by Board Retailers Association | Dec 26, 2020 | 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 | Dec 22, 2020 | Corona Virus, Industry, News, Resources, Retail Strategy
The saying “better late than never” can certainly apply here… After dragging its feet for months (which felt like years), U.S. Congress has delivered a stimulus bill offering relief to small businesses and families struggling to survive the recent COVID surge. How will this affect the retail community?The Wall Street Journal on December 21st posted a categorical graphic breakdown of where the proposed $900 billion will be allocated (with a large percentage set aside for small businesses) and here are key provisions (provided by CNN) that will be included as part of the $900 billion agreement, according to releases sent out Sunday evening by members of Democratic and GOP leadership: Direct payment checks of up to $600 per adult and childAid for struggling small businesses, including more than $284 billion for forgivable Paycheck Protection Program loans and $15 billion “in dedicated funding for live venues, independent movie theaters, and cultural institutions”$300 per week for enhanced unemployment insurance benefits$20 billion to buy vaccines and make “the vaccine available at no charge for anyone who needs it” and $8 billion for vaccine distribution$20 billion for coronavirus testing efforts$25 billion for rental assistance and an eviction moratorium extension$82 billion for education providers like schools and colleges, including aid to help reopen classrooms safely and $10 billion for child care assistanceThe deal will rescind “$429 billion in unused funds provided by the CARES Act for the Federal Reserve’s emergency lending facilities”$13 billion in increased Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and child nutrition benefits$7 billion to bolster broadband access to help Americans connect remotely during the pandemic$45 billion to support transportation services, including $2 billion...
by Board Retailers Association | Dec 22, 2020 | Resources, Retail Strategy
In so many ways, the date of a new year is arbitrary. In Western societies, we’re still on the Gregorian calendar, but there are plenty of cultures that walk to a different time drummer: Hebrew, Maya, Chinese, Navaho, Islam. Yet it is the significance of a new year to mark time passing that becomes the ritual. Rebrand yourself as a marketplace, not a big-box, discount, specialty or department store. One could argue that the whole world was asleep at the wheel in terms of dealing with the ultimate impact of the pandemic. It’s not as though we had no warnings, Bill Gates, the scientists, the UN – a pandemic was a very real threat, and as Tom Friedman of the NY Times has said, just a warm-up for climate change. Regardless of politics, 2020 is hindsight according to Tom Foolery (and well worth watching). So, on the only Winter Solstice of 2020, let’s consider foresight for 2021. If you’re going to offer brick-and-mortar retail, make it an experience worth having. Personal touches, unique experiences, community, relevance — more than a store. Make it safe, make it secure, make it like the general store of the 1800s where everyone knows your name – in a non-creepy way. In short, the physical retail store is your stage; put on a good show.Edit your inventory. Scarcity creates value. If the velvet slippers to wear with your sweats on Zoom calls are sold out (Birdies), great. Create demand. And use customer demand to develop similar new products, also with a short run. We can’t have everything, even though we’ve been led to assume the opposite.If...
by Board Retailers Association | Dec 16, 2020 | Resources, Retail Strategy, Snowboard, Trade Shows
Get ready for round two, everyone. After debuting its first all-digital trade show this summer, learning from industry feedback, and making tweaks to the format, Outdoor Retailer is ready to go forward with its second iteration of the online show in just a few weeks. A replacement for January’s traditional Snow Show, “OR Winter Online” will open to registrants on January 6 and run for more than 10 weeks, through March 19. Unlike the conventional in-person show, which squeezes hundreds of events, speeches, meetings, parties, and presentations into three head-spinning days—and unlike this summer’s digital show, which largely tried to replicate that format—OR Winter Online will unfold at a more leisurely pace, with much of the content available on demand for users to access whenever they wish. In other words, this OR will live in the background of our lives for months, rather than deluge us for a week. To help the industry plan for that shift, OR leadership today released the show’s education and event lineup and opened the calendar function of the registration dashboard, where attendees can start mapping out their schedules. What to expect from OR Winter Online Outdoor Retailer show director Marisa Nicholson told SNEWS that, so far, the upcoming show is projecting a better attendance than the summer run, with more buy-in from exhibitors and attendees across the board. “[Our numbers] are way up compared to where we were at this point before the summer show,” said Nicholson. “We have thousands of retail buyers and designers already registered for the event, as well as about 120 companies. Every week, we’re getting about 20 new sign-ups.” Nicholson confirmed that some of the...
by Board Retailers Association | Dec 13, 2020 | Associate Members, Resources, Retail Strategy
The Mission of Board Retailers Association is to consolidate the voices, the experiences and the visions of Board Specialty Retailers into a cohesive organization. We do this by identifying ways to lower day to day expenses, to increase profit margins and to create more remarkable customer experiences for our Retail Members. As a BRA Retail Member, you will have a voice, you will benefit from BRA relationships and you will have access to a number of BRA programs and resources including the new Office Depot Exclusive Preferential BRA Member Pricing Program. The image below elaborates on this outstanding Member Benefit, which is available to both Regular (no cost) and Distinguished Retail Members. If you are interested in improving your business, click on the following link to learn about both BRA Retail Membership options: https://www.boardretailers.org/retail-membership/ Soon after you complete the following super simple join form, we will email you the link to gain access to this rad program and begin saving on over 20,000 Office Depot Products and Services: https://www.boardretailers.org/join-bra/ #boardretailersassociation...
by Board Retailers Association | Dec 9, 2020 | Associate Members, Resources
By Board Retail Association | Originally published on Nov 4, 2020. Updated on Dec 9, 2020 LIG Solutions announces a partnership with the Board Retailers Association to offer its Distinguished Retail Members, their families and their employees access to exclusive healthcare insurance coverages. Healthcare is not a one size fits all endeavor, and neither is the insurance coverages offered through LIG Solutions. The exclusive offerings include a full suite of medical, dental, vision and disability coverages, as well as the new “Health Reimbursement Arrangements” (HRAs) for employers/employees. This program also includes access to information on the latest healthcare, personal wellness, and lifestyle trends. “We want to provide access to quality healthcare products that fit the specific needs of the Board Retailers Association Distinguished Retail Members,” says Jason Farro, CEO of LIG Solutions. “The plans can be tailored to fit the individual needs of members, their families, and employees that off the shelf programs may not be able to provide.” The health insurance coverage offered through LIG utilizes plan options from many of the leading national carriers, and the program is designed to be a vehicle to promote healthier lifestyle choices and preventive care options for the organization’s membership. “This is a relevant and valuable resource for all of our Distinguished Retail Members throughout the country. LIG Solutions offers affordable and comprehensive health plans that our retailers and their employees can use today!” says Doug Works, BRA Executive Director. Coverages are offered concierge style to BRA Distinguished Retail Members in a centralized portal, thus eliminating the hassle and cutting through the confusion that often accompanies shopping for healthcare insurance. The offerings – which are culled...
