by Board Retailers Association | Oct 7, 2019 | Industry, Skateboard, SUP, Surf, Trade Shows, Wake Surf, Wakeboard
Posted 10/07/2019 via SES The Board Retailers Association (BRA), a non-profit organization representing independently owned surf, skate, snow, sup and wake retailers, announces a Regional Retailer Roundtable to be held at the Surfing Heritage and Culture Center (www.shacc.org) in San Clemente, CA on Sunday November third from 9 am until 11 am. Board sport specialty retailers from throughout Southern California and beyond as well as board sport related manufacturers and trade organizations will participate. This iconic venue will host the first of many BRA Regional Retailer Roundtables, which will serve as a template for more open forum discussions throughout the country (in addition to trade shows) on how the manufacturers and retailers can work together to continue to support the board sports that we are all passionate about. Southern California is the epicenter of board sport culture and serves as the ideal location for this initial event. BRA Chairman, George Leichtweis of Modern Skate & Surf, will moderate a panel of key manufacturers reps and BRA retailers and Board members in an open discussion about the issues impacting our industry today and in the future. All board sport retailers and manufacturers that would like to attend this worthwhile event should contact BRA Executive Director Doug Works at doug@boardretailers.org as soon as possible. About Board Retailers Association (BRA) The Board Retailers Association (BRA) is a non-profit national trade association representing board specialty store fronts across the country. The association serves as the preeminent voice for independent retailers on a grassroots level with manufacturers, trade show representatives, and other associations. BRA also works to provide educational resources and exclusive discounts and offerings...
by Board Retailers Association | Oct 3, 2019 | Industry, Internet, News, Resources, Surf
PRESS RELEASES | Published Oct 2, 2019 Join brand leaders in exploring the latest in e-commerce strategies. This session is for any industry employee who is looking to enhance or gain new insights on e-commerce performance. SPEAKERS: JAKE KASSAN – Co-Founder and President, MVMT SHAUN NEFF – Founder – Neff & Beach House Group. Entrepreneur – Advisor – Investor CODY DEBACKER – Head of Retail Experience, Shopify and Director of Shopify LA TICKETS
: $50 – SIMA Members $65 – Non-Members Pre-registration is required and space is limited. Registrations are final and not transferrable between dates. Deadline to register is 5 pm, Sunday October 13th! LOCATION: The Ocean Institute 24200 Dana Point Harbor Dr. Dana Point, CA 92629 TIME:
2:30 pm to 3:00 pm – Check In, Networking, Drinks & Light Apps 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm – Welcome, Speakers & Networking REGISTRATION at https://sima.com/speaker-series-ecommerce/ ABOUT SIMA SPEAKER SERIES, POWERED BY GROUP Y Introducing the SIMA Speaker Series, a set of local seminars that will explore pertinent topics brands are facing in the changing marketplace. Seminars will feature experts from leading, progressive industries to show brands how to expand their reach and foster growth. In addition to seminars, the series will also feature open discussions and conversations around challenges brands are facing and opportunities to collaborate with fellow attendees to develop...
by Board Retailers Association | Sep 24, 2019 | Industry, News, Surf
By Tiffany Montgomery | Published Sep 23, 2019 The Oakley Surf Shop Challenge just wrapped up another successful finals event in Nicaragua. The finalists included Catalyst, Surf Ride, Pacific Wave, Sunrise, Secret Spot and HIC, with Catalyst taking home the big win. We asked Marty Mathiesen, Oakley’s Sales Manager for the Surf Channel, some questions about the event and why Oakley continues to support it even with the major changes at Oakley over the past few years. Needless to say, the surf shops that participate love the event. HIC Owner Leigh Tonai gave a special toast in honor of Oakley during the closing dinner. “I’ve been on the retail and wholesale side of the surf business for over 35 years. The nature of retail is it’s difficult to pay your staff living wages, heck most owners can’t pay themselves a living wage,” Leigh said. “I’m stoked to see the level of support Oakley is giving to the core shops, the shops who consider selling surfboards as part of their DNA, through the surf shop challenge. “The regional contest is a great give back to the core shops but the nationals takes that to a new universe,” Leigh said. “Oakley put on a first class event. Investing in great judges, awesome accommodations and most of all a place that has consistent and challenging waves but nothing that’s going to kill you. “I was impressed with the level of surfing and competition. Congrats to Catalyst and all the competitors. It’s an awesome experience and could only be done with a big investment from Oakley.” Q&A with Marty Mathiesen Despite all the changes...
by Board Retailers Association | Sep 21, 2019 | Industry, News, Surf
By Tiffany Montgomery | Published Sep 17, 2019 Roark is jumping into retail with both feet, and has opened two good-looking stores in high profile California locations, with more on the way. Roark’s first store debuted in Berkeley late last year, the second store just opened on La Brea Avenue in Los Angeles and a store in Del Mar opens in the second week of October. Early next year, a newly signed San Francisco location should be ready to open. And, it sounds like Denver could be next. We spoke with Roark Co-Founder and CEO Ryan Hitzel to find out more about the retail strategy. Why is Roark opening new stores in Los Angeles, Del Mar and San Francisco? Roark CEO Ryan Hitzel: It would probably help to pull the bow back a little more to understand where we’re going. We’ve always envisioned Roark as an omni-channel brand, mostly because of the depth of storytelling and the appeal to action sports, outdoor and menswear markets. So the brick-and-mortar flagships play a large role in each community and connect the dots between our wholesale, consumer catalog and e-commerce businesses. The strategy is pretty simple when it comes to target markets. We have two buckets. We’re looking to provide a brand touch point in communities that are over-performing yet undersaturated with wholesale accounts. Our stores in Berkeley and San Francisco are examples of an over-performing market that does not have many Roark wholesale accounts. The second bucket is regions that are still developing but have great potential and strong DTC demand. San Diego and LA are still developing for Roark and could use...
by Board Retailers Association | Sep 2, 2019 | Industry, News, Skateboard, SUP, Surf, Trade Shows, Wake Surf, Wakeboard
ORLANDO, Fla., September 1, 2019 — Due to the continued threat of Hurricane Dorian on Orlando, the state of Florida, the southeast and the east coast, Surf Expo announced today that it will cancel the 2019 event scheduled for September 5-7, as well as the pre-show outdoor festival Waterfest, on September 4, at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL. Surf Expo’s leadership team has been constantly monitoring the storm closely and evaluating information from both local, state and federal officials and partners to determine the best course of action.“We understand that Surf Expo plays an important part in connecting buyers and sellers in the Boardsports, Beach & Resort industries and that many rely on our marketplace for filling their commerce needs, but travel and logistical difficulties and, more importantly, our customers’ safety is at the forefront of our minds. Given the state of affairs regarding Hurricane Dorian today, we had no choice but to cancel Surf Expo. We recognize that many of our customers will be directly impacted by Hurricane Dorian and feel their focus should be on their families, businesses and community at this time”, said Roy Turner, SVP, Surf Expo Show Director, Emerald Expositions. Exhibitors click here for more information Attendees/Buyers/Media click here for more information To view this announcement directly on the Surf Expo site and learn more about the January show: click here On behalf of Board Retailers Association, although we are disappointed that the show was cancelled, it is completely understandable and are sending positive vibes to everyone that could be negatively impacted by this dangerous storm. We are really looking forward to...
by Board Retailers Association | Aug 27, 2019 | Industry, Resources, Surf, Sustainability
By Tiffany Montgomery | Published Aug 26, 2019 Showing just how important sustainability has become to industry brands, SIMA had a great turnout for its Speaker Series event on the topic last week at Vans headquarters. More than 160 people registered, and a nice cross section of the industry turned out, including a wide range of brands and job titles. Speakers included Derek Sabori, a sustainability advisor and instructor who created Volcom’s forward-thinking sustainability programs years ago; Kim Matsoukas, Senior Manager of Sustainability and Social Responsibility at Vans; Wendy Savage, Director of Social Responsibility and Trace-ability at Patagonia; Megan Stoneburner Azim, Director of Sustainability and Sourcing at Outerknown; and Josh Reddin, CEO of Elastic. SIMA has posted videos of all the presentations here Doug Works, BRA Executive Director, was in attendance and asked a question related to Retailers at 43:09 here Click here to view the article on Shop Eat Surf Recap of SIMA Speaker Series “Sustainability in Our Industry: Moving Beyond Recycled” More than 160 apparel and surf industry leaders from Design, Product, Compliance, and Marketing gathered for the sold-out event on August 22nd. The afternoon featured a mini-masterclass, insights from experts, moderated discussions, and more on the topics of Foundational Sustainability Concepts, Sustainable Fibers/Materials, Fair & Decent Labor, and Differentiated Sustainability-Driven Marketing Opportunities. Attendees walked away with a better understanding of how the experts are talking about sustainability in our sector, what the hottest topics and our biggest concerns are, what solutions are readily available and utilized in the marketplace, and what steps you can take next to keep up with competitors. Full speaker videos & presentations at...
