents. She transitioned from sales into product management, guided by friend and mentor Sonya Rifici. It was that transition that led Sophie to the path she’s on today. 40/ Australasian Surf Business Magazine ISSUE #91

“GO ABOVE AND BEYOND WHAT YOUR JOB IS AND YOU’LL GET NOTICED. THAT’S WHEN YOU’LL GET THE TAP ON THE SHOULDER. ALL OF MY PROMOTIONS HAVE COME FROM THAT. THAT’S WHY I’M HERE TODAY.” “That job really allowed me to find out what I was good at, moulded who I was as a person and embraced who I was as a person,” says Sophie. “Product is really embedded in who I am. Growing up, I was always after the latest surf trend. I was obsessed with surf brands. It was a general progression on what was innate to me. I think having an understanding of product is really tying back to having an understanding of the consumer. It was super easy for me to do that, because I was the consumer right from 14 until now.” Sophie’s affinity with product and managing creative teams soon led her to move brands and become part of the women’s team at Roxy. She turned out amazing releases with some incredibly talented designers, raising her star in the industry further. However, this was right when Roxy and Quiksilver began their push towards globalising their teams. Despite Sophie’s personal success in her role at the brand, she counts it as one of the hardest times in her career.

SOPHIE’S PERSONALITY IS INFECTIOUS AND SHE’S EXTREMELY PASSIONATE ABOUT THE WORK SHE DOES. “I had a design team based in Torquay who were kicking some serious goals at that stage,” says Sophie. “Knowing that team was going to be disassembled over 6 months and having that weight on my shoulders, and the confidentiality behind it, was extremely tough. The travel I was doing was exponential. I think I did 14 international trips in 21 days. It was really affecting my health. I didn’t have too many mentors at that stage either, because I couldn’t talk to anyone about what was happening.” Despite all of these challenges, Sophie continued to work hard and be recognised for her contribution to the success of the business. She became the only woman on Quiksilver Australia’s executive team. This was all as a single mother as well. For work trips, she had to rely on her dad for babysitting - something she credits as being a saving grace. Obviously, going away from her son was tough, but she felt like it was the right thing to do.

For daily news and analysis www.asbmag.com 41/

FEATURE ARTICLE / WORDS TIM HAWKEN

“Being a single mum, you have no one else to rely on financially. I knew that getting up everyday doing what I was doing was benefiting our team. Duke and I. I think now Duke will grow up with an amazing worth ethic. He’s watched his mum sacrifice a lot for him.”

“YOU’RE ON 24/7. YOU’RE CEO, CFO, SHIPPING, PACKING, SALES, YOU’RE DOING EVERYTHING CONSTANTLY. I FOUND BEING A WORKAHOLIC, I COULDN’T ACTUALLY SWITCH OFF.”

Eventually though, the stress of globalization, trips away from her son Duke, and massive workload at Roxy took its toll. Sophie resigned and leapt into a new challenge. Influenced by her passion for product and a desire to have a crack at a personal dream, NEON TIDE bikinis was born. Sophie nailed her launch indent, getting into major stores like Myer for a total of half a million dollars in orders. Around this time, Sophie also fell in love with her now husband, Simon ‘Tripper’ Macgregor (another long-time personality of the surf industry). The inspiration to stretch her creative and entrepreneurial wings, combined with a new lease on her personal life, saw Sophie thrive. It wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, however. As anyone who runs their own business knows, it’s a hard slog making things work. “I thought you could have flexibility. But that’s kind of bullshit. You’re on 24/7. You’re CEO, CFO, shipping, packing, sales, you’re doing everything constantly. I found being a workaholic, I couldn’t actually switch off. It came to a time where I’d just had Ace and financially Tripper was like, ‘hey, we’re going to have to sell the house to reinvest in the business’. I made the decision for our family that I had to tap out. That’s when I started looking for a job.” Hearing she was a free agent, Rip Curl stepped in right away to offer Sophie a job as accessories product manager with their team. Things were going great, but Tripper was soon given the opportunity to take on a dream job in Hong Kong.

42/ Australasian Surf Business Magazine ISSUE #91

Even though the move meant Sophie would have to take a step back in her career for the first time, they decided to give things a go. The move had a lot of positives. Tripper excelled in his career. Sophie’s son Duke got to learn Chinese. They all got to experience a new culture. However, after a year in, it was clear Sophie was struggling. Her own job there lacked the creativity she needed and Hong Kong was as far as you could get from the surf culture she loved. Sophie was at her wit’s end when Tripper suggested she do the unthinkable - commute from Hong Kong to Torquay for work! “He said why don’t you reach out to Nichol (Wylie) and see if he’d be open to you taking a role there and commuting? It was such a sliding doors moment, because I wasn’t going to do it, but Tripper was like ‘just ring him!’. So, I rang him and he went, ‘I was just about to offer someone this role. Give me 24 hours.’ 24 hours passed and Nicol texted me and said I think we can take this further. A couple of days later, they took the opportunity and had the faith in me to commute. I did two weeks on, two weeks off for nine months. It was crazy, but I was so happy to have my feet back in Australia and back in the surf industry, which is who I am.” Because product management requires a lot of time in China, Sophie was able to find a reasonable balance between working, still seeing her boys in Hong Kong and getting really good at sleeping on planes. She found her groove at Rip Curl and used her years of accumulated experience to really shine at the brand. Eventually, family pressures and a role at Quiksilver for Tripper meant the whole gang relocated back to Australia. With everyone here full time and the wind at her back, Sophie then sailed into 2019 - one she personally describes as her best year ever.

“Our team at Rip Curl is just humming. We have an amazing girl’s team. We won SBIA Swimwear Brand of the Year and brand of the year, which is amazing. Also, I won the CEOs award, which is the coach’s award at Rip Curl. That moment was amazing, I still remember it vividly, getting up out of my seat and going, whoa, this is crazy.” CEO of Rip Curl Michael Daly is more measured when he’s asked about Sophie winning the award and her contribution to the brand. “Sophie is an integral part of our global apparel team for women and has added great value to Rip Curl, both as a leader in our business and in the creativity she has added to elevate our product. Sophie’s personality is infectious and she’s extremely passionate about the work she does. We love having her as part of the Rip Curl crew.” So, after being in the surf game for over two decades, Sophie Marshall is at her peak. She’s had a rollercoaster ride of success and struggles. She’s managed to bring up a family through it all - often alone, sometimes with support. She’s worked for Rusty, Roxy, Rip Curl and ticked off the dream of starting her own brand. With all of that experience under her belt, Sophie still manages to stay motivated.

“The whole growth in women’s wear in the industry over the last 25 years has been so inspiring,” says Sophie. “I love nothing more than mentoring and seeing the designers grow professionally and keep delivering amazing ranges.” Sophie also has some great advice for other mothers who aren’t sure if they should be working, either single or with a partner’s support. “If you want to stay home with your kid and that’s where your passion is, you do it. Don’t feel guilty about not going to work. But if you want to work, and that’s how I felt, I’m a better person and a better mum working, then you have to do that. That’s what’s best for you. When you start listening to judgements that cloud that, that’s when you get into a state of ‘I don’t know what to do’. You just have to listen to what’s right for you and your family.” And, she has some epic advice for anyone wanting to make it in the surf industry... “Work hard. Understand your strengths and weaknesses. Go above and beyond what your job is and you’ll get noticed. That’s when you’ll get the tap on the shoulder. All of my promotions have come from that. That’s why I’m here today.” Where Sophie is today is pretty incredible. It will be an interesting journey to see what she achieves from here. For the full length video interview head to ASBMAG.COM

For daily news and analysis www.asbmag.com 43/

FEATURE ARTICLE / WORDS BRIAN WALKER

TALKING SHOP WITH BRIAN WALKER THE RETAIL DOCTOR

Why is pureplay online retail so rarely profitable? I knew that this was doomed from the get-go. You thought that it was special, special. - Circles, Post Malone

Recently I shared a post on social media that essentially was asking this perennial question: why is pureplay online retail often a very marginal business proposition? Why, in reality, does online mostly only work as an omnichannel play? Which just goes to show that a physical environment is crucial to the profitability of omnichannel retail. As we know, Amazon took 14 years to make a quarterly profit (in the meantime, it was effectively carried by its web engine services business.) The Iconic, a local business I admire, reported $370.5 million in revenue in 2018, a 38.3% increase from the previous year, while still recording a loss (though a narrower one) of $18.3 million. Its sales growth has been impressive over the last eight years; its profitability less so. For the larger players in online retail, it is a relatively slow burn to scale. These examples show it is not necessarily a panacea for the first 10 years and often longer. Scale and capital are the enablers for these models. For the smaller online-only retailers, conversely, it’s a very tough struggle. Cash flow may exist, however, as we know, profitability is another matter. Which brings me back to my initial question, why is pureplay online retail generally unprofitable? On average, over 30% of all product purchased online is returned to the retailer. For fashion retail, I believe it’s even higher. (For reference, physical stores have an average return rate of 8% to 9%.) At the same time, a large number of online retailers offer free freight – even for returns. According to Meero research, return deliveries in the US will cost US$550 billion by 2020. In Australia, that figure could be as high as $10 billion, factoring in the costs of packaging, resorting, storing, etc. Online retail is a scale game with high pressure on low returns, distribution economics and margin growth. And when you add in the costs around staffing, equipment and premises (The Iconic now employs over 1000 people), you begin to see the challenge of running a profitable pureplay online retail business.

44/ Australasian Surf Business Magazine ISSUE #91

Here’s a hypothetical example:

EXAMPLE

PRICE

Imagine you’ve sold 1000 units at $30 (100% markup / gross margin 50%

+$30,000

330 of those units are returned at an average cost of $10 per unit freight

-$3,300 outgoing freight cost

Let’s say 30% returned

-$1,100 outgoing freight cost

And 30% again

-$330 outgoing freight cost

Let’s also say that all of this has added 5% additional staffing consideration

-$6000 outgoing wages and salary costs

This all adds up to $10,730 in additional costs, which is around 33 per cent of sales. Now, this is a hypothetical example, assuming 100% sellthrough and presuming familiar ratio of returns, etc. (we can debate the cyclical nature of returns). However, it is apparent that returns and the cost of servicing them is a significant factor in online profit. We should expect advanced technologies like artificial intelligence, machine learning, adaptive technology and AR to make a difference in this critical area and contribute to the accuracy of purchase ratios and conversion rates, but it will take time. Fashion and general merchandise conversion rates currently average around 2% to 4% online. A much fuller rate of sales at a fuller operating margin is only really achieved by a higher margin and a much lower return ratio than is currently the case in online retail. Physical shops, which give consumers the opportunity to use all their senses to make a purchase decision, and deliver an experience beyond range and convenience, are fundamental to the profitability of most online retailers. Expecting profitability in any other way is indeed circular thinking.

For daily news and analysis www.asbmag.com 45/

FACES IN THE LINEUP

VOLCOM & THRASHER - FIRE RELIEF ULLADULLA

MAMBO @ URBNSURF

46/ Australasian Surf Business Magazineâ&#x20AC;&#x192; ISSUE #91

YETI @ WATEGO WIZARDS

WIN AN INDONESIAN ADVENTURE your indent order could get you to the jungle ASK YOUR ACCOUNT MANAGER FOR MORE DETAILS