Retail

Massive Photo Look-back At Denver SIA Show

by The Editors on January 29, 2015

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We’re not in Denver, Colorado this week for the 2015 Snow Industries of America Show. In fact, we haven’t attended the Denver show since January 2013. Why? The most simple reason is that it’s easier not to go, but the truth may be that like many other companies who are skipping this year (Burton, Mervin, etc. . . ) our SIA cost-to-benefit ratio had been sliding for years.

Seeing as this is SIA Season (not to mention Throw-back-Thursday), join us as we look back on all the people, parties, products, and booths that we’ve covered over the past few years. Here’s the breakdown:

2013: People, Products, Booths
2012: People, Parties, Products, Booths
2011:
People, Products, Booths
2010: People, Parties, Products, Booths
2009: Day 1, 2009 TWS Rider’s Poll

Now that we’re all teary eyed, lets ask one question: has anything changed, progressed, or improved? If so, please let us know.

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SIMA Honors 20 Legendary Surf Shops

by The Editors on January 29, 2015

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On February 12, 2015 the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association will honor a group of 20 legendary surf shops with the 2015 SIMA Surf Shop Gold Wave Award presented by Shaun Tomson at the annual SIMA Image Awards at the City National Grove in Anaheim, California. These shops have all been around for 50 years or more, which says a lot these days.

“To honor surfing’s rich heritage in this way is exciting and important to the industry,” said Doug Palladini, SIMA President and Vans’ VP/GM North America. “These surf shops are instrumental in building the beach culture we love so much, the foundation of surf lifestyle since the 1950s and 60s. A surf shop is very influential to its local surf community – the hub of the local surf community in most cases – and these shops are legendary.”

For the complete list of shops and more info on how you can attend the surf industry party of the winter season, please follow the jump. [click to continue…]

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Yes, Surf Expo Still Exists

by The Editors on January 16, 2015

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Earlier this month the East Coast action crowd gathered in Orlando, Florida (January 8-10, 2015) for the 39th annual Surf Expo trade show. People went, bikinis were modeled, autographs were signed, and electric skateboards were ridden.

“We were excited to partner with the State of Hawaii to introduce key new manufacturers with coastal-themed products made in Hawaii. With the addition of the Hawaiian Pavilion, Surf Expo saw more than 250 new exhibitors. The show featured more than 2,500 booths and really delivered on our buyers’ demand for new product and more choices under one roof, accentuating that Surf Expo has evolved beyond a regional show and become the international destination for the board sports and coastal lifestyle business” said Surf Expo Show Director, Roy Turner.

If even the show director says it was a great show, it must have been a great show, right? We have no idea. We’ve never been. But, we’re glad to see people are still enjoying Surf Expo. For the official word please follow the jump. [click to continue…]

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Grab A Space At The Boardroom Surf Show

by The Editors on January 7, 2015

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The Boardroom Surf Show is pleased to announce early bird booth space sales available online now for the upcoming The Boardroom Surf Show. The Boardroom once again “kicks off” the summer surfboard buying season on May 16 & 17, 2015 at the Del Mar Fairgrounds. Premium corner and standard booths are on discount with big savings offered until February 1.

Supreme surfboard craftsman Rusty Preisendorfer will be honored in the Icons of Foam Tribute to the Masters at The Boardroom. Since 1969 Rusty Preisendorfer has been crafting precision surfboards for enthusiast surfers and world class professionals. . . “It’s always good talking story with all my friends in the business at The Boardroom. I also enjoy meeting surfers who have a real passion for their equipment,” explains Rusty. “The Boardroom is the show dedicated to surfboards. I look forward to it every year.”

For the official word from The Boardroom Surf Show, please follow the jump. [click to continue…]

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Supra Adds Mexico City To The Mix

by The Editors on December 10, 2014

Supra-Mexico-City

Supra Footwear has opened a flagship retail store in the heart of Mexico City’s historic Colonia Juarez neighborhood. This new store joins other flagship locations in Paris, NYC, Santa Monica, and Tokyo.

“As Mexico’s capital city, opening a store here makes perfect sense in securing a longtime home for SUPRA,” said SUPRA co-founder Scott Bailey. “Since we started this company some of our most ardent fans have been from Mexico, so we look forward to nurturing that relationship as the brand continues to grow globally.”

For the official word from Supra (including comments from Chad Muska) follow the jump. [click to continue…]

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Surfimages.com Adds Consumer Direct

by The Editors on October 15, 2014

Surfing-Stock

For years photographer Jack English has been operating Surfimages.com as the go-to site for surfing stock photography. Now he’s opening it to the general online public and offering premium prints, posters and murals through the online store.

“We’ve received a lot of requests from individuals asking if we offered prints for sale,” said Surf Images CEO and photographer Jack English. “For the longest time, Surf Images only licensed images to the commercial market, so we really weren’t able to handle requests from private individuals. Today, I’m happy to announce that Surf Images is now able to offer our beautiful surfing inspired wall art direct to the consumer through our commerce store at surfimages.com.”

To check out what’s on offer, click here. For the official word from Jack English himself, please follow the jump. [click to continue…]

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365Skate Accused of Shady Ways

by The Editors on October 13, 2014

Seems some skateboard shops will try anything to move product. Recently several Denver skaters have accused 365skateboards.com of offering up sponsorship in exchange for the purchase of a board. When people don’t get the board they ordered their names and personal information was put up on 365skate’s Wall of Shame. The Wall of Shame has been taken down, but the site still appears to be live. Watch the edit for the rest of the story.

[Link: CBS Denver]

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Nixon European Retail Stores On Horizon

by The Editors on September 4, 2014

Nixon Paris

Nixon is following in the footsteps of other luxury brands by taking their products directly to the customers with two new European brand stores. Today, (September 4, 2014) Nixon opened a store in Paris’ le Marais district. And in October they will open a store in London as well.

These new locations premiere Nixon’s Horizon marketing concept. The horizon line is a reference to a common thread, which runs through the Nixon landscape—oceans, mountains, concrete jungles. A subtle nod to the diverse environments of surfing, snowboarding and skateboarding, the horizon line is more of an ownable design point of view than a literal interpretation. It becomes the canvas for the Nixon story, allowing us to showcase our perspective and products in a bold, distinct way.

Appears to be just one more step toward Nixon running everything their way. For the official word from Nixon including Paris store location and business hours, please follow the jump. [click to continue…]

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Catch Surf Beater Boards Are Catching On

by Sponsored Post on August 5, 2014


This post sponsored by Driftingthru.com

Innovations in surfing equipment are coming thick and fast, but not all of them catch on. The industry is buzzing with new sustainable ways for manufacturing surf products, asymmetrical surfboards seem to be making a comeback, and the foam Beater boards from Californian company Catch Surf are attracting a lot of interest. They have been around for a few years now and are becoming a staple board in many-a-surfer’s quiver, but what makes them so good?

Let’s start from the beginning. The name “Beater” is a pun really, because one of the original ideas behind the board was creating it so that it could be surfed during busy summer periods when lifeguards raise the dreaded black ball flag. While conventional hard surfboards are deemed unsafe to be in the water when the yellow and black flags appear, a soft foam board could be acceptable. And so the blackball ‘Beater’ was born, a fun surfboard perfect for small summer surf days. Plenty of buoyancy for a board with such a short length, and soft enough not to cause any significant damage to swimmers in the water if a collision occurs. The first ones did not even have fins, and no doubt were disregarded by many in the surf industry as just another surf toy that wouldn’t take off. A few years on and the Beater has progressed somewhat.

Follow the jump for the rest of the story. . .

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SnoCon Done: A Northwest Institution Closes

by The Editors on July 27, 2014

snocon_2014We were saddened to learn on Friday July 25, 2014 that after 24 years, Seattle’s longtime core action sports retailer SnoCon is closing its doors. It is a northwest snowboard institution whose influence on the sport and core retailing will be missed greatly industry wide. Founder John Logic, notified staff on Friday that their final work day would be the following day, Saturday July 26.

Tough retail conditions are largely to blame according an email from Logic, “[SnoCon] tried to get right for five years, after 17 golden ones, but they couldn’t right the ship,” he said. “Even an upside down boat will float. It’s just not much of a party cruise, ya know?”

For the rest of the story, please follow the jump.

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