by Board Retailers Association | Dec 3, 2021 | Corona Virus, Holiday, News, Statistics
A person with a hand full of shopping bags walks by as Black Friday sales begin at The Outlet Shoppes of the Bluegrass in Simpsonville, Kentucky, November 26, 2021.Jon Cherry | Reuters KEY POINTS National Retail Federation CEO Matt Shay said Tuesday that the new coronavirus variant could direct more dollars toward electronics, toys, apparel and other items instead of vacations and movie tickets.News of the omicron strain came during a key time for holiday shopping.The trade group reiterated its forecast of between $843.4 billion and $859 billion of sales in November and December, which would represent an all-time high in holiday spending. As Americans bought gifts during the peak Thanksgiving shopping weekend, the discovery of the omicron variant made headlines and prompted action by public health officials. National Retail Federation CEO Matt Shay said Tuesday that the coronavirus strain could shake up spending patterns this holiday season and direct more dollars toward electronics, toys, apparel and other items instead of vacations and movie tickets. “We know, unfortunately, that when the variants have had a real impact on the economy, the goods side of the economy has actually benefited from that because people change behavior away from the experience side of the economy and spend more time and more dollars engaged in the goods side of the economy,” he said on a call with reporters. Holiday sales are expected to grow to an all-time high of between $843.4 billion and $859 billion of sales in November and December, which represents growth of 8.5% to 10.5% this year, according to the National Retail Federation. The trade group reiterated its rosy forecast for the holiday season on...
by Board Retailers Association | Dec 1, 2021 | Awards, Industry, News, Surf
Anyone with even the faintest interest in surfing can likely remember where they were, what they were doing, when the first video of Kelly Slater’s wavepool dropped. (I was on the couch, soaking in the reality of Adriano de Souza’s World Title win, which happened the day before, and watching the clouds begin to brew from what would become the Brazilian Storm.) It was a bombshell; it signified a new era, the second coming of surf parks. But that was just the beginning. That was 2015, just six years ago. And since then, an explosion of innovative technologies, new constructions, and worldwide interest has detonated in the artificial surfing space. Noticing this shift in surfing, a group called Surf Park Central began their annual summit back in 2013 to bring together visionaries and supporters in the field. And in early October, the group came together once again in San Diego to talk about the future of wavepool surfing. Guest speakers at the 2021 edition of the Surf Park Summit included Shaun Tomson, CJ Hobgood, Shane Beschen, Ian Cairns, Peter Townend, Matt Biolos, Timmy Patterson, and more movers and shakers in the wavepool space. Surfline’s own VP of Wave Venues and Progression, Pete Joszi, gave a talk on the future of wavepools and, particularly, the potential they offer for surfing progression. “If you’ve been following what’s been going on at places like BSR and a few other places,” Joszi said, “you can see that these things are synonymous with progression.” Joszi went on to discuss the future of Surfline’s involvement in facilitating progression at surf park venues – through hi-def cameras with...
by Board Retailers Association | Nov 24, 2021 | Community, Industry, News, Social Issues, Surf
Mami Wata seeks to change the global perception of African surf culture through establishing itself as a major brand in the surf lifestyle space. Photo: Mami Wata. Brands, and especially clothing brands, have a strangely powerful influence on our sense of identity. By donning a jacket from your favorite surf brand you say a lot of things, such as: “I support this,” or “I want to look like this.” It can be a way of demonstrating belonging to a culture, reinforcing your self image, and giving others a visual description of what’s going on upstairs. That can be tricky for some though, when the clothing and styles out there do little to represent who they are as a person. “The majority of surf lifestyle brands are driven from a Southern Californian or Australian narrative,” Selema Masekela recently told me. “We’ve had some cool, Brooklyn-sort-of-reinventions of it in the last few years. Unfortunately, I’d say, very few big, Hawaiian-driven brands in the space, but there’s just so much room within the landscape of storytelling around what surf lifestyle and culture is.” Selema, through his recently launched, mission-driven African surf-lifestyle brand Mami Wata (West African pidgin for “Mother Ocean”), wants to dig into that space and tell a different story than what’s been traditionally told in surfing. “This is a brand that looks to really expand the definition of surf lifestyle and maybe even redefine what it looks like to be a surfer,” Selema explained. “[Mami Wata] is a telling of modern African culture through the lens of surfing. For example, in our newest range you’ll see a lot of imagery around the use of dice. That’s all about...
by Board Retailers Association | Nov 16, 2021 | Competitions, Industry, News, Surf
Big wave season is open. Grab your big wave guns. Photo: WSL/Bryanna Bradley On November 15, the World Surf League’s Big Wave season window officially opened. Two of the most exciting events in all of surfing are on standby for the next few months: the Quiksilver Jaws Big Wave Challenge and the Nazaré Tow Surfing Challenge presented by Jogos Santa Casa. The window closes on March 31, 2022. There has never been a time in the big-wave world more exciting than now. Limits have been pushed to the brink over the last few years, seemingly to the absolute edge of what’s possible. Both towing and paddling are at levels never before seen, and this season promises to be a good one. Both Jaws and Nazaré can hold swells big enough for the events to get the green light. “During the window,” Ben Collins wrote for the WSL, “the World Surf League’s Tours and Competitions office will closely monitor conditions for the two venues, and once the stars align a call will be made to run each event, bringing some of the world’s best surfers together for what is set to be another season of stand-out performances.” You likely remember the last time events ran at both Jaws and Nazaré. Kai Lenny, for example, did things on enormous waves that we hadn’t even considered to be possible. While Nazaré at size is generally a tow-wave, Jaws is the place where the limits of big-wave surfing are being pushed the hardest. It hasn’t been all that long, though, since Jaws was basically a tow-only wave. “This new generation of big-wave paddle performance comes...
by Board Retailers Association | Nov 10, 2021 | Community, Competitions, Industry, News, Surf
John John Florence, who won the digital Vans Triple Crown of Surfing in men’s in 2020 – Photo by Ryan Miller courtesy of Vans Click on the following link to view this interesting Shop Eat Surf Article: Vans Marketing Executive on the Evolution of the Triple Crown of Surfing Be sure to visit the Shop Eat Surf website to view valuable Industry News and Resourceful Articles regularly via this link: Shop Eat Surf If you are not already a BRA Retail Member, you can easily opt in to either Regular (no cost) or Distinguished ($100/yr.) Membership via this super simple join...
by Board Retailers Association | Oct 27, 2021 | Associate Members, Distinguished Retail Members, News, Resources, Retail Strategy
Push play to learn more about PartnerShip (BRA Supporting Vendor Partner) and how you can benefit BRA strives to be the definitive resource for active sport retailers and we’re always looking for ways to help your business be successful. We’re excited to announce a brand-new benefit available to BRA Distinguished Retail Members that will save you money by spending less on shipping. With the BRA Shipping Program, managed by PartnerShip®, you save 50% on FedEx Express and 30% on FedEx Ground. If you’re receiving inbound freight shipments from your vendors, you’ll also have access to competitive rates with UPS Freight, YRC Freight, XPO, and many others. To take advantage of this free benefit, enroll now. To learn more about the BRA Shipping Program, call PartnerShip at 800-599-2902 or email sales@PartnerShip.com. If you are not yet a BRA Distinguished Retail Member, please complete the super simple join form (choose the Distinguished Retail Membership option). Shortly after we receive your join form, we will email you an invoice with payment instructions for the $99 Annual Dues as well as the link to access the BRA Office Depot Preferential Pricing Program and summary of additional Supporting Vendor Partner benefits for BRA Retail Members. Once your payment is received, we will notify the good people at PartnerShip who will approve your enrollment and enable you to take advantage of the savings in a timely...
