by Board Retailers Association | Jun 13, 2021 | Associate Members, News, Resources, SUP, Surf
Editor’s Note: Just bought a new surfboard? Check out Surfcare, a new option for peace of mind. You just dropped an unforgiving grand(ish) on a creamy white hunk of fiberglass – straight off the rack from your local surf shop. It’s silky to the touch. Your eye skims its clean eyes with adoration. You’re beaming with pride. You’re also a little sheepish about the purchase. The expense to fragility ratio is merciless. The reef doesn’t care about your investment. Nor does the minefield of surfboards at crowded spots like Malibu. Nope. They’ll happily break your board for you and kill that joy at no cost. The fragility of expensive surfboards has long defied logic for addicted, cash-constrained surfers. But a sensible solution may have just hit the market. Enter Surfcare: insurance for your brand new surfboard. “I was on a six-month trip to Indonesia when I had my ‘aha’ moment,” says Surfcare Founder Nick Stolz. “I showed up to the tiny Island of Sipura in the Mentawais with a brand new quiver of boards. Within a couple weeks, however, I broke every single one of them surfing HT’s and waves on neighboring islands. That’s when I decided to make Surfcare a reality.” Surfcare cofounder Nick Stolz charging Nias prior to breaking all of his surfboards and deciding to do something capitalist about it. Photo: Courtesy Stolz According to Stolz, the brand launched last month after three years of development and hoop-jumping to abide by regulations in the understandably no-nonsense insurance industry. Insurance is not a bro-bro industry. Warranties must be vetted and maintained. “To get a little into the weeds, I didn’t know what I was...
by Board Retailers Association | May 25, 2021 | Educational Opportunity, Industry, Kiteboard, News, Resources, Retail Strategy, Skateboard, SUP, Surf, Trade Shows, Wake Skate, Wake Surf, Wakeboard, Women's Market
Surf Expo is the largest and longest running watersports and beach lifestyle tradeshow in the world. Since 1976, retailers from around the globe have relied on Surf Expo to identify new trends, new brands, and to get business done. Don’t miss your chance to be a part of this vibrant, award winning marketplace! Surf Expo is excited to welcome our board specialty retailers back to forge new relationships and celebrate old ones with Vendors and each other. The Surf team is committed to creating an event experience at the Orange County Convention Center’s West Concourse where their customers, partners and employees can safely and effectively conduct business. Show Dates: September 9-11, 2021 (Waterfest Sept. 8th)Location: Orange County Convention Center, West Concourse, Orlando, FL | View MapShow Hours: Thursday & Friday: 9 am to 6 pmSaturday: 9 am to 4 pmRegister for the Show: Click HereMake Your Hotel Reservation: Click HereTo view the Exhibitor List: Click Here Click and view the following videos to recall the relevance, helpfulness and fun of this remarkable trade show: Surf Expo Overview January 2020 Surf Expo Highlights BRA Battle of the Shop Bosses Surf Expo January 2020 (shorter edit) BRA Retailer Roundtable Panel Discussion from Surf Expo Connect (Sept. 2020) January 2019 Surf Expo Highlights Surf Expo Orange County Convention Center 2021 Click on the link above to register for this relevant, helpful and fun trade show Surf Expo is a trade-only event. The next show will be held September 9-11, 2021 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando Florida. www.surfexpo.com or connect on Instagram @surfexpo, Twitter @surfexpo and Facebook @SurfExpoOrlando. For more information on Surf Expo visit surfexpo.com Surf Expo provides access to its...
by Board Retailers Association | May 19, 2021 | Community, Industry, News, Skateboard
(Vista, CA) – As the nation continues to overcome COVID-19 challenges, locally run skatepark projects are still in progress. Advocates from all over the country are working hard to provide a free and accessible skatepark for their community to enjoy. Out of the hundreds of communities that we provide technical assistance to each quarter, around thirty projects applied for a TSP Skatepark Construction Grant. With the help of the Grants Committee and approval of TSP’s Board of Directors, we’re pleased to announce this semester’s grant recipients. These applicants followed skatepark project best practices and demonstrated excellent community engagement in areas of need. SUMMER 2021 TSP SKATEPARK GRANT RECIPIENTS (scroll down to view skatepark designs) Duluth, MN – $5,000 (Alex LeVasseur Memorial Grant) Rustin, LA – $10,000 Leominster, MA – $10,000 Huntsville, AL – $10,000 (Alex LeVasseur Memorial Grant) Evansville, IN – $10,000 Kamiah, ID – $5,000 Superior, MT – $5,000 Prairie du Sac, WI – $2,500 Project Recognition Grants Hagerstown, MD – $1,000 Greenwood Lake, NY – $1,000 Dover, DE – $1,000 Bangor, ME – $1,000 SUMMER 2021 BUILT TO PLAY SKATEPARK GRANT RECIPIENTSThe Skatepark Project’s partnership with the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation continues, and we’re fully stoked to welcome the towns of Sweden and Hamburg, NY into the Built to Play Skatepark family! With our help, these two towns in WNY have pulled together representatives from their communities, municipalities, and businesses to create a vision for their public skateparks, and an action plan to make it happen. All it takes is one person to spark the skatepark fire in a community. If you’re that spark, contact us and we’ll help you stoke your skatepark project fire! Hamburg, NY – $300,000 Town of Sweden,...
by Board Retailers Association | May 15, 2021 | News, Retail Strategy
The industry took a beating last year. Challenges remain, but here are a few indications of retailers’ strength. Last year was a challenge like no other for the retail industry. COVID-19 upended people’s existence worldwide, threatening human life and undermining the global economy. Job and wage losses took a toll. Even those able to stay healthy and financially secure have faced disruptions to daily life, upsetting work, school and other routines. All of this has had implications for retailers. Specialized retailers and department stores were forced to close for months while grocers and mass merchants were allowed to stay open as essential businesses. But for all of them, supply and demand were undependable last year. Meanwhile, nervous consumers have expected stores to be clean and safe or to offer e-commerce and pickup services even if they hadn’t before. Thankfully, in the U.S., the federal government came through a number of times, pumping trillions of dollars into the economy, much of it directly into consumers’ pockets. Now, consumer confidence is on the rebound, well up in recent months, reaching a high in April not seen since February 2020, according to The Conference Board. Several challenges remain, however, and they’re not minor. That starts with the fact that, while there are signs it’s easing in the U.S. thanks mostly to the distribution of vaccines, the pandemic isn’t over. Further, the consumer remains under pressure. Despite improvement, the employment picture is cloudy, with millions of Americans still out of work, according to the ADP Research Institute, and hiring unexpectedly weak in April, according to the U.S. Labor Department. The pre-pandemic wealth gap and middle class fragility haven’t eased, while pandemic-era anxiety around health and...
by Board Retailers Association | May 14, 2021 | Corona Virus, Educational Opportunity, Industry, News, Resources, Retail Strategy
Welcome to the BRA COVID-19 Resource Guide. Below you will find resources for the benefit of all board specialty retailers (BRA Retail Members and non-members alike) during this challenging period. The Board Retailers Association is actively aggregating resources to assist you in navigating these uncharted waters. We update this page with additional resources regularly. If you are interested in contributing relevant information or helpful resources that will benefit other board specialty retailers, please email our Executive Director at doug@boardretailers.org Relevant and trustworthy online resources providing facts related to transmission of Covid-19 (Corona Virus) and strategies to battle the spread #spreadthestokenotthevirus Center for Disease Control (CDC) – Official Website Flatten The Curve – Everything you and your customers need to know to battle COVID-19 is on this website World Health Organization – Mental health and psychosocial considerations during the COVID-19 outbreak This epic and relevant drawing was created by Reddit User Darth Voter Relevant educational webinars (on-demand) > Crystal Media – 3 Tips To Get Started With Social Selling Today and Staying Top-of-Mind and Connected to Customers During a Pandemic > Management One – 1) “The Retailer’s Guide to the Economic Stimulus Package & Financial Options to Address COVID-19” – The CARES Act is a complex mix of government aid and bank loans each with their own timelines and requirements. The parameters and regulations for these loans is changing hourly! 2) With rent being one of the highest monthly expenses for brick and mortar retail businesses, it’s a good idea to approach the subject of temporarily altering the structure of your agreement – The Art of Landlord Negotiation to Ease the Highest...
by Board Retailers Association | May 7, 2021 | Distinguished Retail Members, Industry, News, Retail History, Retail Strategy, Surf
Please click on the following link to view this relevant Shop Eat Surf Article containing the history behind and the future ahead of T & C Surf (BRA Distinguished Retail Member): T&C Surf Celebrates 50 Years in Business” 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 ($99/yr.) Membership via this super simple join...
