BOARDSPORT
ISSUE #072. AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2014. €5
BIG WIG INTERVIEW: FIREWIRE CEO MARK PRICE TREND REPORTS: SURF APPAREL, WETSUITS, SUNNIES & CRUISERS SKATEBOARDING’S RAD DADS
E U R O P E A N S U R F / S K AT E / S N O W B U S I N E S S
PLUS: NEWS, TRADESHOW REVIEWS, BRAND PROFILES: DIRTY DOG, WEST SNOWBOARDS, OWN SKATEBOARDS AND MUCH MORE…
US
HELLO #72
Editor Harry Mitchell Thompson harry@boardsportsource.com
It’s all about the product.
Surf & French Editor Iker Aguirre iker@boardsportsource.com Snowboard Editor Rémi Forsans remi@boardsportsource.com Skate Editor Dirk Vogel dirk@boardsportsource.com German Editor Anna Langer anna@boardsportsource.com Design & Art Direction Owen Tozer owen@boardsportsource.com Design Assistant Roddy Bow production@boardsportsource.com Web Media Manager Denis Houillé denis@boardsportsource.com Market Intel Manager Chelsea Van De Merwe chelsea@boardsportsource.com Proofreaders Insa Muth, Marie-Laure Ducos, Chelsea van der Merwe
After visiting the shows earlier this summer it’s becoming clearer and clearer that product is becoming king. Gone are the days of producing any old product and slapping your name on it and expecting it to shoot out the door. If you want success with consumers then pure marketing hype has to now be replaced by messages informing consumers of the real benefits that they can gain from your product. The speed of information dissemination on the Internet means a product can be an instant hit or an instant failure. So brands producing product that offers real benefits to users are even more likely to find they have a hit on their hands. Remember we are in the boardsports industry, our market is driven by technical developments in sports equipment, footwear and clothing, so developing new technologies to benefit participants is in our blood. Today’s economic environment where most consumers have less to spend and so are more careful with their cash, is reinforcing the process. They now justify purchases by obtaining real benefits not just through believing the hype. And if they really feel
Contributors Dirk Vogel, Stefan Dongus, Asier Zabarte, Benoît Brecq, Gordon Way, Fabien Grisel, Franz Holler, Miriam Deller, Jade PersaudWalters, Daisy Maddinson, Anna Langer, Holly Gear, William Maddinson, Samuel Peek, Chelsea van der Merwe.
CONTENT
Advertising & Marketing clive@boardsportsource.com
those benefits they will be out there looking for other products, which promote similar emotions. Brands are working hard at capitalising on this. They have worked out their USP, better now to be different than similar and are refocusing product lines around fewer key products with simple clear messages. Likewise at Source we are doing the same, every issue now contains product trend reports, this issue we have cruisers, wetsuits, sunglasses and surf apparel trends, and online we additionally run previews of individual brand offerings for the upcoming seasons. Retailers (many of whom are independent and so buying in isolation) read our trend reports to get a third party opinion on what is happening out in the market place and what they need to be looking for in their next buying period. So the pieces are all coming together and there is a feeling of a re-invigorated industry being driven by new products that give a real benefit to their users. Product is king...long live the king!
13. NEWS
45. WETSUITS SS15 TREND REPORT
15. TRADESHOW REVIEWS
48. BEST SELLERS
17. RETAILER PROFILE – SECRET SPOT, UK
51. THE SCIENCE OF BUYING – ABS, FRANCE
19. SUNGLASSES SS15 TREND REPORT
52. BRAND PROFILE – DIRTY DOG
22. MEN’S SURF APPAREL SS15
55. BRAND PROFILE – WEST SNOWBOARDS
28. CATERING TO MIDDLE-AGED SKATERS
57. BRAND PROFILE – OWN SKATEBOARDS
To Subscribe www.boardsportsource.com subs@boardsportsource.com
31. WOMEN’S SURF APPAREL SS15
58. SURF RETAILER HELP
35. CHINESE ECO MARKET ARTICLE
61. MARKET INTELLIGENCE
Publisher clive@boardsportsource.com
36. BIG WIG: MARK PRICE, FIREWIRE
68. JOB & DISTRIBUTOR OPPORTUNITIES
39. CRUISER TREND REPORT
70. EVENTS
41. GREENROOMVOICE
72. ONE EYED MONSTER
Accounts Manager accounts@boardsportsource.com
Published by ESB, 22 Friars Street, Sudbury, Suffolk, UK CO10 2AA Boardsport SOURCE is published bi-monthly © ESB. All Rights Reserved www.boardsportsource.com
No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in any retrieval system of any nature without prior written permission, except for permitted fair dealing under the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988. Application for permission for use of copyright material including permission to reproduce extracts in other public works shall be made to the publishers. Full acknowledgement of author, publisher and source must be given. The views expressed in this publication are not those necessarily held by the Publisher. ISSN # 1478-4777
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INDUSTRY NEWS
AUTHENTIC BRANDS GROUP ACQUIRES COLLECTIVE LICENSING INTERNATIONAL
AFENDS HAS NEW DISTRIBUTION IN GREECE, PORTUGAL & SPAIN
Authentic Brands Group, the parent company of Prince, Spyder and TapOut, has agreed to acquire certain assets of Collective Licensing International, including Airwalk, Hind, Vision Street Wear, and Above The Rim. Each brand will continue to work with its existing licensees on expanding its presence and product offering.
Apparel company Afends is making a major push into the European surf and streetwear markets and to do so have enlisted Sook Distribution for their Greek distribution, Azion Systems in Spain and Nuno Almeida for their Portuguese operation.
FLUX & FARMER IN GLOBAL MARKETING PARTNERSHIP
Flux Bindings have announced that they have partnered with Brad Farmer of Marketing Farmer to lead their global marketing effort. Farmer has been working on a new global marketing strategy that he will implement for the 2014/15 season. Farmer has had an extensive career in the snowboarding industry in which he has developed and implemented successful marketing strategies for several mountain resorts and brands.
ROD DYRDEK BACK IN CONTROL OF DNA
Rob Drydek is back in control of DNA Distribution (owner of skate brands Alien Workshop (now deceased), Habitat and Reflex) after Pacific Vector, who purchased a controlling share in the company nine months ago, filed for bankruptcy. In 2013 Pacific Vector took majority shares of the company, leaving Drydek as a minority shareholder of DNA. Now this agreement has reverted back with Dyrdek Enterprises retaking control of the company.
DAKINE ENTERS SURF APPAREL MARKET SS15 In their thirty-fifth year, DaKine is launching its first ever surf apparel collection. The line will focus on boardshorts and junior swimwear as well as wovens, knits, flanels and fleeces. The line will hit retailers in SS15.
BLEED OPEN FIRST BRAND STORE IN BERLIN, JULY 7 Bleed are to open their first branded store in Berlin, today July 7. The store will be opened in partnership with fingerboards marketing company Blackriver, in the Berlin-Friedrichshain area.
JEREMY DE MAILLARD NEW VP OF MARKETING EMEA FOR THE NORTH FACE Jeremy de Maillard has left his position as VP of Marketing EMEA at Vans to become VP of Marketing EMEA for fellow VF company The North Face. De Maillard has been with VF Corp since 2008 and has played a key role in growing the Vans business across EMEA.
…LOST RE-LAUNCH WOMEN’S COLLECTION FOR SS15 ...LOST have re-launched their women’s line for SS15 after a hiatus since June 2013. The break was to change from merely licensing the product, to now producing all products in-house. 12
BILLABONG EUROPE APPOINTS NEW HEAD OF PRODUCT & MERCHANDISING AND HEAD OF SALES Billabong Europe has announced Jean Kress as Head of Merchandising and Design and Nicolas Burger as Sales Manager. Both Jean and Nicolas will work out of the head office in Hossegor and report to Jean-Louis Rodrigues, General Manager Billabong Europe. Kress comes with over 20 years of design and action sports experience, with 15 of those years at Quiksilver. Burger most recently served as head of sales for Fox EMEA.
RIDGEMONT ENLISTS INDUSTRY VET AS MASTER SALES AGENT FOR UK & IRELAND Ridgemont Adventure Outfitters has hired action sports veteran Ally Barr to take on the sales responsibility for Ridgemont in the UK & Ireland. Barr was a professional skateboarder during the 70s and early 80s and is also a keen snowboarder, surfer, diver and wake-boarder. Barr has a wealth of experience introducing and establishing active lifestyle sports brands such as Quiksilver, Billabong, Ocean Pacific and Reef.
NIXON APPOINTS PHILIPPE GOUZES AS VP OF SALES AND GM OF EMEA Nixon have appointed Philippe Gouzes as their Vice President of Sales and General Manager of EMEA. Gouzes will be based in Nixon’s main EMEA office in Hossegor, France, and will report directly to Nick Stowe, Nixon’s CEO. Most recently Gouzes was Senior VP of International Business for Burton, and previous to that served as VP of European Sales for all Burton brands and Channel Islands, and previously held senior positions at Rossignol.
PRO SURFER ALAIN RIOU JOINS STOKEHOUSE EUROPE SALES TEAM Pro surfer Alain Riou has joined the Stokehouse Europe Sales Team in the Southwest of France. After traveling the world as a pro surfer Alain gives a new direction to his career.
UK BASED ALL CONDITIONS MEDIA ACQUIRE GOOD MOOD MEDIA Brighton-based action sports/adventure travel agency All Conditions Media have acquired outdoor communications agency Good Mood Media. ACM’s client list now includes: Dragon, Nike Vision, Nokia, Red Bull, Finisterre, Heimplanet, Picture Organic Clothing, The Snowboard Asylum, McNair Shirts and Big Balls Film with the addition of Good Mood Media’s Arc’teryx, Yeti and Nordisk bolstering their high-end outdoor portfolio.
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SUNSET SKATEBOARD CO. NAMES PERKINS PRESIDENT & CEO
AMUSE SOCIETY APPOINTS MARIA SASS HEAD OF MARKETING
Perkins takes the Sunset reins after two years as their National Sales manager, in which he was instrumental in expanding the start-up’s retail reach both nationally and internationally. With a solid roster of sales reps under his guidance, Perkins established retail relationships for Sunset with key industry leaders.
Amuse Society the women’s fashion, beachwear and bikini brand led by Mandy Fry and Summer Rapp have announced marketing and PR veteran Maria Sass as Marketing Manager. Sass comes to Amuse with over 8 years of experience in marketing and PR for lifestyle brands including Lexus, BCBG Max Azria and Stance socks.
PENNY SKATEBOARDS ENTER THE RUCKSACK MARKET
ELECTRIC OPEN NEW HQ AT OLATU LEKU, ANGLET, FRANCE
Following on from the success of Penny Skateboards, the same company has now entered the backpack market with the Pouch. The bags are available from their website and comes with a full digital and print marketing support.
Electric have opened their new HQ at the Olatu Leku complex, just down the coast from their old premises in Landes, France. Electric’s new office is inkeeping with their Californian heritage. The building received funding from the local Chamber of Commerce in Bayonne and also hosts other brands including Fox and Oakley, with fellow Kering brand member Volcom’s HQ just around the corner.
GOPRO SHARES SOAR 31% IN FIRST DAY OF TRADING – OWNER A BILLIONAIRE. GoPro went public June 26 and their shares soared 31% on the Nasdaq Stock Market in their first day of trading, giving the company a market value of $3.9 billion. Pretty impressive when you read the backstory of founder and CEO Nick Woodman who started the business originally as a camera-strap company to aid him in getting better surf shots back in 2002. GoPro is the first action sports consumer-electronics company to go public since Skullcandy back in 2011, and is now the top selling camcorder in the world. The first three months of this year saw a rise of 8% in revenue to $235.7 million for the company before going public and the hiring of Tony Bates, former Microsoft executive VP, as president.
DVS OWNERS SEQUENTIAL ACQUIRE GALAXY BRAND HOLDINGS DVS’ owners Sequential are to acquire Galaxy Brand Holdings, who have fitness brand Avia, basketball brand AND1, outdoor brand Nevados, and home goods brand Linens ‘N Things in their portfoilo. Sequential has turned itself into a licensing company, and once this deal is complete they will have 12 brands under their title, generating $2 billion in retail sales per year.
SNOW & SAFETY CONFERENCE COLLAB WITH ISPO OFFERS WORKSHOPS FOR RETAILERS
The conference premiered in Lech Zürs, Austria, in 2012 and is a specialty event for in-depth information on safety in the mountains and in the snow. This year’s edition in December, from 5-7 will offer a workshop program to train shop owners and sales staff on all critical aspects concerning safety in the snow and the related products.
MATIX ADDS TO SALES DEPARTMENT & PROMOTES FROM WITHIN There’s been a re-shuffle over at MATIX, aimed at solidifying their international sales and marketing outfit. MATIX has promoted Daran Godfrey to global sales director. Jaime Fernandez joins MATIX International as sales manager and Nick Evennou takes on a dedicated sales and marketing specialist position.
QUIKSILVER ANNOUNCE LICENSING AGREEMENTS ACROSS SEVERAL PRODUCT CATEGORIES Quiksilver continue their turnaround plan with the announcement of licensing agreements for several of their product categories including Roxy young girls and children’s apparel with Parigi Group, Ltd, watches with E. Gluck Corporation, socks/legwear with Planet Sox, luggage with Travel Plus International, beach towels with The Northwest Company and surfboards with SARL Euroglass and its affiliate Equity Bell – who will also design and distribute Quiksilver brand cruiser and longboard-style skateboards.
MATUSE WETSUITS LAUNCH IN THE UK AND IRELAND Californian wetsuit manufacture, Matuse have teamed up with UK based Surf wholesale specialists Global Wetsuit Supplies to bring their market leading products to the UK, Ireland and strategic mainland European locations.
TTR TOUR CONCEPT 2.0 TTR’s General Assembly in Barcelona saw the emergence of a new world snowboard tour, the Tour Concept 2.0. It will see the TV rights and sponsorship deals needed to support the organic growth of the sport. The new tour has a completely new structure that sees away with the previously ‘starred’ events and athletes will compete on a tour a lot like that of the ASP Surfing World Tour, whereby media rights and athletes previously fragmented, will become centralised in a partnership with sports media giants IMG. TTR will form its own marketing company to handle this new demand for their product. The TTR have been mandated by a unanimous vote in their GA, that was backed by athletes and event organisers alike.
ANIMAL OPEN NEW SHOWROOM IN MANCHESTER, ENGLAND Animal has announced the opening of a new showroom in Manchester. Based in the city centre, the new space signifies the brand’s continued growth in 2014 following on from the opening of the new London showroom earlier in the year. 13
TRADE SHOW REVIEWS BREAD & BUTTER SUMMER EDITION, BERLIN, JULY 8-10, 2014 With its timing and football theme, this year’s summer show reminded me a bit of the Brazilian team; it was living off the past glory days. The most important part of the news on the show was on its future and the move to a new dual location concept, Barcelona in the winter and Berlin in the summer, as the BBB organisers like to gloss it, “it’s always summer in the BBB world”. Retailers can now go to Berlin once a year and Barcelona once a year; an attractive proposition and for brands it means potentially more Southern European retailers attending the show, so its another plus. The question is, is it too little to late? The move back to Barcelona is not as exciting as moving to a completely new location and as the fashion train never stops has BBB been left behind? I guess we will find out soon enough. Back to the show just been, even though it was smaller and less well attended than the last time, it’s still
the biggest show of Berlin fashion week and still brings in considerably more retailers than the other show. The number of halls has been cut back and the walkways and public areas were bigger but there are still some mega stands around. The action sports brands that were at BBB were happy with their results. In general these brands are looking for a wider audience than the other shows can offer. Brands at BBB included Bench, Barts, Ocean Minded, Deus ex Machina, Dickies, Herschel Supply Co, Hex, Lightning Bolt, Maui and Sons and WeSC. Finally as with lots of the other planned events on the evening of the Brazil v Germany match, it was a wash out as torrential rain blasted down. Dates for next January’s show are Thursday 8th to Saturday 10th.. www.breadandbutter.com
BRIGHT SUMMER EDITION, BERLIN, JULY 8-10, 2014 Bright’s second show at the former Jandorf department store proved as successful as the first. Brands are happy both with the layout and the location. Bright continues to offer a more ‘roots’ event in contrast to the bigger more corporate shows, with the ethos and the deconstructed interior of the building in which it’s housed creating a perfect backdrop for the brands in this market. The addition of a third floor enabled the organisers to add more brands to the mix and to reorganize the exhibition area into like-minded groups of brands, for example the second floor was dominated by brands whose roots are a mix of art, music and skateboarding. Amongst the 300 exhibiting brands, new and returning brands included Reebok, Kangaroos, King Apparel, Alis, Qhuit, Dope, Obey, Converse, Altamont, Primitive, Sweet and C1RCA. Bright has now grabbed the street fashion market and is a necessary destination for buyers and retailers catering for this market or for anyone who wants to see what’s happening in the segment. Domestic visitors made up just over 50% of the traffic, whilst the strongest contingent of international attendance came from the UK, followed closely by the Netherlands, France, Austria, Switzerland and
Italy. Interestingly, even though Agenda was on at the same time in the USA many of the usual American faces attended the show, underlining its importance in the global youth trade show calendar. Visitor numbers at the show were slightly up with the middle day being the busiest. The Bright opening night event; the C1RCA Death Race was affected by the early evening torrential rain, which stopped in time for Germany’s football victory celebration with the help of the LookyLooky Crew DJs. The final evening saw the Bright X Cons Project Berlin take over a former Berlin Mitte super market for a skate contest, a live performance by the Flatbush Zombies from Brooklyn and the Palace DJs from London. For this winter Bright will remain in Berlin rather than follow BBB south. As the organisers rightly pointed out for the streetwear, skateboarding and sneaker market, which are Bright’s key focuses, Berlin is much the best overall location currently in Europe. Dates for next January’s show are 19-21. www.brighttradeshow.com
JACKET REQUIRED SUMMER EDITION, LONDON, JULY 30-31, 2014 London’s East End; home to fashion, hipsters and Jacket Required, which has now become a staple in any boardsports brand’s calendar aligning itself with the fashion/lifestyle market. This edition saw good representation from our industry including the likes of: Altamont, Dickies, Electric, Volcom, Santa Cruz, Captain Fin Co, Urbanears, Komono, Stance, Deus Ex Machina, Poler, BRSH, Raen, WeSC, RVCA, Addict, Makia, Element, Globe, Herschal and Lightning Bolt. Boardsports related brands took pride of place at the second floor entrance, outside of the main hall (AKA the greenhouse, due to the sheer heat penetrating the glass ceiling). The show’s bare white walls, and provision of two simple hanger-rails per stall allows
for buyers and brands to get back to the basics – the product, with no elaborate stalls over-complicating matters. We visited all of the action sports brands, often having to check back later due to the sheer volume of buyer interest being shown. Last year saw the emergence of brands telling stories of their heritage through florals, prints etc. in order to justify their slice of the pie, and this year what resonated was the pride being taken by brands in the production quality of all products, with intricate detail in stitching, added details and where possible a ‘made in Europe’ vibe. www.jacket-required.com 15
retailer profile
SECRET SPOT SCARBOROUGH, UK Secret Spot are celebrating their 25th anniversary…there aren’t too many surf shops who can boast that! To celebrate we spoke with HQ Manager John Bagnall to find out what makes a business span 25 years, and to find out how they’ve managed to stay ahead of the game, and not let the internet overwhelm them. You’re celebrating 25 years, please give a brief history of your store including when it was started, who started it and who the owners and key players are. In the mid 80’s Roger Povey set up Starboard Surf, which was a trailer he parked up renting out suits and boards on the South and North bay in Scarborough. In 1989, Roger moved into Hanover Road and changed the name to Secret Spot. This tiny unit which held about five boards and a dozen wetsuits, became church for the surfers who crammed in there watching surf vids and waiting for the BBC weather forecast to read the chart for the week ahead. By 1991, Roger had partnered up with local surfer Paul “Tomo” Tomlinson and moved to the current address on Pavilion Terrace. In 2006, Roger decided to move on from Secret Spot and Tomo became the sole owner. Nowadays, we have three locations: the store in Scarborough, the surf school and shop at Cayton Bay and the online and warehouse HQ out at Wykeham. What percentage of your sales are from online business compared to your brick-and-mortar sales? It would be 50% web and 50% bricks and mortar not including the surf school. We have two outlets bricks and mortar against one online presence so it’s basically even. Did your store’s sales increase or decrease over last year? We have seen an increase overall. A decrease in the stores slightly and a big increase online. The stores are very surf-dependant and we haven’t had great runs of swell to speak of so it’s affected us a bit in that sense but all in all it’s a positive growth. What makes your store different and in what ways does your store excel beyond your competition? Because we are a genuine surf shop that specialises in selling the best equipment you can buy. We are the local surf shop you still come into and chat about surfing with the guys. It’s something that’s
becoming folklore! We are all surfers, we love talking about surf stuff and we love interacting with customers. We are different from the competition because not many other surf shops have the heritage we do or the knowledge. It’s amazing how many other shops are run by just businessmen, not surfers. What trends do you see upcoming in the boardsports as a whole? We think everything is going back to surf. Surf is cool again, not that we ever thought it wasn’t but there can be a stigma attached to surfing and surfers sometimes which we feel is disappearing. The traditional ‘surf look’ is dead and people are sharpening up and simplifying their outfits and their hardware. What kind of advice can you give other independent retailers who are trying to compete against the big box megastores? Don’t follow them, do your own thing. Bigger retailers tend to follow what independents do anyway so if you’re looking at them for trends then you are doing something wrong. Stick to your heritage. Does your store sponsor athletes, competitions, etc? If so, what are the benefits to the store and to the boardsports community? We run a yearly surf comp called the East Coast Classic and we have found this to be incredibly beneficial for us and the brands that supply the prizes. We make it a community thing and try to get everyone involved. It reinforces what you are about and that’s promoting surfing as a whole and making sure people have a good time. If you could go back five years, what would you do differently? Surf more, work less! Haha, no, I guess just foresee more activity online but we have always been quite forward thinking with our website. We would probably have invested further to get to where we are now quicker!
WWW.SECRETSPOT.CO.UK 17
photos: d’blanc, dragon, electric
trend report
SUNGLASSES SS15 TREND REPORT Even though in fashion you have to come up with something new every season, you can’t reinvent the wheel year after year. You don’t really need to either, and so in 2015 we’ll see a lot of twists on classics in the eyewear section. Report by Anna Langer “Reengineered Classics” is THE trend of 2015, according to Electric and Smith, who both use the exact same wording and phrase. The vintage vibe is coming strong again and Dragon are introducing the ‘Fit For Living’ collection: “classic shapes with a smaller fit,” aimed at their younger athletes who travel a lot. Otis are producing “rounder eye shapes, driven by vintage classics”, “semi-round wireframes and teardrop acetate eye shapes” (Electric), “vintage inspired details with modern rimless lens details” (D’Blanc) and increased influence from heritage collections (Smith, Oakley, O’Neill, Otis & Cébé). “Flatter top brow lines” (VonZipper) and “flat top unisex frames with metal brow details” (D’Blanc) are also good examples of that added twist. The vintage inspired ‘Leather Side Glacier Shields’ from D’Blanc bridges over to the next big trend of 2015: performance driven frames and shields as well as more modern shapes. Wraps with “large temples protect from the sun, sand and wind” (Smith) and are “stylish and functional” at the same time, as available from Spy, Bollé and Gul. Nike Vision rely completely on functionality and don’t “focus so much on what’s ‘trendy’ but instead on what will serve our athletes and improve their performance.” Melon and Cébé add some square looks to the party while Dragon, pioneers of the #weareframeless look present the Shadow Collection, their latest frameless range. Dirty Dog and D’Blanc mix it up with geometric and rimless designs as do D’Blanc. Electric and Sinner take it even further with “post apocalyptic / futuristic themes” (Electric), while Sinner’s campaign was photographed at one of the craziest festivals out there: the Burning Man in the USA.
With Dragon pushing their technical innovation within their APX (Advanced Project) goggle line, they have hinted that we are very likely to see this cross over into their eyewear category, taking it to the “next level in the near future”. Watch this space. Besides these “mad designs you know from the older Oakley days”, they also offer clean lifestyle pieces, as do Ashbury, who “feel that less is more and really try to convey a minimalist style in all our designs.” COLOURS Colour is still a big theme for summer too, no matter if vintage, modern or sports related. Neff even state that 2015 is their “most colourful collection yet” and Spy go for “fun, playful and happy,” as do Nike Vision, O’Neill, Cébé and Bollé. VonZipper add coloured versions of their bestsellers and Oakley add colour to colour, with “contrasting frame colour inserts and temple tips”. Colour combinations can also be found in collections from Bollé, O’Neill and Melon, while Nectar inject colour directly into the frames of some of their new hydrodipped styles. For those who prefer a more subtle approach, Spy have “‘60-esque tinted translucent colour frames with contrasting Spectra lenses” and Neff “blend pop colours of tie-dye and classic sporty styling” for their Tie-Dye Sportswear look. Electric on the other hand only add some “bright spots” to their darker colours, whilst VonZipper and Sinner go for more toned down, earthy shades. Cébé spark up dark frames with coloured flash mirrors and Dirty Dog leave colour out completely, offering clear frames, as do
“unburdening the consumer from choosing between technological features and style” Shred 19
trend report
Melon with their semi-transparent numbers. As we look to patterns Neff are advertising their “Hard Fruit Collection” which features brightly coloured digitized fruits and O’Neill mentioning some textured frames. Dragon have new Hawaii floral and Hula print collections featured on the outside temples and a stunning collab with artist Schoph. In return, classic tortoise is making a huge comeback with Spy, VonZipper, O’Neill, Melon and Sinner, who value them as constant bestsellers and add “bright Spectra lenses” (Spy) or a matte finish (Melon) for a little extra. Despite the slight hype last year, matt frames don’t seem to have held their ground, and have found only little mention from Melon and O’Neill. LENSES Lenses are staying quite colourful too and have little twists or extras added as well. Mirrors are still mirrored in all collections with variations from Electric and O’Neill, while Polarized Blue and Bronze Mirrors come from Smith, Cébe and Bollé; Rose Gold, Sky Blue, which is contrasted to frame colours from Sinner and even double layered by Bollé, adding the initially mentioned twist. Dragon have three new lens colours to shout about, all of which making quite the statement; rose gold, sky blue and plasma. For a less flashy look, Electric, O’Neill and D’Blanc also offer graduated or even bi-gradient lenses to go with their vintage themes (Electric) and lifestyle collections (O’Neill). When it comes to lens materials, Ashbury and Melon are proud to equip their models with premium Zeiss glass, while Otis rely on mineral glass, which they state to be the “most optically correct, distortion free and highly scratch resistant” material for sunnies. Bollé find similar qualities in their new NXT, “a premium lens material based on Trivex, which offers superior optics for a crystal clear vision close to glass.” And Electric increase their use of Melanin, which they claim to be the “best natural defence against the harmful effects of the sun” and filters 100% of UV as well as 98% of blue light while maintaining the perception of natural colours and enhancing contrast. Which is especially vital in the sports performance sector, that Smith’s ChromaPop and Spy’s Happy Lens Technology cover as well, which are both expanded through the brands’ collections in 2015. Ensuring optimal performance for all sectors, Oakley varies lens attributes according to demands and optimize them “for specific environments and sports”. MATERIALS Material of choice for most brands is still Grilamid/TR90 (Electric, VonZipper, Otis, O’Neill, Melon Optics, Gul & Dirty Dog), especially in more performance oriented styles since it “retains shape for optimal fit in heat” (Electric). While Gloryfy swear on their signature G-Glex frames and I-Flex lens materials, that ensure their unbreakable ethos. Dragon have harnessed their proprietary frame material over a period of years both in the lab and out in the field, and SS15 sees them expand their H20 collection of floatable frames, while Gul add flotation with a “retaining leash for a secure fit”. There are also some real innovations to be expected for 2015, with the “eyewear sector evolving every day” (Spy). Oakley’s NanOmatter, which will be launched in October, offers “a new material that is very strong even if the frame is very thin”. Filtrate have something completely new “that was never offered before” up their sleeves as well, but won’t spill before next summer so we’ll have to curb our curiosity for now. And last but definitely not least, Shred have revolutionized not the material itself, but its use with their NOWEIGHT™ technology: “a derivative of structural engineering studies, [that] allows us to create a shape that minimizes the amount of material used while maximizing the stability and performance of the eyewear”.
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An increase is also visible in the use of hand-made and/or plant-based acetate, especially from Italy (Electric, Otis, D’Blanc & VonZipper), with multiple layers (Sinner) or even combined with Bamboo (Shred). Smith expand their use of bio-based Rilsan Clear material to 95% of their collection, as do Spy with their Plantate plant polysaccharide. Metal in various variations from Titanium (Smith) to Nickel Silver Alloy (VZ) is still popular as well and paired with TR90 and acetate (Dirty Dog) and twisting classics (O’Neill & Otis). PRESCRIPTION GLASSES Most interviewed brands agree that prescription glasses from boardsports related brands will only increase in future and could be a “vital brand extension” (VonZipper). Those with big optical parent companies such as Marchon/VSP (Dragon & Nike Vision) and the Safilo Group (Smith) can tap into their experience and knowledge with RX and offer top-notch service with their high-end models. Nike Vision sums up the growing demand: “We are facing a population that is very much into fitness and sport. We need to be able to deliver RX options for those consumers, especially as this fitness aware population ages and needs vision correction.” Shred are also on the bandwagon: “When a frame is superior in terms of style and performance, it is superior no matter the lens colour” and offer their models prescription-ready, for customers to have their own prescription lenses fitted. OUTLOOK With brands happy exploring all sorts of trends, shapes, colours, materials and realms of combinations, there’s one aim combining them all: an “unbound pursuit of style and performance” as Shred summarize. In our sports driven industry, performance or style is no question any longer – just the way in which the two are brought together and combined. Whether with details as hidden rubber pads for increased hold (D’Blanc) or simply applying performance and durability standards to lifestyle as well as performance collections alike, “unburdening the consumer from choosing between technological features and style” (Shred). This is also what sets these brands and their products apart from regular high-street brands, who may copy the looks but are far from the experience and expertise that sports companies have built up over years.
EYEWEAR EDITORIAL TEAM EXPOSURE RANKING JAN – JUN 2014, GLOBAL WEB PRESS Source: Rideometer. Rank
Brand
Editorial Team Exposure
Clipping Pages
1
Oakley
1 213 554¤
2086
2
Quiksilver
1 191 673¤
2439
3
Dragon
716 780¤
1222
4
Von Zipper
505 388¤
1068
5
Electric
372234¤
682
“Editorial Team Exposure” gathers the value all the brand’s team riders editorial exposure on websites over the period in that specific product category. The value is based on the advertising equivalency method.
EYEWEAR TRENDS AT A GLANCE REENGINEERED CLASSICS – modern twists on classic looks & styles SPORT GALORE – performance optimized specifics COLOUR FLASH – mirrored lens & colour combinations MATERIALS – ecological & technological innovations
photo: protest
trend report
MEN’S SURF APPAREL SS15 TREND REPORT Back in the early days of surf culture, buying clothing specifically made for surfing proved challenging. In the late 1950s, only a handful of tailors were offering surf shorts – still called ‘surf trunks’ – including the legendary M. Nii on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. Surfers in the know could also ask the proprietors of surf shops such as Ray’s Cabana in Malibu, California to order their own pair of custom-made shorts, sold ‘under the counter’ and not openly advertised. It was an insider thing, highly individual, and for surfers only. Fast-forward to the present day and everybody wants to dress like a surfer. And buying surf apparel – or mall-friendly ‘Hollisterations’ of the original culture – has never been easier. But with core surf companies driving a more tailored, individualized and quality-oriented approach, things are coming full circle: Welcome to Surf Wear 2.0, where inspired designs, advanced fabrics and up-to-date silhouettes by brands with a rich boardsports heritage are separating the ones who ride real waves from those riding trends. By Dirk Vogel “In the coming seasons, boardsport customers are coming back to true surf or skate brands. They are once again searching for this lifestyle difference that existed in the ‘90s and before, to differentiate them from others. So the surf apparel will be more focused on its roots and will bring more difference to streetwear,” said Nicolas Perceval, Head Designer for Men’s Apparel at Billabong. Ultimately, it’s all about standing out from the clones and their massmarketed clichés of the prototypical ‘surfer look’. For Spring/Summer 2015, endemic surf companies are looking inwards at their own brand DNA. “There are many ways to stand out and it’s not always about 22
being loud, it’s just making sure you stay true to who you are as a label,” said Jacob Byrne, Design Manager at Rhythm Clothing. While Rip Curl’s Maël Armellini, Men’s Surfwear Product Manager is on the same page: “Regarding the size of collection, we downsized it to make sure our designers are now focusing 100% on what Rip Curl stands for and what core surfers need: the most comfortable boardshorts, the best surf jackets and the quality of our products.” After 35 years in the surf market Dakine are set to enter the Surf Apparel market for SS15 with a collection including men’s boardshorts, junior swimwear, wovens, knits, flannels and fleece. Mike Madlener,
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president of Dakine Hawaii Surf acknowledges: “The new spring lines build on Dakine’s commitment to quality, performance and innovation, but there is also a strong sense of place, building on our Hawaiian foundation and honouring the spirit of aloha that is so important to the brand.” Our team worked around the clock to bring this line to market and I think it will resonate with our specialty retailers and end users as relevant and well considered, with a deeper identity and positive messaging”. THE BEACH, NOT THE STREET Going out are big logos and standardized shorts, tees and hoodies. Coming in is a wave of sun-faded fabrics, delicate knits, artful prints and well-concealed technology under the hood. And for a major reality check, SS15 marks the end of the short-lived love affair between surf apparel and streetwear. It’s been real, but now both have to go their separate ways, and focus on what they do best. Jan Lindeboom at O’Neill notices: “The main difference between surf apparel and streetwear is the consumer. At O’Neill we love to check the streetwear trends as well and we will apply some of them to our designs, but the main filter is always: Would a surfer wear this? Some streetwear trends are just too far away from our brand!” While streetwear draws inspiration from urban culture and metropolitan environments, surf apparel is all about roaming free under sun. And it’s not just about the beach, as upstart California brand Iron & Resin demonstrates: “We are inspired by our shared adventures; wandering and rambling under the western sky. Equal parts mountains, deserts, and coastline,” said Jackson Chandler, cofounder of Iron & Resin. Afends European Brand Manager Alexei Obolensky notes: “Surf apparel and streetwear are more and more aligned. Brands are becoming ‘streetwear brands with surf influences’. Surf is still a slightly dirty word in non-core surf markets such as Paris/London so brands need to be careful in terms of positioning.” While Reef also notice “the line between surf apparel and street wear is becoming more and more blurry.” GO YOUR OWN WAY When it comes to stylistics, surf wear has traditionally followed a different trajectory than its urban counterpart. Case in point: Neon colours and sun-kissed accents feel right at home amidst white sands and blue water, but stand out like an eyesore in the hustle and bustle of the city. “The main difference between our surf apparel line and our street wear is the colour story. The surf one is brighter than the streetwear one,” said Mathieu Santoni at Volcom. Pepe Šetele, head designer at Horsefeathers, is on the same page: “Streetwear is going to be less loud, with a selection of undertones and heather colours, tone-in-tone prints. Surf wear is still strong with flashy colours, motives, and patterns. Seems like there’s still no limit for designers.” Neon is adding pop to shorts by brands such as Brunotti and O’Neill, while Oakley uses splashes of neon as colourblocking elements on their 1080 windbreaker. Meanwhile, both surf apparel and streetwear are trending in the same direction in terms of silhouettes and materials, Pepe at Horsefeathers notes: “On the other hand, cuts are quite similar. Shorter and slimmer legs are getting more and more space. Stretch fabrics give more comfort to the slim cuts.” The highlight of Rusty’s SS15 collection is their ANTIFIT line: “The whole dumpster (or dropped crotch) style of fit is huge at the moment as youth around the world move away from the more
traditional fits that their parents are wearing!” Technical performance and functional fabrics have always been an intrinsic part of surf apparel, especially when keeping in mind that in the early days, the tailored surf trunks of M. Nii and cohorts answered to specific requirements related to riding waves. “The differences to streetwear are mainly on the technical part. Surf has lots of technical features, like stretch materials and laser cut holes and glued seams,” said Joffrey Delfgaauw, Design Manager at Protest. VINTAGE VS. TECH But make no mistake: The trend towards performance-enhancing technologies does not automatically imply a return to the 1990s era of futuristic, ‘super-tech’ stylistics. For SS15, the ‘technology under the hood’ movement prevalent in footwear is gaining traction in surf apparel. The result is a classic, understated look that’s both heritage and progressive at the same time. Peter Smith, General Manager at Hurley Europe confirms: “There’s an influence from the vintage days of surf, but it’s been revisited with modern fits and materials. I think the boundaries between surf and skate are blurring as the market explores more liberty of expression.” Standout pieces for SS15 include the JJF and Julian Wilson collaborations, and walkshorts with Nike Dri Fit. On that note, chino pants are no longer restricted to urban settings, but can actually get wet, including Brunotti’s new hybrid for SS15: “The Calvise boardshort looks like a chino, but is a technical boardshort. So you can wear it in the city and during your ride. The original snap closure with zip fly, belt loops and money pocket gives the short its street looks. The short is water repellent, so the drops will fall off easily,” said Lonneke Mulder, Marketing Manager at Brunotti Europe. The new vintage-tech hybrid is best exemplified in the new collection from Oakley, a company known for pushing the envelope of technical performance with a constant commitment to research and development. Oakley’s new Factory Pilot collection, “is a new fresh collection specifically targeted towards the young core consumer in surf and street with heritage-inspired silhouettes done in modern ways,” said James Harrison, Oakley EMEA Apparel Brand Manager. Asked about specific technologies, Harrison pointed out: “Most of our shorts have Hyperdry, which makes them dry super quick. It all started with the Hydrofreak, the quickest drying boardshort in the whole surf industry.” For SS15, surf apparel brands are finding ways to conceal quick-dry, stretch, ventilation and wicking technologies without compromising on a timeless, forward-thinking look. PRINTS AND GRAPHICS While Hollister-shopping mall surfers are content with parading a huge seagull logo on their chests, authentic surf companies are steering clear of aggressive, over-sized brand emblems. Large prints are still trending, but these are either refined artworks or photo prints grounded in surf culture. Photos of palm trees, waves and California sunsets feature prominently on T-shirts by heritage brands including Brunotti, Volcom, Iron & Resin and Horsefeathers. So-called monogram prints, geometric repetitions of the same, small icons across entire garments also feature prominently in SS15 collections. The second hot print trend for next season has been building momentum across footwear and accessories collections for the past year: Floral and Hawaiian prints are having their day in the sun, found in almost all SS15 surf apparel collections.
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Meanwhile, the most classic of all nautical patterns is popping up on tees, henleys and knit sweaters by brands including Volcom, O’Neill, Horsefeathers and Iron & Resin – horizontal stripes, also known as ‘surf stripes’ or ‘nautical stripes’. Here’s a bit of trivia: Did you know that white sweaters with thin, horizontal stripes were standard regalia for low-ranking sailors on 17th Century ocean vessels? It’s because hardly any of these men were able to swim, and the classic ‘nautical stripes’ pattern makes it easier to spot a ‘man overboard’ amidst the waves. True story. THAT TRUSTY, LIVED-IN LOOK Everyone has that special T-shirt in their life, a favourite item that’s soaked up memories of countless adventures. The new generation of surf tees offer that lived-in, familiar comfort straight off the rack. “Important is the soft touch of the t-shirt, like it’s vintage,” said Lonneke Mulder at Brunotti. At Horsefeathers, all pieces of “the t-shirt collection are washed with the ‘cold-dye’ method, which gives the t-shirts a classy, vintage look.” Adding to that time-honoured look, colorways are also getting faded... sun-faded that is. With splashes of sun-soaked salt water and lighter gradients, companies such as Volcom and Iron & Resin are adding levels of texture to their colour stories. photo: o’neill
“The main difference between surf apparel and streetwear is the consumer. At O’Neill we love to check the streetwear trends as well and we will apply some of them to our designs, but the main filter is always: Would a surfer wear this? Some streetwear trends are just too far away from our brand!” Jan Lindeboom at O’Neill.
Billabong calls it ‘Washed Out Daze’, as Nicolas Perceval explains: “With this story, Billabong is bringing some freshness to the whole collection. Tie-dye is still a strong influence but used this season with sober tone-on-tone colour combos.” Pieces in the new Billabong garage collection are “garment-dyed for a vintage look.” SURF SHORTS 2.0 While the mall version of surf shorts is still the oversized, below-theknee boardshort of early 2000s fame, endemic surf brands are driving a more form-fitted silhouette with much shorter leg lengths. At Volcom, Mathieu Santoni puts an emphasis on “short outseam boardies at 17-18 inches in length.” This trend reflects in new collections by Brunotti with nice, strong colour pop and pieces like the Canyon short by Iron & Resin, tailored from – wait for it – corduroy! And corduroy isn’t the only outlandish material trickling into surf shorts collections. Horsefeathers and Volcom are embracing jean shorts, which might change their negative reputation (for kicks, go and Google “jorts”). Naturally, this new blend of water-friendly denim also features technologies such as stretch and quick-dry properties. Reef’s boardies have a “lightweight slick elastane fly with a brushed interior waistband”, which provides ultimate comfort when paddling and also out of the water. Oxbow have some rich, flamboyant patterns and graphics combined with their quick drying water repellent surf short technology on offer for SS15. The French company are taking inspiration from Hawaii and also Southern Europe with their patterns encompassing a mixture of flowers, checkerboards and culminating in the Baroque-esque highlight of the line, the Exubérance collection. Billabong embraces acid washed denim shorts, and as if that wasn’t shocking enough, Nicolas Perceval announces: “Polos are definitely back in the business, with all-over prints, so next season’s top will be a polo!” That’s right: Formerly at home on the golf course, polo shirts are making a splash across SS15 men’s collections from all major brands.
photo: protest
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ACCESSORIES FOR DISCERNING GENTLEMEN Making waves in the accessories segment for SS15 is a headwear staple pioneered by style savants such as Hunter S. Thompson and pro skater Jason Dill: the Bucket hat! “Seems like I have been seeing lots
trend report
photos: protest & volcom
“The main difference between our surf apparel line and our street wear is the colour story. The surf one is brighter than the streetwear one.” Mathieu Santoni at Volcom.
of the 5-panel-camp hats as well as a resurgence with the bucket hat,” said Jackson Chandler, co-founder of Iron & Resin. Jan at O’Neill also urges retailers to keep an eye out for, “5-panel caps made from taslon nylon and the bucket hat.” James Harrison at Oakley considers it a long-term trend: “5-panels are definitely the hot trend in the market place. We do not see this going away any time soon!” Joffrey Delfgaauw, Design Manager at Protest is also seeing massive movement in men’s headwear and other accessory items: “The trucker cap is back! Furthermore we see a lot of all-over printed caps, like ours with a full-colour tropical palm print. We also introduce a range of summer beanies. And our flip-flop range has a brand new, one-mouldflip-flop.” Horsefeathers also re-engineered their sandals, and for SS15 introduce genuine leather belts made in the EU and a leather phone case. Pepe is stoked on, “our super strong collection of hand-made leather belts. These are made by a small workshop close to our headquarters and the pieces are definitely worth checking out.” For the discerning surfer, Iron & Resin offers sleek “leather wallets handmade in the U.S., as well as a cool corduroy hat.” Finally, backpacks are the new tote bags, making a return with fresh takes on time-honoured designs in collections by Volcom and Oakley. Oakley EMEA Apparel Brand Manager James Harrison confirms: “We are also seeing a lot more traditional backpack silhouettes that have very loud and aggressive use of colour and print or very outdoor inspired design language, for example our Voyage collection.” So there you have it: SS15 Men’s Surf Apparel marks a revival of heritage styles built on state-of-the art technologies in an overall package that says, ‘Surfers Only!’ As the coming season separates the real from the fake, the knock-off mall brands will have some serious catching up to do.
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MEN’S SS15 SURF APPAREL TRENDS AT A GLANCE Streetwear gets dumped. Surf apparel ends its love affair with streetwear, announces it’s time to ‘Do me’ and return to its roots. Vintage feel fabrics. Soft, dye-washed fabrics for that lived-in, ‘old favourite’ feel straight off the rack. Getting faded. Bleached colour accents add sun-kissed highlights for extra texture and detail on shirts and bottoms. Not without my hat! Three types of lids are covering surfer’s heads in SS15: “Bucket hats, 5-panel hats and snapbacks with floral prints. But customers are definitely moving onto bucket hats,” said Nicolas at Billabong. Polos are the new tank tops. Formerly the domain of frat boys and golfers, polo shirts are rolling into surf apparel with a vengeance, and surf-specific prints. Show some leg. The ‘short shorts’ trend continues with vintage-inspired surf shorts, with inseam lengths around 17–18 inches as the magic number. Material stories. Next to technical performance fabrics, urban materials such as corduroy and denim are learning to swim in SS15 surf short collections. Upscale accessories. Next to the ubiquitous headwear, handmade belts, wallets and phone cases from fine leathers are adding sophistication to the accessories segment. Surfers aren’t beach bums anymore, bro.
THE SKATEBOARDING ‘RAD DADS’ How skateboard retailers can cater to ‘Rad Dads’ and riders in their mid-to-late thirties. By Dirk Vogel
Forget the little kids. Grown men are skateboarding’s growth market of the future. (And we’re not just talking about expanding waistlines.) All over Europe, a generation raised on hardflips, Tom Penny and Wu-Tang Clan is getting back on board. “I have definitely noticed a resurgence of skaters in their mid-to-late thirties, especially since opening the store [in 2014],” says Tom, proprietor of Tom’s Skate Shop in Stoke Newington, London. For many of these riders, getting back on board goes hand-in-hand with fatherhood. “There does seem to be a good amount of skaters in their 30s and 40s, who are skating more again. Primarily it’s the ones with young kids who are starting to skate – so Dad can now skate again as well!” said Chris Allen, Director at Shiner Distribution. And make no mistake: This new wave of ‘old’ skateboarders in their Freaky Forties are not just ‘life-styling’ down the streets with salt and pepper in their beard and some fancy cruiser or trumped-up longboard under their feet. “Most of the people buying cruiser boards may also be in their mid-30s, but they have never skated before in their life,” said Philipp Reimann, a partner at PINKHAUS Skate Shop in Neukölln, Berlin. 28
Instead of getting their cruise on, these mature riders want ‘real’ boards with regular street shapes to do some real tricks on these mean streets that raised them. Now holding down real jobs for real disposable income, this demographic presents a vital market. Distributor Chris Allen encourages retailers: “Stock more product that the older guys will buy as there is a good market out there. The shops doing most of the business in the UK at this time are the ones that sell it on their websites, because not enough of their local shops stock it!” But what exactly is it that these skaters want – except getting their 19-year-old bodies back – and how can shops help them? THE YOUNG AT HEART Empowering the mid-life shredder movement is an increased public acceptance of skateboarding – now considered more of a ‘real’ sport thanks to X-Games and Street League – together with shifting age demographics in the pro ranks. Leaders of the 1990s New School such as Eric Koston, Bob Burnquist and Daewon Song are extending their pro careers close to the 40-year-dateline, while trailblazers such as Danny Way and Bucky Lasek are proving that ‘over 40’ is far from over the hill.
Photo: House of Vans London - Open to all rad dads and their kids now
MIDLIFE CRISIS
With pros leading the way, it’s considered okay for Regular Joes to push wood later in life. “When I moved to Berlin ten years ago at the age of 27, I was already considered ‘geriatric’ in my skate crew in the town of Bremen” said Philipp at PINKHAUS, adding: “In Berlin it’s incredible – there are 50 or 60 skaters over 35-years-old that skate on the regular. They never quit, so they don’t have to start again. Berlin is unique – an El Dorado for the Young at Heart.” On that note, skateboarding holds tremendous potential as an activity for all ages – the young as much as the young at heart. “Don’t forget skateboarding appeals to kids from six years old and up – even beyond to old guys like me in my late 40s. Just look how Lance Mountain still rips and he is 50!” said Chris Allen at Shiner. REAL RECOGNIZE REAL From a service perspective, mature skaters are probably the most low-maintenance customers at any shop. “Returning skaters who quit in the mid-90s often ask for brands that paved the way such as Zero and Toy Machine. And those who kept with it buy lots of Anti Hero,” said Philipp at PINKHAUS, adding: “But all the new stuff like Polar, Palace, and Welcome has a similar approach to 1990s companies. That indescribable flavour. You can show a Palace deck or hoodie to any 90s-skater and he’ll know intuitively it’s cool shit!” While their bodies may be a few cheeseburgers ahead of their 1990s selves, many riders hold on to their board shape preferences: Popsicle shapes reign supreme, maybe a bit wider around the middle (to accommodate for the cheeseburgers). “They are all riding reissue boards like they used to have and if not, modern decks with a real shape and good concave that are 8.5” to 9.5” size,” says Chris Allen at Shiner. Asked about brands for the Bad Ass Dad set, Chris pointed out Anti Hero, Welcome, Santa Cruz, Tired, Krooked, Powell Peralta, and Black Label. At Tom’s Skate Shop in England, older customers are gravitating towards the classics: “They usually lean towards old school, wider decks as opposed to thinner and more ‘trick’ orientated decks. I think it’s because their mentality of skateboarding is less about competition, tricks and pushing themselves, but enjoying cruising around. NOSTALGIA ULTRA When it comes to Old School, non-popsicle shapes, Anti Hero offers the Jeff Grosso “Midlife Crisis” edition, while Welcome Skateboards builds its entire brand around going against the grain, shape-wise. Tom adds: “Over the last few years there have been lots of new, smaller and independent companies making more custom and old school shaped decks, like Tired. They have a great ethos and make lots of rad shaped decks, some of which have an old school shape, but a tail that’s more rounded and similarly to more traditional trick oriented decks.” Other brands bound to get the 1990s stamp of approval include Jeremy Klein’s anime-inspired Hook-Ups label, and the retro brand Dear Skateboarding – now available at Slam City – offering rare T-shirt gems such as the Mark Gonzales “Israel” tee from Video Days or Sean Sheffey’s “Einstein” shirt. PASSING THE TORCH Most importantly, mature skaters are far from keeping to themselves, but an integral part of the skate scene. Tom observed: “A lot of them come down with their kids in the kids lessons I run. It’s great to see both of them having a session, that’s a great support for the younger generation.” In Berlin, groups of skateboarding fathers use weekday mornings when the kids are in Kindergarten to get some shred time:
“Lots of us who have kids meet up in the mornings at the local park for a ‘rad dad’ session, which is pretty cool!” says Philipp. When it comes to passing the torch to younger generations, mid-life skaters can offer invaluable advice, for example wearing protective gear, says Chris at Shiner: “They don’t worry about being geeks and the ones that are parents set an example for the kids. I always wear a helmet even when I skate on the street with my daughter and don’t care if people look at me strangely.” On a cultural level, the interchange between older and younger skaters helps maintain fundamental values, says Philipp at PINKHAUS: “When every generation keeps to itself, there’s no more education passed on. That’s why there are so many dumb kids buying blank boards. I personally owe the way I turned out to the older skaters who showed me what’s what. Nowadays, more and more kids are left to their own devices. And if you have to find orientation in the Internet Age all by yourself – then you’re practically already lost!”
WORKING WITH MIDDLE-AGED SKATEBOARDERS Five strategies for keeping the ‘rad dads’ stoked – and have them coming back to your store. 1. Skate and relate. Retailers who walk the walk are probably already dialled into the mid-to-late-30s set. “There’s nothing I need to do differently. As a shop owner, I can always be seen out skating at the spots. So people come naturally,” said Philipp at Pinkhaus. 2. Real men use protection. Older skateboarders are smarter about using protection than their adolescent counterparts. Shops should have helmets and elbow pads with adult-friendly designs ready (keep SpongeBob for the kids). “The older gen don’t shy away from pads and protective gear as much compared to the ‘teens’ and younger gen skaters,” says Tom in Stoke Newington. 3. Keep price-points on point. Not everyone in their late 30s has worked their way up to a Porsche and corner office. Offering essentials at affordable price levels is key to keep passionate skaters on a budget stoked in the long run. “You really don’t need to have the latest gear in Berlin, especially boroughs like Neukölln or Kreuzberg. People want good wood and great boards without spending lots of money.“ 4. Proper brand selection. Even without having followed the brand landscape closely for a few years, mature skaters know intuitively whether a brand is authentic – or faking it. Shop owners can give nudges in the right direction, said Tom: “I advise them on the sort of stuff available and any new products and companies doing their style of things, like Tired.” 5. That special something. Grown-ups want more out of their retail experience than a two-hour marathon of watching Pretty Sweet on the store tellie. “We have a great coffee machine, kind of the Lamborghini among coffee makers, that helps,“ said Philipp. And to soothe those sore, middle-aged muscles, Tom’s Skate Shop offers yoga sessions for skaters every Thursday in the downstairs gallery space below the store.
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photos: finisterre, billabong, nikita
trend report
WOMEN’S SURF APPAREL SS15 TREND REPORT Surfing can be everything from an admired sport, a cherished past time, to an all consuming passion or even sole reason to live. Hence the fashion that goes with the most romanticized and fantasized about boardsport of all times, is as diverse as its followers and can’t be put in a single box anymore. By Anna Langer THEMES & TRENDS Just like swimwear (as reported on in issue 71), surf apparel is no longer limited to the water or even the beach, but crosses over onto the streets, into travelling and, obviously, fashion. No wonder everyone looks like they’re going surfing these days (see the Brandwave article on page 58) – there is something for everyone on the shelves these days! From classical surf themes such as “Tropical Tribes” (Protest), “Paradise Jungle” (Urban Beach), “Sunbleached Surf” (Animal), “Paradise Found” (Roxy) or “Island Native” (Maui), to surf related topics such as travelling and gypsy life (from Animal, Roxy, Volcom, Finisterre, Billabong, Protest & Lost), vintage vibes (50s Retro from Rhythm, 70s at Insight and “Miami Vice” from Urban Beach) to more cross-over themes such as “Groomed Grunge”, Rusty’s version of “surf meets street” or the “female and sexy translation of functional styles and designs” from Chiemsee.
surfer girl, our surfer girl cannot be so easily put into a box. She is on the edge and is inspired by fashion that isn’t in an activewear box. She loves to be athletic but loves fashion as much and uses both as a voice to communicate who she is.” Is how Lost sums up the overall main trend for SS15.
This diversification reflects the development of female surfing and shows that brands have finally stepped beyond viewing surfer girls as either solely athletes or just cute bikini girls. In 2015, their surfwear is catering for all types of female surfers, from demanding fashionistas, stylish gypsies to pragmatic jocks. “In a world full of ideals for a
This is followed up by Summer’s pop colours, that reach from exotic “jewel tones” (Volcom) to “vibrant corals” (Breakburn), “neon pops” (Finisterre & Maui and Sons) and everything ocean-inspired (Protest, Roxy, Animal). Travel inspired themes also introduce an array of warm, spicy colours in “Sunkist” shades (Maui and Sons), “juicy
COLOURS & PATTERNS When it comes to colour palettes, there are no big surprises or adventures to be expected. Most brands stick with traditional softer shades and pastels in Spring (Animal, Billabong, Roxy, O’Neill, Finisterre & Breakburn) and spice them up to some brighter versions for Summer, with sunset and water tones dominating the field. Volcom add “wash techniques that help give a more worn in look” and Insight work with “pigment garment dyed colour washes”, reaching a similar effect, as do Lost with their “hand painted watercolour flowers”.
“We wanted to produce a lifestyle collection that was casual in its appearance but was very technical in its function,” Burton explains. 31
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“How it differs from the rest of the line are in the technical aspects of the fabrics we use specific to swim and surf, and the silhouettes that provide support and coverage for women out in the waves. Aprés-surf she slips seamlessly back into her streetwear from the collection” Nikita.
plum and blossoming fuchsia (Roxy)”, “oppy, persimmon and orange” (Roxy) as well as lots of red and indigo combinations (Billabong, Roxy, Protest & Lost). This rainbow of colours is contrasted with monochrome stories (Protest), “shades of greys, blues and soft blacks” (Lost) as well as “nudes and earthy tones” (Nikita & Protest), “grounding colours” (Rusty) “soft neutrals” (Volcom), safari (Urban Beach) and sand shades (Roxy). Insight and Breakburn also give THE summer colour a comeback in their 2015 collections: fresh, crisp and simple white. Prints on the other hand are as wild and diverse as the world of fashion can possibly be and adorn skirts, tops, pants (Billabong & Rusty) and shorts (Volcom) alike. Billabong points out: “There are different prints for each of the different themes and some of the prints are also in the swimwear range.” Hence we see a number of variations on classic flower patterns, from oriental orchids (Animal & Billabong), to romantic versions (Billabong, O’Neill, Roxy, Insight, Protest & Lost), all-over “flower yardages” (Insight) and more modern interpretations such as “two-colour batik florals” by Roxy and “artfully abstract florals” from Volcom). The motifs of choice for 2015 are a bit more exotic though, and cover palm trees (Billabong, Animal & Maui) and leafs (Roxy) of all sorts as well as bright pineapples (Billabong, Animal & O’Neill). Other classics such as animal prints are still covered too (O’Neill), and “paired with tribal influences” (Volcom), which are also still present in almost all lines. Ranging from Ikats (Billabong & Roxy) and “navajo inspired prints” (Maui and Sons) to ethnic “tile & stamp prints” (Animal) and stripes (Billabong) and culminate in a selection of “zig zags and more geometrical prints” (O’Neill, Nikita & Insight) and “chevron” (Roxy) or “bold wide stripes” (Finisterre). And while Tie Dye has been around again for a while now, and will continue to stay a little longer (Billabong, Roxy, Protest & Maui and Sons), next summer will also see some “yarn dyed stripes & melange” variations (O’Neill). Rhythm on the other hand add a bit of retro feeling to their collection, with “quirky retro icon prints” and dotted patterns. And Finisterre stay old school too, bringing back “bright colour blocking”. In general prints, patterns and themes are picked up again and repeated in the main collections, which “creates the ideal uniform of summer” (O’Neill). SILHOUETTES & MATERIALS Then again silhouettes could not be further from uniform in 2015. “In each category there’s more of a variety of shapes on offer to suit different types of girls and body shapes” says Rhythm and the variety has everything from culottes (Roxy), bell-bottoms and off-theshoulder blouses (Lost) to body con silhouettes (Volcom), cropped tops (Billabong & Maui), bandeaus (Roxy) and knits (Volcom) as well as cut off jeans on offer from Billabong. Maxi skirts and dresses are important styles for 2015 too, with various interpretations from Billabong, Roxy, Protest and Urban Beach. “The most noticeable is the full length silhouette, which you can see in our long dresses, jump and play suits. It’s both elegant and comfortable,” says Protest. Play and jumpsuits are also still present in many collections (Billabong, Protest, O’Neill & Rhythm) and are styled up without straps (Roxy), vintage denim materials (Insight) or full-length legs (Protest). Shorts on the other hand are either very short next year (O’Neill) or go up very high, with a lot of high-waist denim short 32
variations from Billabong, Rhythm and Insight, who add a vintage touch, while Lost go for high-waisted circle skirts. Complementing the travel and gypsy themes, there is a myriad of embroidery patters found in the collections from Billabong, Roxy and Rhythm. Protest play with embellishments, as do Lost who adorn their eyelets and Volcom who go for the trims. Balancing these more dressed up styles, there is also a variety of relaxed and casual cuts on offer from all of the brands. Rusty even go as far as making it a division of its own: the ANTIFIT. “Our ANTIFIT division is the biggest movement for Rusty in the Spring Summer line, ANTI FIT represents a play on proportions using relaxed fits and longer rises which creates an effortless laid back look” and brings some “slouchy fits in shorts and pants” to the shelves. This is complemented by casual chino shorts from Breakburn, classic beach looks from Animal, relaxed beach pants from Billabong and Roxy, as well as comfy kimonos from fashion pioneers Nikita. Finisterre stick with “classic sportswear themes and a relaxed unisex feel” altogether, with Billabong and Breakburn offer relaxed boyfriend t-shirt cuts too. While the more functional and athletic styles sport technical materials such as recycled polyester (Roxy Surf Capsule & Finisterre) and hyperdry fabrics (O’Neill), there are some novelties in surfwear to point out, like gauze (Roxy) and organza (Rhythm). Apart from that, the predominant and preferred fabrics for summer are fine and lightweight. Billabong opt for tencel, viscose, light jerseys, Volcom for “light weight materials with intricate details”, Nikita use “silky fabrics and cozy bamboo, Finisterre offer fine gauge knits, Maui and Sons go for soft, lightweight jerseys with viscose or modal and Urban Beach introduce some super soft suede vintage washes. OUTLOOK With trends spreading and changing faster than ever, it’s easy to get caught up in a frenzy trying to cater for everyone’s needs. But by staying true to their roots and the lifestyle that goes with it, surf brands manage to dance on that fine line – with bells on, literally. And the unique themes within the collection not only stand out against the rest of the apparel, but also offer a great range of choices to each and every surfer girl out there. “How it differs from the rest of the line are in the technical aspects of the fabrics we use specific to swim and surf, and the silhouettes that provide support and coverage for women out in the waves. Aprés-surf she slips seamlessly back into her streetwear from the collection” Nikita conclude.
WOMENS SS15 SURF APPAREL TRENDS AT A GLANCE GYPSY TRAVELLER – embroidery, embellishments & earthy colours TOTALLY TROPICAL – pineapple prints, ocean colours & flower patterns FINE FEMININE – gauze & organza blouses MAXIMIZE – full length dresses, skirts & jumpsuits
controversy
CHINA LEANS TOWARD ECO-INNOVATION FOR A GREENER FUTURE The world’s biggest producer of CO2 emissions is turning up the notch on eco-innovation in a bid to address environmental challenges and respond to a demanding market. A positive step for a nation well known for its quick, cheap (and far from environmentally friendly) manufacturing traditions. With some pretty impressive examples of eco-innovation showing up across China, we took a look at some of the green changes happening in and out of boardsports occurring as a result of this cleaner thinking. An Article by Jade Persaud-Walters.
CHINA. VAST, POLITICAL, POWERFUL – GREEN? The rising trend for environmentally protected products and services is putting the pressure on businesses to move toward sustainable growth. As part of an effort to stay on top as the world’s most competitive manufacturer, China is placing a greater emphasis on energy and the environment. In April this year, the No. 1 polluter passed the biggest changes to its environmental protection laws in 25 years. Severe punishments for polluters as they work to reduce some of the significant damage directly associated with China’s rapid industrial development and economic growth. Under the country’s 12th 5-Year-Plan, the government is estimated to invest U.S. $450 billion in both environmental protection and renewable energy, agreeing to cap greenhouse emissions by 2016. CHANGE IS IN THE AIR. Low carbon innovations are popping up all around China’s provinces. Beijing is home to the world’s first LEED v4 beta certified project, a showroom by manufacturer Haworth, which features eco-friendly lighting and furniture. Beijing’s subways are also going green, with the installation of 40 ‘reverse vending machines’ that reward passengers with reduced travel for recycling plastic bottles. Over in Shanghai is one of Nike’s newest concept stores, constructed entirely from waste. 5,500 drinks cans, 2,000 PET water bottles and 50,000 old CDs and DVDs were used to design the interior and fixtures. CHINA & BOARDSPORTS. Whilst China’s development of eco-innovation is yet to have a direct impact on the boardsports industry, an overall effort to change means things are looking greener for China’s growing boardsports scene. “Snowboarding got a huge boost last season thanks to the newly established China SNOWboard Association (CSbA) that helps put Freeriding across China on the map” describes Miriam Hanna Deller, Director of Beijing based PR and marketing consultancy, Core Power
Asia and a champion of snowboarding in China. “Finally China boasts a real market, and is a player in the industry, with more and more attention thanks to good platforms such as ISPO Beijing.” Speaking on China, snowboarding and the environment, “The CSbA is known for their ‘green edge’, their president Wang Lei is Protect Our Winter’s spokesperson in China, and he consults resorts in sustainable development.” informs Deller. “Western China might soon see the first eco lodge for riders in Asia thanks to his efforts! CSbA also promotes the use of sustainable water bottles, and we hope people in our community will influence a broader share of people to start to think twice before using a single use bottle. Same goes for random waste disposal, or even more simple, to advocate and educate about the negative impact of cigarette butt litter in the mountains.” And China is not short of other examples that indicate growth. Snow and skate manufacturing has almost exclusively moved over, with the exception of high-end boards. The first flagship store of the Cold Mountain retail chain (carries Nitro, Bataleon, Landyachts, Sector 9 etc) is also scheduled to open in Beijing’s most popular lifestyle shopping district, Sanlitun. Reacting to market demand, a second summer ISPO is debuting in China next year with the World Snowboard Championships heading to Yabuli in 2016. Shanghai is also set to become home to the world’s largest indoor ski resort, expected to be finished in 2018. END OF THE ROAD FOR ‘CHEAP CHINA’? Already the top global investors in clean energy, China are going big to swap their toxic mass producing reputation for one that rings much greener with its buyers. A lot still remains to be seen, but aside from that small matter of saving the planet, adopting a global approach to sustainable manufacturing will also help China when competing against other developing manufacturing nations. Will boardsports be next to see its own fair share of eco-innovative concepts come out of China? There’s hope for it yet. 35
BIG WIG INTERVIEW: FIREWIRE CEO, MARK PRICE Sometimes, under the radar in smaller companies, live some of the most outstanding business minds of our game. Industry veteran and member of the surfboard avant-garde; Mark Price, CEO of Firewire Surfboards, is one of them. This issue’s Big Wig honours a man that has gained success by being low key and letting his work do the talking. Interview by Iker Aguirre. It was back in the early 00’s when Salomon and then Surftech changed the game in a profoundly traditionalist surfboard market where PU was the only rule. The market was ready for innovation and ground-breaking technology. In a matter of years countless brands emerged with all kinds of pioneering innovations. Debates raged about the pros and cons, values and performance but sales were there to prove that change was a reality. In the midst of this turmoil, soon to be highly complicated by the GFC, Nev Hymen and Bert Berger got together to bring their very own innovative technology to the market: Firewire Surfboards. In March 2006, Mark Price, CEO, entered the company with his “entrepreneurial instincts screaming” after having tried a Firewire board that he saw as a total “game changer”.
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Hitting the market at retail in 2007, a thorough combination of smart marketing, undeniable performance and great product merchandising brought Firewire to the forefront of ‘must have’ brands. But the GFC also did its share to help them succeed, as Mark tell us: “During the crisis, many surf retailers required vendors to offer increased inventory support, accelerating a trend that had already started before the GFC. Fortunately Firewire was in a position to do that in the US and Australia and we were able to increase our retail footprint. And even more importantly, that increased footprint sold very well which set the stage for us to maintain and, in some cases, expand it. It also didn’t hurt that during the first five years of Firewire’s existence, Taj was having his best years on tour ever, which was undeniable proof that Firewire was not just a durability story, but offered world class performance as well!”
“I think retailers by and large should go narrow and deep with five or six top brands in a category such as shortboards. This allows for the proper representation of each brand and ensures a higher probability that they will have the right sized board for a particular customer”
But when it comes to explaining the brand’s long lasting success, Mark states: “the market has now become polarized between low price/high quality me-too product, and premium priced, differentiated product. The middle ground has largely disappeared. From our perspective, in order to succeed you have to offer the end user a better priceto-value equation and I believe Firewire has accomplished that by offering similar price points to other premium surfboards, but with a technological advantage.”
otherwise would be disingenuous. However, all markets are constantly evolving and there are still a number of custom-only board builders that are doing very well. I come back to one of my original points – if you are only making me-too product then it’s going to be a tough road ahead.” Mark recognises the importance of shapers, but also notices the need for change: “some surfers will always want that personal interaction with their shaper, but in the overall I think you have to innovate. There is no getting around that.”
Still, Firewire amongst others, continued to raise the average market price through quality and performance. For those who only see lower prices as their main sales argument, he says: “There is a place for that product for the entry-level user, or surfers who cannot afford more expensive product. I don’t see it as an either/or, but if you go that route, you have to also be aware of the trade-offs. For example, someone is almost always going to find an even cheaper way to produce similar product, and/or be willing to take a lower margin than you and undercut your primary reason for being. “
We couldn’t look into the inner workings of such a technologically advanced company, without asking Mark for his thoughts on where he thinks the industry will be in five years to come. “I hope that the lessons of constant compounded growth and the relative lack of attention paid to distribution have been absorbed, which will lead to a smaller, more sustainable surf market. And from time to time when the macro trend of ‘surf cool’ comes around as it always does, I caution brands to treat that as a windfall gain and leverage existing resources as much as possible to avoid creating extensive fixed overheads.” Amen.
Since 2008, the successful product mix at retail has mutated. While surfwear had been the cash cow and hardware the black sheep, technical products are now leveraging sell through and profitability statistics at retail. Success at that level is also a matter of bringing the right product mix to the end user. “This may sound self-serving but that does not make it inaccurate. I think retailers by and large should go narrow and deep with five or six top brands in a category such as shortboards. This allows for the proper representation of each brand and ensures a higher probability that they will have the right sized board for a particular customer”, which will eliminate “fragmented product offerings and if retailers do their homework, inattentive, uneducated staff”. Mark rounded off his thoughts on the product mix by adding: “Surf retailers are realizing that hardgoods remain one of the product categories that allow them to differentiate their floorspace and overall shopping experience from all the other channels. In particular, online surfboard sales are still a very small percentage of the total number of premium surfboards sold, so that also adds some insurance against the macro shift towards big portal Ecommerce. “ But Firewire is a love story with innovation and vanguard thinking and, when questioned about the evolution of the market, Mark states: “we’ve only scratched the surface of what’s possible. Granted we might not see the quantum leaps forward that the thruster brought versus the single fin, but there are still significant strides to be made, especially on the eco-front.” And what do Firewire have to offer on this front? “Even lighter and stronger materials, differentiated flex, and much ‘green-er’ materials and factory processes.” At this stage, we had a choice. Either we could dig deeper into the technical specificities of Firewire’s range or into the brand’s intelligentsia and market understanding. Space being limited in print, the World Wide Web will be our best ally. Once this article has gone to print, BoardSportSOURCE.com will run an extended version of this interview complete with images, lookbooks and videos detailing Firewire’s technological prowess. Which allows us to go into great depth on issues such as the evolution of handcrafted shaping versus surfboards sourced in Asia. “There is no question that those products have impacted some of the custom, handcrafted market and to suggest
If the whole industry came to him embodied as one single person, here’s what Mark would say: “Never, ever lose your love of surfing, communing with the ocean on a regular basis will help to keep you grounded.” Mark has some pretty important points of information, by which he thinks our industry and others must adhere to if we are to step strongly away from bad habits and start new paths. “I think that the global economy which required significant compounded growth (translation – rampant consumerism) in order to function cannot continue. The changes needed are across the board. Some of which are: - Reductions in overall consumption levels through a shift towards more emphasis on ‘needs’ and a little less on ‘wants’. - Realignment of energy sources, which will take decades. - Strengthening of the social safety net in certain countries with the resources to do so, and the related need to reduce income inequality. - A renewed commitment to protect our environment even if you don’t believe in climate change. - At the risk of sounding like I understand the global economy (I don’t!), less money printing and a greater willingness to take pain today rather than agony tomorrow.” When you look at any corporate pioneer you learn that success doesn’t happen by accident. People make it happen, their passion makes the difference but what does it take to be a pioneer? “Being willing to make decisions or take action without all the information and answers, and dogged perseverance.” And, since passion is nothing without strong values, he adds: “There is honour in all work, and always try and do the right thing even though you will fall short. From a company standpoint, always remember that you were once an employee.” Mark Price is inquisitive by nature, but only has room for one ‘why’ in his life, and this is “why not?”
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photo: globe
trend report
CRUISER SKATEBOARDS TREND REPORT SS15 Skateboarding offers something for all tastes nowadays, and this is most apparent in that of-the-moment category, cruisers. “The best part of the cruiser segment is that it appeals to a wide demographic – core skater, commuter, youth, adult, men, women, basically anyone who is looking to enjoy the sensation of skateboarding,” acknowledges Bernd Pösl, European Brand Manager at Arbor. If skateboarding was to be fine dining, then the cruiser segment would be a fusion restaurant. Blending old school shapes and contemporary aesthetics with new school technologies and upscale finishes, cruiser companies are cooking up a diversified menu for Spring/Summer 2015 with quality as a main focus. Report by Dirk Vogel “The days of slapping a generic graphic on a pintail with no-name bin components are over. From custom concaves, matched with trucks and cushions that really work, along with progressive wheel shapes and formulas, and all the little fit-and-finish details that sometimes go unnoticed, our philosophy of cruiser design is an approach to the branded package as a whole, not just a collection of generic components,” said NHS CEO and President Bob Denike. This ‘quality under the hood’ approach is also key to serving an increasingly demanding customer base. Matt Wong, President of GLOBE’s Product Division agrees: “From Globe’s position, the cruiser segment is still really healthy in Europe. But it’s probably past the point where some brands were able to get growth through just throwing graphics on boards and offering sharp price points. The consumer is getting more sophisticated as the market matures, so he has a better understanding of the quality-to-value ratio.” DON’T BELIEVE THE HYPE? Speaking of market maturation, with the amount of new cruiser companies decking the halls at Agenda and Bright trade shows this year, is the hype still going? Yes, says Liz Reynolds, European Trade
Marketing Manager at Penny and Z-Flex: “Penny continues to see a steady growth and the hype is most definitely still on! The same applies for Z-Flex where we are seeing a trend towards the handcrafted Premium Core Cruiser Series.” Some brands saw a change coming years ago. Bob Denike at NHS said: “It definitely levelled out and it actually has shrunk a bit at the high end. I remember in January of 2012, I was talking to Steve Lake of Sector 9 right after two years of crazy growth. I looked at him and said, ‘This thing has about 18 months; it’s going to clog up and hit a wall.’ Sure enough, late summer/fall of 2013, this segment stalled and some people got hit pretty hard. NHS made the adjustments early on and we have been able to grow through it, but it’s been really ugly for some brands.” LIFE AND STYLE Nevertheless, two trends are currently saving the day – customers buying multiple cruisers for different occasions, and the large influx of female riders. “Cruiser boards are more like surfboards, there are several different types of them for several different types of rideability, so kids are understanding that and building a quiver of them. 39
trend report
There’s also the fact that there are different groups of ages with older folks and younger kids getting on a skateboard and the masses of female riders that have been adding a lot to it,” notes Scott Howes, marketing manager at Dwindle (Almost, enjoi, Blind, Tensor, etc.). The feminine touch also reflects in the many floral prints – on decks, trucks, top sheets and griptape – perfected by brands such as Arbor, Penny, Globe, and Dusters California. Gunnar Lubahn at HOFF Distribution (Prohibition, Flying Wheels) confirmed: “On our plastic retro cruisers we saw a demand for prints and will match this by bringing out a range of nice patterns. Also on the Flying Wheels brand the print is often a major buying argument, especially for cruisers with few technical features.” Colour trend alert! Pastels are #sohotrightnow in furniture design and eyewear. Penny cruisers are spearheading the trend after a “refresh this season with the sugary shades and candy coloured hues of mint and lilac, plus the introduction of peach for 2014.” Remember where you heard it first: pastels! And Scott at Dwindle/Dusters points out the second big trend: “We will also maintain our classic vintage 100% wood finish styles in our line and we do have some very unique designs using different types of wood.” PREMIUM FINISH For discerning tastes, GoldCoast Skateboards has that wood grain finish: “Our exotic wood material story continues to perform very strongly. Using walnut, bamboo, and zebra wood, in addition to maple has been a way for us to really class up the line and convey the message of high design in our boards,” said Chris Brunstetter. Celebrating their 20th brand anniversary, Globe is going all out with several premium offerings. “The Cabin Series is a series of premium boards taking inspiration from guitar craftsmanship, mixing walnut with mother of pearl inlays,” said Matt Wong, adding: “The Spliced Series mixes thick layers of different exotic woods to offer a high-end collection of beautifully finished boards.” As the icing on the cake, Arbor have pioneered the ‘Sucrose Initiative’, a wheel formula that: “incorporates sugar into the urethane. Not only are the wheels more sustainable, but the urethane formula is known to increase wheel performance across a wide range of terrain.” SKATE EVERYTHING A growing subset of skateboarders believes that riding technique was at its most enjoyable around 1987, roughly when The Search for Animal Chin video dropped. When preferred terrain included ditches, banks and all kinds of tranny. Bernd at Arbor says: “We feel the ‘skate everything’ mentality is quickly becoming the norm. Styles in our upcoming catalogue will focus on shapes that appeal to the skater who wants to transition from the park, to the pool, to the hill. Within those styles we’ll continue to push the boundaries on construction and materials that maintain Arbor’s DNA.” Globe, Arbor, Z-Flex and GoldCoast have boards that blur the line between cruising for fun and cruisin’ for a bruisin’. Santa Cruz also has been working on one axe to rule them all: “In Spring/Summer ‘15 we’re offering a custom shaped double-kick cruzer, featuring a new twist on a classic Santa Cruz technology. From tip to tail, we’ve approached this project as a sort of ultimate ‘All-Terrain’ cruzer. We know that it’s impossible to design one skateboard that fits everyone’s needs, but we’re pretty excited that this project has produced a skateboard that everyone can have fun on, be it at a skate park, ditch, bike path, or slide jam.”
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DAY & NIGHT Cruiser boards are becoming the new mobile phones – constant companions around the clock. This explains the trend towards shorter, more portable boards: “Right now I see a trend for 1980/90s widestyle directional cruisers. They have a handy format that fits on the bus, looks cool and retro, and are easy to skate, whether you just want to cruise or ollie the odd curb or obstacle,” notices Gunnar Lubahn, HOFF Distribution (Prohibition, Flying Wheels). Keeping you cruising after dark, LED-illuminated Sunset Skateboard Co. has been turning heads with their sparkle-in-the-dark wheel technology. Ken Perkins, President/CEO has some new things up his sleeve: “We entered the market with our transparent plastic decks that really help show off the LED wheels as you cruise at night. It truly absorbs the light and glows as you move. Coming soon, we have some amazing new shapes in wood that will definitely be an eye catcher.” Everyone’s cruising late: In cooperation with SF-based artist Jeremy Fish, Santa Cruz has cooked up the Night Owl Loser Cruzer, featuring foot-activated base plate headlights and light-up wheels. Fish also endorses the Weird Beard Loser Cruzer – the bottom covered in synthetic facial hair – officially making the bearded SF artist the patron saint of artsy cruiser skateboards. Looking ahead, the cruiser party is far from over and retailers will be laughing all the way to the bank, if they play their cards right. Scott at Dwindle agrees: “Keep embracing this category that goes beyond any trends by supporting serious companies, educate yourself about all the varieties, and by educating kids and adults out there on how positive skateboarding can be for your well-being and life style.”
SS15 CRUISER TRENDS AT A GLANCE NO MORE PLAYING AROUND Formerly used for playful exploration, current cruisers support a broad range of ‘serious’ approaches. “The line between street/park and longboard/downhill is starting to blur a little bit, and there are more and more kids beginning to crossover and ride both styles.” Bob Denike at NHS. TOP-SHELF FLAVOURS Mother-of-pearl inlays, blended woods, performance constructions – cruisers are getting ritzy. Globe takes the crown with the Spliced series: “Each board is limited to 300 pieces globally, due to the workmanship that goes into each one.” BUILD A QUIVER Customers buy multiple cruisers for different scenarios. “Show the customer how much variety there is in this category and how much fun it can be to add a cruiser or two to their quiver.” Chris at GoldCoast Skateboards. MOBILITY IS KEY Stubby boards around 26 inches can go anywhere – from the bus to the bar to the boardwalk. “Shorter boards with kicktails combined with wide soft wheels are the winning formula this season.” Nate Schumacher at Landyachtz. NICE RACK! POS materials like the Penny’s wooden cruiser rack or the Santa Cruz * Star Wars stand helps to sell cruisers at full force. “Selection and display are key. Good presentation and selection will draw the customer’s attention!” Gunnar at Hoff. SHINE A LIGHT LED-illuminated wheels and base plate headlights provide hours of night time fun and safety. “Our main story is our LED wheels. Our patent pending design is crushing the market right now!” Ken Perkins, President/CEO Sunset Skateboard Co.
DEVELOPMENT NEVER STOPS A visit to Swiss-based company Development Never Stops offers rare glimpses into a craftsman’s trade headed for extinction in Europe: the ‘high-tech’ tailor. Unfortunately, the craft and know-how behind tailoring has, for the most part, been outsourced to Asia. But thanks to the business sense of company founder Marcel Geser, Development Never Stops bridges the gap in the market. Marcel, what makes the idea behind your company so revolutionary? When I was working for a brand, I was constantly frustrated by the immense dependence on suppliers. Brands today are more like marketing companies with their own distribution channel, and that’s what they know well. But when it comes to the actual products, they rely on other people entirely. There’s some theoretical foundation, but how a certain product is developed and produced exactly – that is only known to a few people. I found it shocking. To me, this approach in the textiles industry seemed totally incompetent. There are great employees everywhere who want to create innovative designs or explore new markets. But the spirit is gone. And that was my starting point. We are all trained craftsmen and want to bring this level of know-how back into the companies. Which services do you offer? We handle product development and create prototypes all the way into series-production readiness, including samples for sales. Our main focus lies with unconventional solutions and products that require secrecy and confidentiality, including scientific or highly innovative projects. These are not the kind of projects people like to outsource or shop around to suppliers. But isn’t innovation in conflict with conventional manufacturing business models? Absolutely. The brands want to bring good products with USPs or new technologies to market. But manufacturers mostly shy away from investing into the development, trying to create the largest-possible production runs from minimal development budgets. Development cost needs to be kept at a minimum for optimal efficiency. But whenever several prototypes are required to get things right, they often lead to a high-end product at limited quantities – which is against the manufacturer’s interest. That’s why most manufacturers will pass on certain types of jobs, and that is the reason why lots of great ideas never make it to market. Your business model seems to cover a gap in the market. In 2009, people couldn’t picture the exciting possibilities. And they couldn’t picture us being able to do it all ourselves. They thought that we were backed by a factory. Finally, our website helped explain the
process and people began to see that we do indeed handle everything in-house. What was it like in the beginning? It was really sink-or-swim at first. We started off working with the wrong business partner, which lost precious time. But otherwise we would have never got going, and since we realized there was a good response and demand for what we started, we kept at it. During the initial stages, we received lots of support from suppliers and customers, which was reassuring on an emotional level. Everyone did their best to help us out. And that’s how we managed to get the entire factory back up and running within a year. What’s important to us is that even if you’ve been cheated, it’s always important to remain honest and treat your partners fairly. Who are your clients? Half of our orders come from the sport segment, about 40% from the military and a small share from fashion, which we would like to expand. It would be fun to introduce new constructions into fashion. Are you allowed to share technologies developed for your customers? Up until the technology is established on the market, it remains exclusive. After about two years it’s available in our store - except when it’s patented. What about sustainability? Sustainable materials and production processes are one of our main areas. We always try to educate our customers about the implications of their processes – and whether or not something is necessary or even justified. Many of them are entirely unaware of what the implications and consequences of their decisions can be. Whenever we have a chance to influence their materials selection and supply cycles, we get highly involved. And whenever customers agree, we purchase Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) fabrics. We think bluesign is a great approach, really moving things forward in chemicals management. But unfortunately, this certificate excludes large markets such as Japan, where the standard is adhered to, but companies don’t get certified. There’s just too little information in some areas and as a consequence, not everyone is equally motivated to look into these things.
“Half of our orders come from the sport segment, about 40% from the military and a small share from fashion, which we would like to expand. It would be fun to introduce new constructions into fashion.” Marcel Geser, Development Never Stops 42
photo: rip curl
trend report
WETSUITS SS15 TREND REPORT The water temperature in Europe means that surfers have to wear neoprene, even during the summer. Some people use it to stay in the water as long as possible, but it also serves as protection from the sun, chafing, allergies, reefs and jellyfish neoprene’s an important sidekick for a surfer’s skin. It’s no surprise retailers favour this high-value product, which in terms of SKU works as well in the autumn/winter period as it does in spring/summer. Report by Denis Houillé. SLIM BUT TOUGH Thin models (2mm or less) provide much needed freedom of movement and flexibility while surfing in summer but the durability of the product cannot be compromised. They are in much more frequent use in summer and the products have to be able to withstand frequent everyday handling (taking it off, rinsing and drying). Continuing to make lighter and lighter models increases the risk of reaching breaking point, as is often the case with the entry-level suits whose lamination processes do not conform to quality standards. Each manufacturer has their own methods for ensuring there are no defects. Rip Curl is the only brand that has its own manufacturing plant so they can guarantee each product is checked (through 8 steps) before leaving the warehouse. This is also why they can offer the longest warranty on the market, three years for the stitching and one year for the rest of the materials. Quality control is also a priority for Patagonia, scrutinising each aspect of their products “from conformity to the employment code and from the start of the supply chain to printing the logos” explains John ‘Hub’ Hubbard, Development Manager in Ventura, California. Likewise, in order to minimise waste materials, Madness say they are “working off designs using 3D software to improve the fit and limit tearing points”, explains
Gunnar Lubhan at Hoff. To ensure their products’ durability Mark Brown from C-Skins “inspects manufacturing techniques in their factories and makes sure that the stitches do not perforate the neoprene too deeply to cause a leak or a vulnerable area.” At O’Neill, the TechnoButter neoprene remains popular in winter and in summer as their Head of Product Joe Turnbull confirms: “customers appreciate the lightness of this material and the fact that it holds almost no water.” Amongst other unique advantages, Mike Pickering from Gul mentions their “snake skin” covering on external nylons, which keeps the wetsuit light by evacuating water and protects the heart of the neoprene foam. As we have seen in their recent advertising campaign, Patagonia are now proud to announce they have cultivated their own neoprene (yulex from plants) and not extracted from natural resources. In the same vein, Phil from Tiki Wetsuits confirms the arrival in 2015 of a rubber produced without hydrocarbons. IMPROVED LININGS This inner layer plays a specific role and reinforces all the wetsuit’s characteristics. Generally, linings improve thermal insulation as well as the warmth and elastic properties of the neoprene foam no matter 45
trend report
“Customers appreciate the lightness of this material and the fact that it holds almost no water.” Joe Turnbull, O’Neill Wetsuits how thin. There are different requirements for all areas: warmth on the torso and back and elasticity at the joints, while having low water retention and being quick drying throughout. The lining’s stretch actually has to be as, if not better than the neoprene’s. “The internal weaving used by Wishbones actually “increases the stretch of the neoprene and its stitching”, thereby prolonging its life, explains founder Dononvan Marais. Coconut fibre is still being used in linings for its durability and odourreducing properties. Matuse compare their linings to silk but only to the touch because it’s “probably the most robust and stretchy on the market” states John V. Campbell, CEO of Matuse Inc. The anti-microbial treatment (that most high-tech linings have) is also noteworthy, ensuring that 99% of bacteria is eliminated and maintaining a healthier wetsuit for longer. PRICE RANGES Directly indexed to the price of oil, neoprene production is subject to sometimes significant price changes that manufacturers are forced to absorb if they don’t want it to affect their retail price. The variable price is therefore seriously taken into account as Carlo Rauen, Head of Product at ION wetsuits states “depending on which panel of neoprene we are dealing with, we choose a specific material to optimise performance and cost”. Overall for spring/summer products, the average neoprene basket value comes in slightly under the winter models. On the other hand, the number of SKUs is higher at retail because of all the different formats (sleeves and legs) as well as accessories (tops, jackets, neoprene shorts). COLOURS Beyond the technical and functional aspects, the look of a wetsuit can sometimes be a deal clincher, especially in summer. Many manufacturers in recent years have sworn by black alone, still a timeless colour for the neoprene market. Recently however, some headstrong brands like Matuse and Patagonia admit to being convinced to “add some colour, especially to feminine models”. Overall we are noticing more demand for colour in the water. According to the designers -even though they think it’s too early to talk about it - the colour range that is used sparingly is meant to remind people of all the fun of summer. “The majority of manufacturers seem to have opted for organic tones (bronzes, olive, mustard) and the trend seems to be set for a few more seasons,” observes Donovan at Wishbones. Between the grey and black panels that are still so often standard across the range, we are finding splashes of popping colour (yellow, blue, green). Equally noteworthy is the taste for solid colour wetsuits that are blank, with no pattern and always a strong colour.
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over another. All deserve particular attention and you should bear in mind that if a designer has spent hours refining it, it’s only so you can optimise your time spent in the water. So here are some details that make it worth buying from a specialist. At the wrists and ankles, an extra strap will stop the water from circulating openly as is so often the case with entry-level models. At the neckline, the strip of neoprene has to be reinforced, doubled over and should not move or cause friction. The zipper (front or back) can also be an entry point for water. That’s why specialists like O’Neill and Quiksilver have decided to coat each zipper tooth to stop any water getting in. Finally to minimise the number of defects or product returns that customers might be tempted to try, it is useful to remind them about the care instructions for wetsuits on every purchase. “Aftersurf” handling is the key to neoprene longevity. As Paulo Green from Onda Wetsuits reminds us, “no wetsuit is indestructible, the industry knows it and so do surfers.” Rinsing in fresh water after every use is key - no shampoo, no shower gel, nothing else at all. Remember that just like the salt/sun cocktail is bad for your skin, the same goes for neoprene and in particular the stitching. When you get changed try to avoid car park tarmac and gravel and use something else whenever possible (rug, bag or plastic crate). Also be sure to close all Velcro because when it’s inside-out it can grip your lining’s jersey and eventually pull it off. Finally, avoid the old classic and disastrous wetsuit drying technique of full sun and coat hanger. The U.V rays will gradually burn the neoprene foam and you’ll wear it out quicker around the shoulders as they have all the weight of the dripping wetsuit on them. Dry it by folding it in two at the waist.
WETSUITS LOGO EXPOSURE RANKING JAN – JUN 2014, GLOBAL SURF & CROSSOVER PRINT PRESS Source: Rideometer. Rank
Brand
Exposure
Clipping Pages
Logo Factor
1
Hurley
839 165¤
357
44%
2
Rip Curl
702 260¤
382
43%
3
Billabong
686 931¤
397
53%
4
Quiksilver
559 351¤
355
40%
5
O’Neill
310 856¤
190
41%
“Brand exposure” gathers the value all the brand’s assets exposure (riders, products, events…), in both editorial and advertising, on a specific product category. The value is based on the advertising equivalency method and is related to the size and the location of each clipping in the mag. “Logo Factor” represents the % of the brand’s exposure value where its logo is visible.“Logo Factor” represents the % of the brand’s exposure value where its logo is visible.
For girls, Borja Torres, Head of Wetsuits at Rip Curl is already talking about next season’s bombs and about their retro-sexy look combined with e-stitch technology. Fluoro seems to still work well with the kids who always want more, as Alistair Zorica, Global Head of Wetsuits at Quiksilver confirms “for kids, the wetsuits are never too fluoro!”
SS15 WETSUIT TRENDS AT A GLANCE
FUNCTIONAL DETAILS Beyond the major criteria of fit and neoprene quality, we can see many little perks that can swing the balance in favour of one model
- Trend for solid colours, grey/black bitonals and without patterns
- Neoprene’s protective properties (cold, sun, chafing, allergies) - Linings improve the neoprene’s properties - Products durable enough to withstand high usage in summer - Comfortable materials: soft liner and water repellent coating
BEST SELLERS Retailers... Would you like to be featured in Best Sellers? SURF / WATERSHED / NEWQUAY / UK / WWW.WATERSHEDSHOP.CO.UK What are the benefits of having a physical shop over simply having an online store? The benefit of having a physical store is that you can showcase and merchandise the product to tell a story about your brands. It is also a great place to hold parties, hangout and create a vibe around you as a retailer; you simply cannot create this with an online only presence. What makes your store different to any competition? Our store is very different to other shops for the following reasons: 1. Our retail space is a two-storey double fronted Victorian building with an onsite workshop.
2. We created the shop fit ourselves, utilising materials that we found or made. 3. We are very active socially; we hold party’s and events etc. 4. We have created our own brand and manufacture many of our own products. 6. We stock an amazing selection of niche brands. What upcoming trends do you see on the horizon? We can already see a mixed trend across the surf and skate industries, this is very exciting as we are seeing the modern skateboarders and surfers getting into the classic heritage of their sports where the industry used to have a closer cross-section.
How do you pull people into your store? We pull people into our store using social media, holding events and by the range of products we stock. Also we regularly have customers from all over the country coming to down to Newquay just to visit us. How confident are you for the coming summer? We are set to have a great summer, having the best selection of brands since we opened and we are now established in the industry. We are also much better at business now and feel we have bought very well. The start to the season has already blown us away and Easter is also a great way to judge the rest of the year.
SKATE / XDOUBLE / INNSBRUCK / AUSTRIA / WWW.XDOUBLE.COM What percentage of your sales are from online business compared to your in-store sales? As we just started an online Store Project we are currently doing 99.9% in store. What trends do you see upcoming? Big onliners go retail and are making the life of small shops harder. As they stock nearly every brand the smaller core stores do. The only possibility to stay different from them is
segmentation from the industry. Please tell us of any upcoming events your shop has planned? We have a warm up for a music festival in front of the store at the end of June with some bands playing live. In July we have a stop from the LRG Tour in front of our store and our skate team is starting a Tour to Tuscany, Italy in May.
What are you doing to pull people into your store? Support the local scene (team riders, skateparks, snowparks). Direct Mailings, events, a professional staff team who is working with passion for the boardsports, social media marketing, ads, flyers, run a blog…. What are your top three selling brands? Volcom and Vans are on top, and a lot of smaller brands are dividing up the rest.
SKATE / ÉTE CLOTHING / BERLIN / GERMANY / WWW. ETE-CLOTHING.DE What do you find important about having a high street store rather than simply having an online store? We don’t have an online store, but in times of Zalando, Amazon and Surf Stitch; all with one zillion products to choose from, we like to serve the costumer with the best service you can have: a good conversation and a carefully selected range of the collections of the brands we carry. All in a good atmosphere in one of the nicest neighbourhoods in Berlin makes a unique mixture. There aren’t many stores like ours.
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What has sold the best in the store in the last 12 months? In winter: jackets from RVLT+ Fjällräven. Right now: the Forvert stripes tops and hoodies like Fu and Hilgi. How confident are you for the coming summer, and do you have any events or upcoming initiatives planned to encourage people into your store? Summer in Berlin is the best. Open-air parties, night time skating, wake surfing and park chilling. And of course we have events: during the Karneval der Kulturen in June we
will throw a hip hop party in front of our store and in July we support the NNO Nord Nordost Surf Film Festival in Berlin. We will also host an in store screening and a BBQ. Watch our Facebook: facebook.com/ete.clothing. We never sleep. How’s the local market in Berlin at the moment? We can only really speak for ourselves, but it is going quite well. We feel that our mixture is good for Berlin.
BEST SELLERS Email shops@boardsportsource.com
SKATE / LA BONNE PLANCHETTE / FRANCE / WWW. ALABONNEPLANCHETTE.FR What are the benefits of having a physical shop over simply having an online store? A La Bonne Planchette team members are skaters themselves and are passionate about the sport and lifestyle. We consider that sharing our experience and advice with the shop’s customers is essential. The board store ethic is a bit like sitting on a bench and having a talk, having fun with friends. You won’t find this on a computer screen! However, nowadays the Internet represents a major part of the market so we also want to be online. What are your secrets for selling high-end products? The clearance sale and street sales make things easier to sell high-end products. Sometimes we also set up a special shelf for discontinued
items in order to renew our stock. Are new lines important to your product mix? Why or why not? There’s no secret; passion, quality and specifications make the product. People who are passionate have understood that. Otherwise we can show and inform beginners about the advantages of specific products. How do you stay in touch with the wants and needs of your customers? We want to share a moment with every customer, create a relationship by discussing and finally create a privileged relationship. This is what really matters to us. We want to be different from the standardized shops like
H&M or Mango. It’s always passion, which has an essential role in what we do and which gives its identity to our shop. To summarize, we are cool storekeeper skaters! What makes your store different and in what ways does your store excel beyond your competition? We skate every day and we are passionate. We are a young team but we have experience. We have been skating for fifteen years and doing business for ten years. The authenticity of the shop and everything inside the shop has a history. We have a real identity with the name of the shop, which is really “Frenchy” (the name is like a culinary and homey way to refer to a board).
SNOWBOARD / KAHUNA / ROME / ITALY / WWW.SHOP.KAHUNAMOVEMENT.COM How’s the local market in Rome these days? Actually Italy is in an economic crisis so people don’t think to spend money, but skateboarding is increasing. Rome is a lucky city, you can be at the mountains in an hour and a half; you can be in the sea in 20 minutes. But the problem is that we have only two skate parks and young people want to skate but they don’t know where.
What makes your store different and in what ways does your store excel beyond your competition? We always take care of the needs of our consumers and we have great costumer service. We also look for the new trends and new brands. We are just opening a new big shop, but the real secret is our passion for action sports.
Which up and coming brands do you hope to stock in the future? “Arbor, POC and Signature. We are working with a few brands that are not in Italy right now as well. What have been the best three selling categories for you in the last 12 months? Penny skateboards, longboards and Elmet Snowboards.
SNOWBOARD / FREESTYLE STREETWEAR / GROSSETO / ITALY / WWW.FREESTYLESTREETWEAR.COM What are the benefits of having a physical shop over simply having an online store? Customers want to touch and see products they buy. Some people are also interested in the technical features and know the latest innovations so you have to be prepared. The words of a retailer are the best quality guarantee that a customer can receive and an online shop can’t provide this. What makes your store different and in what ways does your store excel beyond your competition? We never followed fashions of the moment. In
2002 we decided to establish a radical shop exclusively for skaters and snowboarders. Now “Freestyle Streetwear” customers can rely on free technical assistance by a team of skate and snow riders with a lot of experience. Which up and coming brand do you hope to stock in the future? Generally we have always been open to all new brands, but at this moment small brands don’t have a long life. For us it is important to have partnerships like Fresco Distribution (DVS, Lakai, Matix) and Friend Distribution (32, Slash, Electric).
What are you doing to pull people into your store? We promote events, contests, test materials and sponsorships on local skate and snowparks and we have had good feedback. So we think this is the best way for core shops to get noticed and remain evergreen. How’s the local market in Italy these days? For the last 2-3 years the local market has been stationary for us, but at the moment there are no real signs of recovery of economical growth in Italy. This means we buy more products in season and less on pre-orders because it’s difficult make predictions on market trends.
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THE SCIENCE OF BUYING Started in 1992, ABS is a chain of snow and skateboard stores based in France. We spoke to head buyers David Grataloup and Sebastinao Bratolini to get their opinion on the science of buying, how they write their orders and to also find out which brands they think are worth a punt in your order forms. How long have you been buyers for ABS and how did you end up in this position? David- I launched the store in 1992 with 2 friends, but over time our paths changed and now I run the store and co-handle the buying. Sebastiano- I have been a buyer for ABS for 12 years. Nowadays I prefer the staff in the shop to decide what to buy, they are closer to the demands of the customer.
whereas European small clothing lines are great. For trousers we now focus on three or four brands (Levis, Krew, DC) and no more. The demand for accessories has exploded, including socks and five panels.
Looking back at past seasons, what have been your biggest lessons on writing orders and selling products? Don’t trust the reps, don’t trust the customers - let your computer/ records talk and combine this with your instincts, and this way the mistakes are all your own. We also have to be wary when it comes to discounts, as it is difficult to have lots of discounting when we are small business.
What’s your process for finding new brands for your stores? David- We look at the skateboard scene, websites, tradeshows (although now less and less) and reps, even if we don’t listen to them! Sebastino- I wake up, drink one litre of coffee and look at my favourite 30 skateboard and 15 fashion websites. Then I look through Instagram and keep my ears and my eyes open when I skateboard and while I am in the shop.
Which brands are doing it right at the moment? The brands doing it right at the moment are HUF for softgoods and Globe for hardware. Also Nike SB, Adidas, Converse, DC shoes, Lakai, Emerica, Etnies, Fallen and Supra are putting in good efforts.
Do you have any advice to upcoming brands on how to be attractive to retail buyers? The brand must have a soul or a strong leader, they then have to love what they do and do their own stuff. Also - bigger margins! The average quality that brands provide is not worth the price. Wholesale prices could be up to 25% less and shops could get 10% more margin, and are more likely to stay alive.
If you could ask brands for support - what would it be for? More margin! Retailers are blocked between the retail price that cannot evolve because of competition from the web and the wholesale price that cannot decrease because China is becoming more and more expensive. With the new VAT rate in France it is hard for a store to be profitable. We’d also like to see more marketing support - sponsoring and better images for core shops. Over previous years, have you changed your brand line-up and main brands? We have changed a little bit. Before the shop was more “core skateboard” with Sole Tech brands. Nowadays skaters have changed and want some more common brands like Nike SB and Adidas. In footwear there were too many brands, we now have five or six max instead of 15! American skateboard branded t-shirts don’t sell anymore
Do you have a different buying strategy for your online store compared to stationary retail locations? No, we put online what we order for the store, not more.
Which tradeshows do you attend and how important are they for your decision-making? Bright and Bread & Butter. Generally we are so into skateboarding that we do not need to go to tradeshows, so they are not that important anymore, it’s more for “going to Berlin”. But it is interesting to know about all the collections before buying, but usually catalogues are enough. What techniques do you have for putting together your order sheets? We look at the database, sales per category and per brand excluding the current sales period and duplicate.
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BRAND PROFILE: DIRTY DOG EYEWEAR Dirty Dog produce sunglasses and goggles, and was formed 30 years ago in New Zealand and Australia. Now based out of Glamorgan in Wales, GM Martin Jones and Sales Operations Manager Corrie Williams are injecting their 40+ years sportswear and sunglass knowledge into the brand to grow it organically throughout Europe. Please give an overview on how and why the company began? The company was formed in 1984 in New Zealand and Australia to capitalize on a lack of quality product at competitive pricing, with a brand that still retained some attitude and kudos. Who is on the management team, and what are their backgrounds? Martin Jones – General Manager. Corrie Williams – Sales & Operations Manager. Each with over 20 years experience in the sportswear and sunglass industry through brands such as Umbro, Reebok, Oakley & Luxottica. We both had a fantastic grounding in the sportswear industry and gained a huge amount of knowledge and understanding of the retail market from this industry. Sadly the sportswear market has struggled over the past few years, but we had learnt what worked well and what didn’t, and have adapted this knowledge to good effect in the eyewear industry through great grounding at Oakley & Luxottica. This has allowed us to grow market share rapidly through a recession/depression when others, sadly have struggled. What sets you apart from your competitors? Our ability to rapidly adapt to an ever-changing market and channel segmentation requirements. We are big enough to act, yet small enough to react. We also hold stock in the UK warehouse and distribution centre, which allows rapid next day delivery to our UK base. What’s new in sunglasses and goggles for 14/15? For 14/15 we have new Photochromic ranges, BRAND NAME: DIRTY DOG EYEWEAR 52
in both sunglass and goggle categories, and the introduction of interchangeable goggle lenses. This year we have also seen the successful launch of our new women’s range in sunglasses. This has allowed us to effectively target a completely new but very important consumer that we were sadly, previously missing. Any plans to enter any new market segments? This May saw us launch our brand new range of Cycle Helmets, to marry up with our highly successful sports sunglass range. This was an organic route for us to enter as, after our successful launch of snow helmets, we had been approached by many key retailers expressing an interest. By diversifying into organic categories and verticals, this has allowed us to develop stronger, more dynamic relationships with key retailers as we become more and more part of the DNA of their makeup, and a more respected supplier to them. This is hugely important in our future development and to ensure longevity. What do you find important about the European market? The European market offers such diversity in product requirements and the brand translates well in other countries and cultures. It is important not to be a one trick pony! How do you support athletes and boardsports? We look to support our young portfolio of athletes by offering quality product and sponsorship where appropriate. A lot of the
larger brands target the stars of now as a quick fix, but we find it more prudent and ethical to search out the stars of tomorrow and support them when they need it. What other marketing are you running? We have invested in advertorials in key sports and travel magazines as well as product placement in future developing TV series. This has allowed us great exposure and penetration into these markets. This is key to our survival as we expand into new markets and verticals, and don’t get lost in the white noise of these markets. Why should retailers sell your brand? We are a core brand at a competitive price point that cares about our distribution and penetration. We also cover several sports categories so that we can be a one-stop brand for certain retailers. We have invested heavily in new remote I.T. to allow our sales force the ability to upload orders directly into our system whilst in call. This allows for next day delivery, which works tremendously well. It allows retailers to maximize their operational performance; ensuring stocks are adequate for weekends/peak selling times. What do you see for the future of the industry? It will remain competitive, and we foresee some casualties in retailers and suppliers over the next few years. But what will remain will be strong and resilient and will have learnt how to adapt and survive, making the industry stronger.
TEL: +44 (0) 1656 654989 EMAIL: CORRIE.WILLIAMS@DIRTYDOG.COM
WEB: WWW.DIRTYDOG.COM
BRAND PROFILE: WEST SNOWBOARDS WEST Snowboards is a new Swiss snowboard brand put together by three friends, one of which used to ride pro. All three have been snowboarding for at least 20 years and are harnessing this knowledge and experience to produce a brand and a product setting its own trends, providing a refreshing ‘back to its roots’ approach. Please give an overview on how and why the company began? We basically met one day in spring 2013. Matt, Michel and Myself (we have been good friends for a while, hanging out together in the western Switzerland snowboard community) and realized that we had all had the same dream since we were teenagers: to create a snowboard brand! We’ve all been snowboarding for the last 20-25 years and we live snowboarding. After 25 years of snowboarding history, we thought that the industry needs a re-fresh. We want to get back to what is essential. What snowboarding, the riders and what we really need. So we’ve combined some of the best values, technologies and styles for this adventure and blended it all together to offer something true. We went for: “la crème de la crème”. Who is on the management team, and what are their backgrounds? Michel Kropf is a winemaker and a craftsman, and he actually used to work in snowboard and ski industry for several years. He’s creating the shapes and some of the designs. Matt Rouiller is the owner of Levitation shop in Martigny and is the founder of the finest snowboard and skate contests in Switzerland. He’s giving input that allows us to be inline with or even ahead of the market. Matt’s in charge of the production and quality control. David Lambert (me), owner of DAV-agency
BRAND NAME: WEST SNOWBOARDS 54
(active in the snow/skate/fashion industry). I used to be a pro-snowboarder from 1999 2007. I’m in charge of sales, marketing and coordinating everything; also kicking asses when necessary! What is the company ethos? WEST is based on quality (well we are a Swiss company) and attention to details mixed with fun and passion. We want our brand to be eclectic, true and efficient for every kind of snowboarder. What does a snowboard company setting up in 2014 have as an advantage over other manufacturers? This is a really tough market at the moment and for sure starting a new snowboard brand at this stage is not the easiest way. But at least we have nothing to loose and maybe a lot to gain. I would like to use OBEY as an example here in Switzerland. This brand has been on the market for so many years and has been great since the beginning and it’s only in recent years that it began to be one of the biggest. And why? Only recently the public has started to realise this spirit of Guerilla and Propaganda due to the general crisis ambiance all around us. Hopefully WEST Snowboards will start a great story of passion and true snowboarding at a time when snowboarders are sick of the crap from the last few years. We are providing something NEW and TRUE to help snowboarders reconnect with what made
them love snowboarding in the first place How do you support athletes and boardsports? We are working on it. As you know, even in the biggest brands don’t have huge marketing budgets, so you don’t have to be a genius to figure out our first year budget won’t be big at all! We already support some ‘local heroes’ in a few resorts and we’d like to keep doing it this way; to always support the shops that have trusted in us since the beginning. The goal is and always will be to have a great connection between the ‘local heroes’, the retailers and the end user. We are also recycling some old European Legends (nothing confirmed yet). They are good friends and they deserve some respect for everything they’ve done for the snowboard scene in the past 15 years. We are also planning a few events, and not only snowboard events. Why should retailers sell your brand? Because Jim Morrison told everyone a long time ago: “WEST is the best”. Where can we check out your products/ videos/stuff? So far we have a facebook page www. facebook.com/westsnowboard, a few shots on instagram (#westsnowboarding) and a few amateur youtube videos done by fans…but basically everything is locked until we launch the products in the shops.
TEL: +41 792 811 062 EMAIL: DAVID@WESTSNOWBOARDING.COM WEB: WWW.WESTSNOWBOARDING.COM
BRAND PROFILE: OWN SKATEBOARDS OWN Skateboards is a small skateboard producer from Nürtingen in Germany. OWN has many acronyms, and one of them being Offenders Without Names. The company has no hierarchy system in place. All employees bring equal amounts to the table. These factors make OWN a true skateboard company, with a proper DIY attitude and we have spoken with OWNer Philipp Günther to find out more about this interesting German skateboard producer. Please give an overview on how and why the company began? OWN started out thanks to knowledge of craftsmanship and involvement in skateboard culture. This was and is the foundation of OWN Skateboards. Basically it´s about doing what we are able to do and live that feeling. Who is on the management team, and what are their backgrounds? Everybody at OWN Skateboards is managing it. There are no hierarchies so everybody can come up with something he thinks we should support, push forward or do to represent the brand. We do it together as a crew. But certainly the bottom line of all things is Philipp, one of two founders of OWN Skateboards who is responsible for manufacturing of the boards and is the lynchpin that holds the whole company together. What does OWN stand for? OWN is an acronym for many abbreviations. One of them stands for “Offenders Without Names”. So, as you can see, we don´t care that much about names here. Our brand is our name. What sets you apart from your competitors? We do everything by ourselves and are therefore always in the centre of the process. We produce the boards in Nürtingen near BRAND NAME: OWN SKATEBOARDS 56
Stuttgart in our OWN woodshop. We buy the wood, glue and tools from German dealers. We put everything together and press it in our OWN press. We draft the designs by ourselves, so we can print the graphics in our OWN little screen print compartment over and over again, until we think everything is in the right place. We produce our own videos and pictures. We have our own board-shapes and we´re free to change them individually as often as we want to. So what sets us apart from most competitors is, we run our OWN thing and are skating our OWN product. We are not depending on anyone or anything. We can do what we want, how we want and when we want. Without fearing whether anybody likes it or not. What do you find important about the European market? We don´t think that much about it. We try to do our OWN thing. How do you support athletes and boardsports? We have our OWN Team. Skating together and celebrating skateboard culture is - in our opinion - a nice way to support board-sports. Why should retailers sell your brand? Because we are a very small brand, we only sell our boards out of the garage or by our OWN online shop. Sometimes we are TEL: +49 (0) 7022-38290
EMAIL: OWN1@GMX.DE
in discussions about putting our product in skateshops, but the problem with this is the price. We are not that big, so we cannot produce more than 20-40 boards a month. That’s why we keep everything more limited. This makes it complicated to find a retailer to sell our boards. But if a retailer wants to sell a special, limited, really handmade brand, from Germany ... then he should sell OWN Skateboards. OWN one if you can. What do you see for the future of your company? We will do what we did the last 10 years. As long as we can be creative and do what we like to do, for us it is always a worthwhile progress. That’s our daily future – progress. What do you see for the future of the industry? There will be more and more sellouts of our young and deep-rooted culture, by changing the individuality of people and by showing them the same stuff over and over again. There won´t be that many companies left in the end. Where can we check out your products/ videos/stuff? Go to http://own-block.blogspot.de/ or visit us on facebook, OWN Skateboards.
WEB: WWW.OWN-BLOCK.BLOGSPOT.DE
EVERYBODY’S GOING SURFING… (OR AT LEAST LOOK LIKE THEY DO) As the free spirit of boardsports culture grips high-street fashion in 2014 with many high-street brands drawing inspiration from surf culture, it’s plain to see that the boardready look is clearly in demand. By Oliver Robinson, Account Manager at Brandwave Marketing. Naturally, the high-end fashion house’s board-style influence has trickled down to the high-street retailers wanting to cater for the mass-market demand of that surf infused look. But this left me thinking, what exactly does this mean for the authentic core surf retailers? With the market craving authenticity, this is an opportunity to be grabbed by the horns and a time to shine. Surf retailers need not follow, they’re here to lead a look and style that they’ve known for decades. So how can the bricks and mortar stores resonate with the wider audience and capitalize off the back of this fashion wave? Here’s three cost effective tips to consider in order to help boost traffic through the door and influence customers to make those purchases. THE FRONT For the passing trade and consumer that have the general old aged impression that most surf stores are an Aladdin’s Cave of just boardies and generic logo tee’s, dress your window to impress and counter this. Take note of the wider fashion industry trends and let this influence loose in your windows. Window vinyl and banners are fantastic for a striking appearance but ensure product is also visible. Brands in our industry have adequately catered for the wider audiences tastes this season, so ensure those pocket tees, crews and walk shorts are at the forefront of the store. If the mass market is replicating what the surf industry retailers can preach in their sleep, those surf retailers can storm a good window display to drive that traffic in store. IN-STORE ENVIRONMENT Having nowhere near the same amount of floor space as the larger high-street players, surf retailers need to ensure the space available is being used to its maximum effect. A number of times I have been into surf stores and the rails are so jam-packed and SKUs so tightly packed onto shelves it’s nigh on impossible to see what the store has to offer. Display this season’s on trend stock in a way to attract, engage and motivate the customer to ultimately purchase. A basic fundamental of retail, but often overlooked when the stock deliveries come in. To further enhance the in-store environment, ask the brands what seasonal and long term POS is available when putting your orders in. It’s amazing how a well-positioned strut-card can influence a
customer’s purchasing decision. This is especially the case if you’re stocking plenty of functional and technical streetwear products. Those quick dry, multi-stretch and comfort product USPs are not always obvious to the wider audience from just the hangtag. MIX IT UP Of course, we can’t forget the core surf market as well as the wider audience here. You’re probably thinking, “what place do the core audience have in an article targeting mainstream trends and high street fashion?” But ultimately, they are of course the lifeblood of any surf retailer. To keep your store fresh and varied for the core, look into stocking some of the more niche and artisan brands. There has been an emergence of these brands over the last year and they have quickly formed a solid corner of the market, launching popular and limited ranges that draw attention through exclusivity. The majority of these brands all share a number of USPs, which marks them as distinctively separate in the market. Plus stocking that something different will additionally appeal to the wider audience once they’re through the door, as they’ll value your differing product range. With a variety of brands now on the shelves, working potentially on an exclusive basis with smaller brands and capsule collections will help separate and differentiate retailers from others in the industry and also the high street stores jumping on the surf culture bandwagon. So there we have it, three top tips to help engage with the wider audience that may be unfamiliar with today’s surf industry. These rudiments of retail may seem obvious but sometimes it’s the basics that need to the most attention.
WWW.BRANDWAVEMARKETING.COM 58
MARKET INTELLIGENCE GERMANY By Anna Langer The FIFA World Cup and the much longed for victory of the German team gave local retail, especially the sports and textile industry a welcome boost. The spokesman of the HDE trade group even called it the “cherry on top of the already positive consumer sentiments”, which have been consistently on the up since the crisis in 2009, as is backed up by statistics portal statista.com. If this will turn out to amount for “sustainable influence on the German economy” is still to be determined though, according to the Deutschen Welle news, although an increased “buying mood” and general jolly atmosphere won’t do any harm either. Particularly combined with decent amounts of sunshine and the first properly warm days we were graced with before the first weeks of summer holidays. Quite a different situation from last year’s rainy cold. Hence GTA Distribution reporting a growth of a juicy 25%, which co-owner Gerd explains through the “mix of an amazing Spring and constantly rising demand for hardgoods.” Sales for complete longboards and cruisers are even said to be “going through the roof”, prompting GTA to widen their portfolio with “Earthship, OBFIVE and MILLER longboards“. Hamburg based online shop WeAre shares this experience. “At the moment we’re only stocking brands such as Arbor, Globe, Stereo and Sector 9 but the entry level is very interesting in particular and we’ve got strong hopes that in future more upmarket brands like Sector 9 as well as classic skateboards will profit from that and follow in sales,” Sales Manager Alexander illustrates. Next to skate hardware, surf hardgoods are also high in demand at GTA, showing “great development. Sex Wax, Creatures, Ocean&Earth, Light, Rusty and NSP have become important components of our assortment and the best part is – the prices for these products are very stable!” Gerd rejoices. And also the “SUP category, especially inflatable SUPs, has started to get going. That might not be the classic action boardsport, but they are great for fitness and just having a good time. GoPro accessories by SP-Gadgets are a great revenue driver too.“ When it comes to apparel, GTA is witnessing a “real comeback of Rusty Clothing, mainly due to their retro style shorts and volleys, which were completely sold out super fast.” WeAre also report that “sneakers, tanktops and caps” are still strong themes this summer, similar to the year before. All the way down south, the mood in the freshly opened Woodybunch Gypsy Store in Munich students’ district, home of the newly founded Woodybunch label, is just as positive. “The feedback is amazing, especially from the girl,” says shop owner, label creator & Sales Manager Nico. Next to her infectious smile, she welcomes visitors with a glass of chai tea that not only sweetens the shopping experience itself but adds to the feeling of “escaping the daily routine into a faraway world”, which Nico deliberately aims for. “My whole intention was to create a little oasis, where you can just relax and be happy.” And with fancy hippy fashion by Byron Bay based label Spell & the Gypsy Collective, versatile poncho-blankets from Hammamista and street style from her own label Woodybunch, it’s a full success. Attracting female customers between 14-40 years as well as “Gypsy Skaters”, who love the Woodybunch look: “The guys are all about less is more these days. No big prints, if anything very soft ones or even 60
better just small details or patches.” And everything black is high in demand, Nico says, “even in summer!” The girls on the other hand are all about the specials and the extraordinary. “No standard t-shirts in any way!” Nico warns, “either oversized, made form thinner fabrics or in eccentric cuts.” At WeAre, Alexander witnessed a similar trend and is concerned “that the boardsports world is not inspiring and shaping the streetwear scene anymore, but the other way around.” Which increases competition with vertical markets and high street chains even further. “Some brands have to work on their initial brand strengths again to be able to pit their advantages against the verticals,” he tries to explain and compliments Volcom, who according to him seem to be “implementing that pretty well at the moment.” At the same time, the competition of boardsport retailers amongst each other is obviously not decreasing either, let alone the online market. “The boardsports industry still seems quite tense and strained“, Alex finds. For Nico the pressure of the “big players” is very present too, with both her shop and label. “Big retailers have no problem with free shipping and customers tend to get into a frenzy with that, ordering everything in all sizes. That would cost me between 7-15 Euros each!” And since prices from DHL, GLS, etc. are nothing she can influence, she’s giving an alternative approach a try: shared shipping costs between customer and shop. “We’ll see how that works. My advantage is that you can only buy Woodybunch online in my shop.” Her label is too small and apparently also (still) too special in its philosophy and brand ethos for the big online players. “Besides pre-order, post-order and allowance discounts the big retailers expect, which would force a small label like me to their knees, my packaging is problematic too. I decided to ship in paper bags instead of plastic, as I couldn’t accept the ridiculous amounts of garbage anymore. But in big warehouses that need every article to be labelled and barcoded on the front, back and inside, that’s an absolute no-go. I would really wish for some changes here!” Distributors also notice a trend to divert “potential risks in strategy and ordering to the producer”, Gerd reports and pre-orders categories that were in high demand in the pre-order phase, such as “structured surfaces, melange and a mix of street and high tech” to their stock to “be able to support their retailers with the proper products.” The outlook is still positive, for all of them. “People are always crying” Nico counters pessimists. “Everything I do comes from the heart. And if my heart isn’t in it anymore, I’ll quit”. WeAre is looking forward to the colder times and will commence the season “with a good feeling about exciting themes like jackets, sneakers and sweatwear. That makes us very optimistic, next to our snow range of course, that we will extend with new brands like Capita. We’re looking very forward to that as well.” And Gerd isn’t concerned either. If anything, to the contrary: “I feel that we’ve now found the ‘grounds’ for good, stationary independent shops. Their revenues will not decline any further but rather climb up again. The assortment has changed and lost a lot of fashion and apparel. But that will give customers a reason again to go visit their local shops, because surfboards, skateboards and snowboards and the matching accessories are still exclusive for boardsports retail. And I’m convinced that in line with the ‘Last Man Standing’ theory, the best core shops will be able to rebuild and even increase their trading areas as well as their client bases.” We’ll get back to you on that in the next GMI report!
MARKET INTELLIGENCE FRANCE By Benoît Brecq In 2009 the international financial crisis forced France into recession. The country resisted better than most of the Eurozone thanks to a more diversified economy, a more solid banking system and an extensive comeback plan. For the moment, due to the late holiday period, the ‘World Cup effect’ and the poor weather in the first fortnight of July, we are noticing less visitors on the French coasts at the start of the season, which is undoubtedly causing a bad start for coastal shops. In the cities, despite a great start to sales for in-city shops because everyone was still at home and spending their money there at the start of summer, the sales were not totally satisfactory. We are at a decline of about 10-15% on last year. The final consumer now finds slashed prices all-year-round in commercial centres, on the web and on the ‘outlet’ stores. In terms of ‘water hardgoods”, surfboard sales are holding up rather well. We are also seeing excellent sales on the entry-level and mid-range, but on the other hand, the top-of-the-range is not seeing such a pronounced upward trend. A lack of waves in the first weeks of summer didn’t help ‘performance’ surfboards to sell either. Michel Edery from HotSpot and Street Univers in Merignac notes “a decline in top-of-the-range board sales due to the disintegration of supply. Some American brands had selective distribution a few years ago. This is no longer the case...”. Staying in the top-of-the-range, boards with ‘alternative’ Epoxy construction that are more durable and environmentally friendly are now completely accepted by the final consumer. This summer, you can’t escape from models like the HyptoKrypto from Hyden Shapes or the New Flyer Al Merrick with TL ProCarbon construction from Surftech. In the entry-level and midrange, brands like NSP, Bic, Torq and Surf Factory are proving to be segment ‘leaders’. ‘Beginner’ consumers are more the ones seeking graphics and design and these brands have responded to this. The SUP sales market in shops is strongly on the rise. Thanks to coastal rental centres and numerous urban events like OPEN SUP in Lyon, many consumers have had their first experience on them, often leading to purchases in the shops. “Inflatable SUPs are taking over more and more and now represent an average of 50% of shop’s sales” Mathieu from Swell Addiction in Brest recognises. Less bulky, easier to store and transport, improvements in quality, reliability and construction are the advantages that win over new participants and notably “women now make up almost half of sales, a proportion that I’ve never seen in a boardsport”, says Mathieu. Obviously consumers are looking at the price to make their purchases but the public who have been quite well versed by the popularity of the sport and the multitude of events, tests, demonstrations, competitions, websites etc (especially in the summer season) start off on ‘double skin’ constructions that are more rigid and therefore have better comfort and performance. Brands like Fanatic and Hobie appear to be leaders thanks to their wide range. But other brands such as ARI’NUI and Bic are also responding to this growing demand by offering really interesting alternatives. The inflatable SUP market is now and is a real opportunity for many shops to attract new customers with strong buying power, which could increase the average basket size significantly. In apparel and shoes, despite a rather bleak outlook... “the trend of the summer is authenticity” confirms Michel Edery. Existing brands and
retailers are questioning themselves and new brands are taking their opportunities. Eric Gros from Hawaii Surf confirms the trend of last spring, a common denominator: selective distribution and products with a story to tell or that remind the customer of great memories from the good old days. “For this type of product, the consumer is prepared to pay the proper price on the Internet or do the miles to buy it. The shops and the brands that have spotted this trend are doing well out of it and are taking market share,” say Eric. In the Surfing network, brands like Lightning Bolt are gradually reappearing in shop windows while in the street network, Element, Santa Cruz and Obey are benefitting from an excellent rate of sale. While we’re in the summer season it’s hard to ignore boardshorts in the surfing network, because of their innovative, technical designs with great marketing reinforcement. Hurley seem to have gained the title of ‘specialist’, and for Michel Edery, the main reason is an unparalleled width of range (different cuts/colour codes/fabric variety). Sales of baseball caps are also still strong with the continued success of five panels and ‘out-there’ snapbacks that are arriving on the coast after establishing themselves in the big cities. Quiet Life, Mitchell&Ness dominate sales of the five panels while NEFF and Cayler&Sons standout in SnapBacks. In shoes, the current fever in this product family for running and outdoor sport is strongly influencing consumer trends in our network. Vans and Nike remain really strong with a noteworthy inclusion of technical soles in their ranges and brands like New Balance/Timberland have come back really strong and are referenced naturally in our network. Authentic brands, limited editions...all you need to triumph. On the street hardgoods scene, the start of this summer confirmed the trend of the springtime with excellent sales of technical yet versatile cruisers and longboards. Despite all the entry-levels that are inundating the plastic cruiser market, brands Penny and Globe are resisting thanks to their trendy designs. All the shops are unanimous, wooden retro cruisers like the French brand Prohibition are taking market share away from plastics. Trendy graphics, truly skateable boards and the nobility of wood seduce both seasoned skaters and beginners alike. Now that the longboard market has matured there is more room for technical boards. “We are reaching a clientele who are making their second purchase for more technical, versatile use,” notes Etienne from Quiksilver Boardriders in Saint Jean de Luz. Etienne continues: “customers are more and more informed and are tending towards more technical boards even for their first purchase”. For Etienne, his best-sellers are Flying Wheels and Madrid. As for street skating, shops are noticing a slight upturn in sales thanks mostly to the multitude of skate parks that have popped up. The trend remains though: US brands like Baker, Almost, Powell-Peralta and Girl are all standing out and the revival/authentic trend is continuing, Etienne notes. In short, whether it’s hardgoods, clothes or shoes... authenticity is guest of honour... the issue for brands and retailers is the same: consolidate their skills and reinforce their authenticity. The mist is lifting and the horizon is clearing, next comes business... 61
MARKET INTELLIGENCE UK By Gordon Way So here we are in a sweltering heatwave (July), business is booming, the British are happy because they can moan about the weather. With GDP growth at 0.8% the UK is now back where we were before the recession. That headline was knocked sideways a bit by the figures stating that consumer confidence fell last month and apparently there were 0.7% fewer shoppers out and about in June this year compared to June 2013. At the same time UK house prices slowed, knocking confidence a bit further. A mixed bag of news and yet on the world stage it appears that ‘UK PLC’ is hot stuff and the positive news from various quarters continues to flood in. At Ultra Sport we see some distinct positive results from the good weather but also one or two chickens coming home to roost. Wakeboard and waterski kit is ‘going off’, kayaks and SUP are storming ahead but Surf and Kite are lacklustre primarily due to no wind. Skate is good and bike is booming. The chickens that came home to roost are, once again, the demise of one or two retailers. As said previously it is sad to see any business close but it does hopefully leave a healthier space for the survivors. From a retailer’s perspective there’s always a mixed bag but this time there is no mix as nobody appears to be having a bad time. Angelo Couchman from Surface 2 Air Sports in Poole was what can only be described as extremely buoyant. Those of you that know Angelo will understand that he’s normally an up beat character. But he’s also a guy who says it how it is – if it’s bad - he’ll tell you it’s bad. “Super good” is how Angelo kicked off “not been so good since 2006. Whatever we’re doing we’re doing it right and orders are flying out the door. We’ve even got kids packing in the evenings to keep up”. Has the weather helped? “It’s played a huge part in making wake massive and, at the same time, the good weather has knocked kitesurfing – no wind equals no kiting. No kiting equals no sales”. Looking into his crystal ball he’s pretty upbeat about the winter, although tinged with a little caution “Shelves are clear, really clean, we’ve bought some clearance stuff for the shows and we’ve completed our pre-season-buy anticipating some good growth. Whilst I am really excited about the winter I’m also scared – but I always am at this time of year. It’ll be OK.” Asking him how confident he is about the future he finished how he started “Super Confident – don’t remember feeling this good.” So now heading 500 miles north to Edinburgh I called Brian Stark at Boardwise to check on how things are north of the border – could this be the last time I interview a Scottish retailer as part of the United Kingdom? In typical Scottish/Brian style “It could be better. It could be worse.” What sort of answer is that? So pressing on, “We all pray for nice weather and when it delivers we realise that whilst it brings some upsides it also has some downsides. Our wetsuit business is important to us and we usually sell full wetsuits through winter and summer. A few weeks ago everyone wanted a shorty wetsuit. Now people don’t even need a bloody wetsuit to get in the water. We can’t win” So wetsuits are down and, like the south coast retailers the lack of wind and swell is not delivering
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the surf customers. “The few surf customers there are all know exactly what they want and are mail ordering it from south coast retailers. There’s very little business we can capture from surf.” And skate? “Yes business is good on skate – helped by the weather but we’ve also got some enthusiastic staff, keen skaters, and that helps tremendously. Particularly good business in longboards” Clothing did not cheer Brian up but looking towards the winter did. “It’s amazing that on these bright summer days we have guys in the shop asking if the new snowboard kit is in yet. The enthusiasm for this coming winter, following on from such a great season last year, is immense. We’ll probably be doing our first demo days in early September.” Brian was really feeling good about the coming winter: “The shelves are clean and any stock we have left over is good stock. We’ve ordered for growth and the buzz around town is really positive” Finally, I could not leave Brian without asking about the Scottish Referendum - a decision by the Scottish people to say whether or not they are going to remain part of the UK. “In theory it should not make any difference to our business – perhaps customers in England could be a bit reluctant to mail order from us which is a worry. I really doubt it is going to happen and I really hope it will not happen”. Let’s hope he is right. The conversation with Brian ended with some discussion about Cairngorms: “There’s a real good buzz about it – with new operators, and some serious investment in the area it’s going to have a truly positive impact on the sport and the business.” Now by a quirk of fate, next month I am performing my duties as Best Man to Adam Gough. He just happens to be the European Head of Technical Services for Natural Retreats – and they just happen to be the company taking over the Cairngorm Mountain operations. So my next call was to Adam to give him the positive feedback from Brian and get more details for the mountain. “For winter sports enthusiasts you only have to read our CEO’s ambitions for Cairngorm Mountain to truly understand how serious Natural Retreats are about making this a world class resort. We want to bring the X-Games to Scotland! Can you imagine that? The X-Games in Scotland? Most people cannot believe it could ever happen but that’s our vision and to do that we’ll be making a significant investment into Cairngorm Mountain – both for winter and summer activities.” Does Adam really believe that it’s possible? “Whether or not the X-Games does come to Scotland is not our decision but we’re determined to build a world class resort and give it our best shot and as a result of this skiers and snowboarders are going to get massively improved facilities”. You only have to look at the other Natural Retreats locations on their website (www.naturalretreats.com/uk) to get a real flavour about what this company can achieve, although bringing the X-Games to Scotland is perhaps a bit fanciful. Fingers crossed their vision becomes a reality – for all of us. Of course the other decision that Natural Retreats cannot have any influence on is that of the weather. Fingers crossed.
market intelligence
SPAIN
By Asier Zabarte The IMF forecasts a growth of 1.2% (GDP) for the Spanish economy during 2014, but with unemployment still at 24.9%. The participation rate of women in the “prime age” (25-54) is around 60%, while at 80% in Nordic countries. According to experts, the Spanish economy needs greater inputs to hold its pension system as birth rates have stagnated, as has the minimum wage, at a ridiculous 654€ per month. The annual income average for a Spanish citizen is 25,682€ for men and 19,537€ for women. The IMF has also recommended the Spanish government is to increase indirect taxes in order to boost revenue and reduce the deficit and debt. Any determination that they would make, it will have its reflection on the market. Nacho Muñoz–Cuellar, the Marketing Director for Caribbean Sport Shop located in Madrid indicated that girls already know what they want before entering the shop. They are demanding good quality unisex product and high performance stuff. Their own brand represents 15% of total sales. Sales have dropped about 20% compared to last year, especially clothing. In surfboards, Pukas and Manual are Nacho’s best sellers. In Skate, “we´re so happy with the longboard response, where Loaded, Bustin and Original are the preferred option of the public. For summer, we´ve put our money on clothing with patterns, old-school socks, we think this kind of apparel is going to work fine. Sundek stands out from the rest, providing swimwear with both short and long versions. Lacanau in Madrid is owned by Santi, who provides surf and skate goods to the capitol. “Nowadays, we must be able to care for the needs of all kind of customers, whether it’s a youngster or a daddy. Surfboards are difficult to sell and their best rotation comes with Christmas. In skate over the past few years longboards were our best sellers, but today´s top performers is shoes with a 10-12% growth year on year. DC, Vans and Adidas are best sellers and Oakley´s Frogskin is the eyewear we recommend. Francisco José Burgos has owned Stance Skateboard Shop for more than 30 years. “People are looking for cheaper stuff, and that´s the reason why our profits decreased by 10-12% during 2014. With a further drop of 15% drop in clothing. Our best sellers are Theeve Trucks on the V3 Titanium and in shoes we are selling Filament well. Meanwhile, the Spanish boardsports market will continue to be for the sports tourists instead of the soul voyagers, because these sports are an alternative no more.” Luis Moruza from Moorea in Somo is so disappointed with the current situation. “The surf wear market has sunk.” Today you can buy shirts in Primark for 2.5 Euros, and the same with trousers and flip flops, and it is impossible to compete on sales. Boys are no longer buying clothes from core retail, which follows the same behaviour as girls. And it’s understandable because nowadays surf brands are worthless to people because everything is made in China and Zara or Pool&Bear may launch a surfing collection that has nothing to do with Ripcurl or Quiksilver. Sales of accessories are on par with that of 2013 and in sunglasses, the national product Blacguard64 is a highlight working very well. Always looking for alternatives in the market, we found MundakaBC, the latest shop to open in the Basque Country. Arkaitz Iturraspe coowner told me about their philosophy. “We want to be different, want to come together with local art and local brands. Making an effort together is a way to make people get involved in our project. We just offer 10 local brands, look continuously for collaborations and as a result we have more than 50 models of shirts. Our own brand represents 80% of our takings and we look forward to starting a wide range of apparel and accessories next season. 64
ITALY
By Franz Josef Holler The economic situation is still quite flat and the overall growth we all expected is only happening very slowly. The biggest problem is still the high tax pressure and the overall fear of people not taking risks and being careful with their spendings. The boardsports industry needs more people with those extra few Euros to get that extra breath of air that a lot of retailers need to get back on track with their financial situation. Everything’s been very weather sensitive recently. We had some warm days during spring but since the beginning of June and even July we’ve had too much rain. Hardgood sales overall are flat and the longboard trend seems to be a bit slower this year, and the same goes for cruiser boards. As the Longboard trend has faded away a bit, only stores that are really specialized in longboards still gain good turnover from it. Being an expert in what you sell has been key over the last few years and is what independent retailers can do best. Being an expert and being authentic is key to surviving in this jungle where a lot of the bigger brands try to gain turnover in selling into big chain stores. As hardgood sales are stable, shoe sales seem to keep our stores in business, mostly every retailer agrees that shoes are the main money maker during the 2014 seasons, followed by t-shirts, cotton tanks and caps (mostly snapbacks). Vans are still dominating the boardsport and streetwear shoe market followed by a strong growth of Nike SB and Nike. After those two we see a strong growth of DVS, where the chubby and more action sport shoes do very well. Also Globe found their way back in a lot of stores after some difficult years. Clothing seems to be harder to sell right now especially the cut and sew category, most stores do well in selling basic stuff but have a tough time in selling jackets or more fashionable goods. Talking to retailers from north to south; the overall opinion is that our clothing business has to be special and unique again, brands now produce clothing that is too close to the style of fashion brands or to the range that chains like H&M and Zara offer too, the streetwear and boardsport look should be different again so that people have no other choice than to buy it into specialized stores. Stores nowadays need to listen to their customer’s needs as kids are well informed by the Internet in what´s going on. Events are still the best indicator to see what´s trending. On the surf side of things the bigger surf brands still seem to struggle when it comes to clothing sales as the young customer base of their products has faded away to a lot of newcomer brands and now their typical customer is more from 25-30 years up, a result of their strategy to sell into a lot of sport and chain stores and so their image lost a bit of attraction for the younger shredders. But overall, surfing is trending and especially SUP gets a bigger fan base season after season. Besides that, wakeboarding and wakeskate are still growing and as it can be done on any lake it has a big fan base as anyone can try it. The last thing I can tell when talking to distributors selling hardgoods from skate to surf is that active promotion and selling of the product is key, retailers want to get in touch with the company by buying via b2b and e-mail. There are so many brands to choose from that the distribution has to be very active and smart to gain sales, not only the product but also the skills of the selling department and the reps in terms of knowledge of the product and customer service must be on a top level. I´m out - see you in the water or on the streets.
market intelligence
AUSTRIA
SWITZERLAND
The Austrian boardsports scene is buzzing again. Next to some newly opened skate parks, the number of kids picking up completes to start skateboarding is also on the rise. These are great signs for the future. Only the weather has been throwing us some curveballs lately, making it difficult to sell typical summer items such as swimwear and flip-flops. Nevertheless, apparel has been a solid performer at the start of summer, as La Resistance in Zell and See & Surf Hammerschmid in Gmunden report. The only negative trend is that customers increasingly opt for sale items, or wait until a sale before making a purchase. Adi at X-Double store in Innsbruck also notes: Female customers are migrating to Primark fashion discounter, where they can buy ten pieces for the price of one at a fashion store. Speaking of female customers, the typical ‘boardsports girl’ who live the lifestyle 24/7 is a thing of the past. Young girls today are dressed in the same fashions as their 40-yearold counterparts. Asked for a hot seller, X-Double pointed to hats in all kinds of variations, for which customers are willing to pay real money. Surf stores such as Surfinsel in Vienna are also reporting great results with SUP and wakeboarding. Skateboarders are demanding quality and understated designs. Clothing brands such as Brixton, Altamont, KR3W, and Fourstar are leading the pack, said Radix store in Linz. In the skate hardware segment, hip-hop and ‘gangsta’ styles are making a huge comeback, including graphics by DGK and Skatemafia. In the skateboard footwear department, many of the traditional, ‘real’ skate shoe brands are losing ground, while the Nike hype has been sweeping the entire country. Judging by the amount of pro model shoes he sells, Stefan Janoski is probably considering buying a villa or a yacht at this point. Sales of cruisers and longboards continue to be strong. Whereas the entry level, lower price points used to account for the bulk of the business, lots of stores are seeing great results with premium brands, most of all Loaded and Sector 9. In the bigger picture, sports retail is undergoing tremendous changes at the moment. For specialized retailers, there’s great potential for winning new customers. This change is also driven by British discount store chain Sports Direct, and with the evaporation of the medium price segment, smaller specialized stores are given a bigger opportunity for retaining customers, said Gernot Kellermayr, president of the Austrian Association of Sports Equipment Manufacturers and Retailers (VSSÖ). Whereas the structure of the industry used to be similar to a pyramid – with specialized retail on top, mid-price goods in the middle and discount stores at the base – the entire offering is now split into ‘cheap’ and ‘expensive’. For Kellermayr, this signals an opportunity for smaller stores: “This is a chance for service-oriented specialized retail to have its moment.” Changes in the mid-price segment such as the transformation of service-focused Sport Eybl into discount chain Sports Direct, frees up a significant customer base, who could be steered towards higher-price, quality goods. The key to success in sports retail, according to Kellermayr, is selling emotions. When it comes to social media, specialty retail is still trailing behind. Asked about potential future trends, Andi at Radix pointed to upcoming board brand CARVER, which offers authentic surf feeling on concrete thanks to a special truck design. This may attract customers beyond the usual skate and longboard clientele to get on board. We’ll have to wait and see.
A year of superlatives; after the warmest winter for 25 years, comes the ‘most horrible summer’ since 1965 as entitled by a Swiss daily on one of its front pages at the end of July. Indeed, the weather is gloomy, quite cold and it rains regularly and that’s just to avoid saying ‘all the time’, basically we’ve seen sexier summers. Obviously the weather still plays an essential role in fuelling our retailers’ sales performances and this year we are running on empty. Despite this there are some more encouraging facts to report, firstly watersports are continuing to grow in the form of wakeboarding, wakesurfing, kitesurfing and especially SUP, which represents a real business for our shops. For Yan Bosson from SB Sport in Gland, SUP sells well because it appeals to a very wide consumer base. This is why they shift several dozen pieces every season and it seems like this is just the beginning. The main players are Nidecker, Red, Mistral and Laird Hamilton. Now shops are organising tests on our lakes and other ‘paddle’ (as we call it here for short) events are popping up. Then we have the skateboard market whose good form is always hot news. The shop Boaderking in Vevey illustrates this well by dedicating almost their entire first floor to it, where you have all sorts of boards; of course your traditional decks for park and street, not to mention the ever-popular plastic cruiser and, in particular, longboards whose diverse selection of shapes graces a whole six-metre long wall. Really impressive and pleasing to report for a skateboarder like me. Surfwear however is continuing to dive, sales of boardshorts are at their worst and the big guns like Billabong and Quiksilver are having difficulty selling; people seem to have lost interest in brands like these. Perhaps Rip Curl count as the exception because they are the brand coming out best, probably thanks to their flagship store and the fact they lead the Swiss wetsuit market, even though it’s a very small given there is no ocean. As for shoes, the market remains stable, the most visible brands being Vans, Nike SB and Adidas Skateboarding. However, turnout in shops is pretty average because our Swiss towns don’t exactly attract significant numbers of tourists during the summer holidays, this period is somewhat, if not very, quiet. According to Monir Salihi from Mavericks in Zurich, sales are OK but nothing better, while online sales from the site Sk8shop.ch are going well. Promotions launched through Facebook in the form of sponsored links are also very effective according to him. Business news now with the Jelmoli group buying back the shops Beach Mountain from Dosenbach-Ochsner (who Jelmoli sold them to in 2011), a curious turnaround in the situation, the reasons for which are not yet known. Another piece of really troubling news for the Swiss-French scene is the sudden closure of Lévitation Core Shop in Martigny. This shop, which succeeded in creating an aura and a true spirit during its fifteen years, sees itself forced to close today for more than obscure reasons. It’s a shock for a large part of French-speaking Switzerland, and further afield, for whom this shop did and provided so much. It’s a page turned in the hope that a whole new book opens up soon. SPIRIT will never die!
By Michael Reinwald
By Fabien Grisel
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OPPORTUNITIES
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brought to you by Boardsport Source & ActionsportsJOB.com
OPPORTUNITIES
FOR 40 YEARS FOX HEAD HAS BEEN THE INNOVATION LEADER IN THE MOTO INDUSTRY BY DESIGNING AND PRODUCING PERFORMANCE MOTOCROSS PROTECTION AND APPAREL FOR THE WORLD’S BEST RIDERS. BUILDING OFF THIS ATHLETE-DRIVEN DESIGN PHILOSOPHY THE COMPANY HAS EXPANDED ITS ACTIVITY AND PRODUCTS INTO MTB, BMX, SURF AND WAKEBOARDING. FUNCTIONS OF THIS ROLE: • OPTIMIZE SALES AND SERVICE TO FOX ACCOUNTS THROUGH RELENTLESS OUTBOUND SELLING. • MAXIMIZE SALES OF FOX PRODUCTS WITH A PERSISTENT PURSUIT TO ACHIEVING SALES GOALS WITH ASSIGNED GEOGRAPHIES. • BE ACCOUNTABLE FOR SELLING TO THE ACCOUNT BASE THROUGH “PRE BOOK” AND “AT-ONCE” BUSINESS VIA CUSTOMER VISITS, EMAIL AND TELEPHONE. • CONTACT ACCOUNTS TO DRIVE REVENUE AND ADOPTION OF CURRENT SELLING CAMPAIGNS. • ESTABLISH AND MAINTAIN TIMELY, CONSISTENT, RESPONSIVE EXTERNAL AND INTERNAL RELATIONSHIPS. • DEVELOP SELLING SKILLS VIA COMMUNICATION WITH ACCOUNTS, PRODUCT TEAMS AND SALES MANAGEMENT. • LEARN AND STAY CURRENT ON PRODUCT AND PRODUCT TREND CHANGES WITHIN ALL DIVISIONS AND IDENTIFY PRODUCT OPPORTUNITIES FOR ACCOUNTS BASED ON INVENTORY AND REGIONAL NEEDS. • INCREASE SELL-IN AND SELL-THROUGH BY WORKING TO PREPARE, PLAN AND DELIVER A CLEAR COMPREHENSIVE MERCHANDISING PRESENTATION ON A SEASONAL BASIS. • EXECUTE SEASONAL MAILERS WITH INITIATIVES, CATALOGUES, ORDER TIMELINES AND IN-SEASON OPPORTUNITIES. • ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE IN SALES MEETINGS AND GIVE FEEDBACK TO COUNTRY MANAGER.
EXPERIENCE AND SKILLS REQUIRED: • TWO YEARS RELATED EXPERIENCE AND/OR TRAINING; OR EQUIVALENT COMBINATION OF EDUCATION AND EXPERIENCE IN RETAIL, INSIDE SALES/CUSTOMER SERVICE OR FIELD SALES A PLUS. • ACTION SPORTS INDUSTRY EXPERIENCE AND FAMILIARITY WITH PRODUCT LINES, THE INDUSTRY AND TRENDS IN THE MARKET IS PREFERRED. • ABILITY TO CREATE, PLAN AND DELIVER RANGE PRESENTATION TO CUSTOMERS. • EXPERIENCE DELIVERING A HIGH LEVEL OF CUSTOMER SERVICE. • ABILITY TO HANDLE MULTIPLE PROJECTS AND WORK IN AN AUTONOMOUS ENVIRONMENT WITH LITTLE DIRECTION OR SUPERVISION. • DEMONSTRATED ABILITY TO NEGOTIATE AND INFLUENCE OUTCOMES. • PROVEN BACKGROUND THAT REFLECTS BEING RESULTS ORIENTED. • STRONG COMMUNICATION SKILLS AND ABILITY TO INTERFACE AT ALL LEVELS OF A BUSINESS VIA PHONE, WRITTEN COMMUNICATION AND IN PERSON. • FAMILIARITY OF SALES PROCESSES, PROCEDURES AND POLICIES IS A PLUS. • ABILITY TO UNDERSTAND BUSINESS ISSUES AND FIND CREATIVE WAYS TO SOLVE PROBLEMS. • TECHNICAL PROFICIENCY WITH MS APPLICATIONS (EXCEL & WORD) • ABILITY TO TRAVEL UP TO 80% OF THE TIME. • FULL DRIVING LICENCE • PROFESSIONAL ENGLISH LEVEL
MONSTER AMBASSADOR TEAM LEADER (MAT TL)
Location: Haarlem, Netherlands
Closing date 31st September 2014
The role of MAT TL requires a highly motivated individual who loves a challenge and has exceptional people management skills. This is a fulltime position requiring some weekend and late night hours. Reporting to the Field Marketing Co-ordinator and managing a team of MAT employees, this role is responsible for managing their geographic region, organising and activating all consumer marketing and managing the peer-to-peer sample program. KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Create fans of the brand through the creation and activation of a local marketing program in your region to include:
• • • • • • • • • •
Media and Website leverage • Grassroots & National Events On and Off Trade inclusion • Monster Ambassadors Motorsport, Action Sport & Monster Army Program • Music, Tours and Band Programme Monster Girls
Recruit, train and run a diverse, edgy and on brand team of individual ambassadors Manage freelance Web and Media coordinator Deliver a high-energy quality brand experience through activation of your marketing plan across 12 months Actively generate trial of Monster Energy through guerrilla sampling Responsible for the research, contact, negotiation and activation of grassroots events and marketing projects rd Responsible for identifying and managing partnerships with 3 party brands Responsible for local level communication between with the trade team including delivering the Monster brand message in store Managing the care and control of the physical collateral (warehouse, trucks and merchandise) Efficient administration of budgets and compliance with Company policy Communication with regional marketing managers and head office
Good time management, enthusiasm, attention to detail and great communication skills are key to the role. An excellent understanding of written and spoken English is required and a genuine affection for Actionsports, Motorsports or Music is a must! A Full driving license held for over 3 years (for insurance purposes). Marketing experience within the action sports industry and with core media is highly desirable. Travel: Package:
- High Levels of Travel (some international) - Competitive salary/ monthly car allowance/company benefits/ Laptop & mobile phone
Markku Koski Fredrik Austboe Thomas Iversen Saku Tiilikainen
SCANDINAVIAN FREESTYLE SNOWBOARDING A FRESH APPROACH LAUNCHING ISPO 2015 AGENTS WANTED HEY@VIMANASNOW.COM @vimanasnow
To apply: Send a CV & cover letter to hr@monsterenergy.com quoting ref: MTL Netherlands www.monsterenergy.com
brought to you by Boardsport Source & ActionsportsJOB.com
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EVENTS#72 SURF / SKATE / SNOW / TRADE
AUGUST 2 WILD IN THE PARKS
6-10 BOARDMASTERS
POOLE
UK
CORNWALL
USA
SKATE SURF/SKATE
WWW.VOLCOM.EU WWW.BOARDMASTERS.COM
10-12 MODA BIRMINGHAM UK TRADE WWW.MODA-UK.CO.UK 13-14 BOUTIQUE FRÄSH SHOW
STOCKHOLM
SWEDEN
TRADE
WWW.BOUTIQUEFRASH.COM
15-17 MALMO ULTRA BOWL MALMO SWEDEN SKATE WWW.SKATEMALMO.SE 15-26 BILLABONG PRO TEAHUPOO
TAHITI
FRENCH POLYNESIA SURF
WWW.ASPWORLDTOUR.COM
16-17 DEW TOUR PORTLAND, OR USA SKATE WWW.DEWTOUR.COM 18-20 AGENDA LAS VEGAS USA TRADE WWW.AGENDASHOW.COM 20-24 SWATCH GIRLS PRO
HOSSEGOR
FRANCE
SURF
WWW.SWATCHGIRLSPRO.COM
SEPTEMBER 4-6 SURF EXPO ORLANDO, FL USA TRADE WWW.SURFEXPO.COM 6 WILD IN THE PARKS
ZURICH
SWITZERLAND
SKATE
WWW.VOLCOM.EU
9-20 HURLEY PRO
SAN CLEMENTE, CA
USA
SURF
WWW.ASPWORLDTOUR.COM
13 WILD IN THE PARKS
BARCELONA
SPAIN
SKATE
WWW.VOLCOM.EU
20-24 SWATCH GIRLS PRO
HOSSEGOR
FRANCE
SURF
WWW.SWATCHGIRLSPRO.COM
20 WILD IN THE PARKS
CHELLES
FRANCE
SKATE
WWW.VOLCOM.EU
25-6 QUIKSILVER PRO FRANCE
LANDES
FRANCE
SURF
WWW.ASPWORLDTOUR.COM
26-28 CAPSULE WOMEN’S
PARIS
FRANCE
TRADE
WWW.CAPSULESHOW.COM
26-29 SILMO PARIS FRANCE TRADE WWW.SILMOPARIS.COM 29-2 WOMEN IN BOARDSPORTS CONFERENCE BIARRITZ FRANCE TRADE WWW.WOMENINBOARDSPORTS.COM
OCTOBER 1-7 CASCAIS WOMEN’S PRO
CASCAIS
PORTUGAL
SURF
WWW.ASPWORLDTOUR.COM
2-3 EUROSIMA SURF SUMMIT HOSSEGOR FRANCE SURF WWW.EUROSIMA.COM 3-5 THE REELS ANNECY FRANCE SNOW WWW.THE-REELS.COM 10-12 KAUNERTAL OPENING
KAUNERTAL
AUSTRIA
SNOW
WWW.KAUNERTALER-GLETSCHER.AT
11 GLOBAL WITP CMAPIONSHIPS
COSTA MESA
USA
SKATE
WWW.VOLCOM.EU
11-12 VANS SHOP RIOT FINAL
FLESH AND BONES SKATEPARK BELGIUM
16-18 SNOWBOARD GARDEN FESTIVAL
GRENOBLE
FRANCE
SNOW
WWW.GARDENFESTIVAL.FR
18-20 MOREBOARDS STUBAI PREMIERE
STUBAI
AUSTRIA
SNOW
WWW.STUBAI-PREMIERE.COM
12-23 MOCHE RIPCURL PRO PORTUGAL
PENICHE
PORTUGAL
SURF
WWW.ASPWORLDTOUR.COM
25-27 SKI AND SNOWBOARD SHOW
BIRMINGHAM
UK
SNOW
WWW.SKIANDSNOWBOARDSHOW.CO.UK
SKATE /TRADE
WWW.VANSSHOPRIOT.COM
30-2 SKIPASS MODENA ITALY SNOW WWW.SKIPASS.IT 30-3 SKI AND SNOWBOARD SHOW
LONDON
UK
SNOW
WWW.SKIANDSNOWBOARDSHOW.CO.UK
31–2 SKIEXPO HELSINKI FINLAND SNOW WWW.SKIEXPO.FI
NOVEMBER 14-16 O’NEILL PLEASURE JAM
SCHLADMING DACHSTEIN
AUSTRIA
SNOW
WWW.PLEASUREJAM.COM
22-6 MAUI WOMEN’S PRO
HAWAII
USA
SURF
WWW.ASPWORLDTOUR.COM
OAHU
HAWAII
SURF
WWW.ASPWORLDTOUR.COM
DECEMBER 8-20 BILLABONG PIPE MASTERS
21 WORLD SNOWBOARD DAY WWW.WORLD-SNOWBOARD-DAY.COM
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ONE EYED MONSTER HOUSE OF VANS LONDON
Canoe’s Jim Carolan & Original Distribution’s Matt Bryer
Mini ramps - photo courtesy of Vans
Life’s A Beach’s Greg Finch and friend
One of five tunnels.
TSA’s Chris Orchard and Chris Shannon
Route One’s Andy Mills
Phil Young: Urb-Orbis and Prime & Fire fame
Good to see Victoria Barrio back at Vans. Alongside Mr. Oli Culcheth
Hectic’s Myles & Laura
Steve Van Doren & Route One’s Andy Mills
Public Enemy - photo courtesy of Vans
Street section - photo courtesy of Vans
Radek Hruska Czech skate magazine boardmag.cz. Celebrating 20th anniversary this year congrats Radek!
The Concrete Bowl. Paying tribute to the empty swimming pools skated back in the 70s
The Poolhouse’s Maria Falbo & Natalie Davies
Dinosaur Junior - photo courtesy of Vans
AXL Distribution’s Joe & Samantha: Classic Dob Vest/Shaka Hand T/Tattooed Hand Baseball Top
Captain Fin Co. Rep by Daniel Surf Ltd’s Jamie
Electric Europe Team - Caroline Piechaud, Mat Horwood, Olivier Richard
Element’s Tony Wood, Robin Wilkins Nigel Gibb.
Globe - Original Distribution’s Matt showing Globe’s Avante Lyte with the Bantam ST Cruiser
Deus Ex Machina’s Rob Fairweather with the Dudley Shirt
Garry Woodward from SPIV Agency
Hectic’s Myles & Laura with Stance’s Heath Walker
Robin Woodhouse Dickies UK Agent
Jacket Required’s Main Space - AKA the Greenhouse
UN.FA.MIL.IAR’s Chris & Colin representing The Critical Slide Society in the UK, with their Neoprene wetty tops
JACKET REQUIRED LONDON
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Lightning Bolt International: Sergio Santos & Jonathan Paskowitz.
Cool By The Pool’s James Bickerdike
GLD Group’s Jarrod Clarke
Makia’s Hessu with UK Makia Agent Stu Titmus
Volcom’s Paul Buckland and Kris Wootton.
#72 BRIGHT XIX BERLIN
Afends co-founder Jonno and European marketing manager Alexei
Arbor’s new European man Bernd
Globe’s Mike Xavier makes a final Bright appearence - it’s been a pleasure Mike!
C1RCA’s first Bright for a while
Peter heading up C1RCA revival in Europe
Colour Wear’s John
All smiles on the Macbeth stand
Ground floor from the 1st floor
NEFF’s Etienne and Tom
James over at Melon Optics
Jason & Brian at Brixton over from the USA
Vans increased the size of their stand for this show
At the NEFF stall with Mike and Mario from Stairss and Gunnar from Hoff
O’Neill’s Christian
Sweet Skateboards’ Bjorn
München e.v.’s Munich Be(a)st Tour 2014
GoPro’s Isa & Katja got photobombed by an unknown gentleman in head to toe Go Pro
Wurmy from NGO High Five e.V.
Red Bull’s Bella at X Fighters live
Picture Friends range jacket and ACM’s Jojo
Nike Vision’s Command Goggle. Sage Kotsenburg’s model with transition lenses
Finisterre CWS Line.
Finisterre’s CWS hats and socks
McNair Snow Shirts looking neat on ACM’s Matt Barr
Dragon’s NFX * Schoph collab
Etnies’ Samir and new hire Sam
MUNICH MASH
Factory Media graphic designer Danielle & intern Emily on a very short lunch break
Mpora.de’s Felix
ALL CONDITIONS MEDIA PRESS DAY
Arc’teryx’s Parsec jacket being modelled by ACM’s Chris Moran
Heimplanet - Weekender bag. meets cabin luggage spec
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