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The Secrets Of Visual Merchandising

How your store looks is sometimes more important that what you are selling. We’ll explore the basics on merchandising your store from a visual perspective and also discuss how to build a formula to keep your store fresh and exciting to your frequent shoppers as well as your new guests.
10/06/2008

ZJ Boarding House Celebrates 20-Year Anniversary

Santa Monica's ZJ Boarding House celebrates twenty years of being in business with a carnival/concert/barbecue and a good portion of the industry turns out to help them celebrate.
09/29/2008

Surf Expo September Post-Show Recap

Retail shop and booth counts up at Surf Expo; attendance dips slightly due to weather and economy.
09/29/2008

The Girls Of Surf Expo

All the latest swimwear fashions, modeled at Surf Expo's Fashion Shows and at the swank Peabody Hotel.
09/25/2008

Fate Of Trestles Now In Hands Of U.S. Federal Government (Gulp!)

Thousands stand together in oppostiion to the 241 Toll Road extension during the U.S. Department Of Commerce public comment meeting at the Del Mar fairgrounds. But support and involvement from the surf industry was suprisingly muted at the hearing. So what gives?
09/24/2008

New Faces: Kane'ohe Bamboo Provisions

Building their company philosophy around the belief that the natural beauty of the Hawaiian Islands is as irreplaceable as it is inspiring, Kane'ohe Founders Bryan and Kyle Harris built a brand that would embody island beauty, luxury, and environmental responsibility.
09/13/2008

Volcom’s Atomic Jigsaw On A Stick

“This was the best am contest ever. No, seriously, write that down: best ever.” Well. .. okay! That's cool.
09/13/2008

5th Annual WakeAwards Bash Goes Off At Surf Expo

WakeBoarding, the world's number one wake sports magazine, hosted the 5th Annual Wake Awards presented by Rockstar Energy Drink, on September 12 in Orlando, Florida during Surf Expo.
09/12/2008

Surf Expo Staff Anticipates Solid Show

After a few nervous days carefully monitoring weather reports, the skies over Orlando are clear and this show is shaping up to be on par with Surf Expo's largest September show ever.
09/11/2008

Surf Expo Golf Tournament

Fourteen fearless foursomes braved the fickle Central Florida elements during the annual Surf Expo Golf Tournament at Shingle Creek Golf Course.
09/11/2008

Liquid Nation Ball 5 Raises Funds for 14 Surf-Related Humanitarian Organizations

Surf industry business executives, professional surfers, and La Jolla VIPs gathered at the ocean-front home of Fernando and Vicky Aguerre in La Jolla, Calif. to help raise funds for 14 surf-related humanitarian organizations and honor the first ever SIMA Humanitarian of the year, Dr. Dave Jenkins, CEO of SurfAid International.
09/10/2008

Catching Up With: Origin Skate Trucks

Origin Skate Trucks was started by Richard Wooten and Todd Palmer with a new design on a truck, a truck the owners says is designed for performance because it has a 40% larger grinding surface and weighs the same as a standard Indy truck.
09/08/2008



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Travels With Fish: Rehoboth, Delaware

Aloha from Rehoboth, Delaware! No surf here today; only a couple of paddle boarders out. The beach is packed, though, and the weather is perfect!

Quiet Storm
Quiet Storm is open for business and the store is full right now. I met Store Manager Karen Collins as well as Daniel Steele and Britt Werner. They’re a friendly bunch. Juniors is the story in this town, too. Skate shoes are slow, but sandals are up – it is summer you know. RVCA and Hurley top the cool-brand list along with Billy and Quiksilver.



Sierra Moon
Down the street from Quiet Storm is Sierra Moon. Andy Gitaitis tells me, “The tourists are here and they are spending money. Business is only slightly down but we could make that up with one good weekend. We can’t complain at all.”

Men’s boardshorts are helping keep the sales strong and juniors dresses are hot, hot. Roxy, Volcom, and Billabong are the brands to focus on in this store. Skate sales are climbing too – the volume is in standard-length decks, but the longboards are selling fast. You gotta love the cruisers!

Dewey Beach

I ran down to Dewey Beach and stopped by the DB Surf Shop and chatted with Casi Invernizzi. Business has really picked since July 4th. The surf’s been down, so skim sales are good here. T-shirts sales seem slow, but it may be an issue with volume. Baggies and dresses are huge. Men’s apparel has been really strong overall. Shrink has been the main issue facing the store this summer.



Liquid
I sat down with Mike Ridings, one of the owners of Liquid: Surf, Skate, and Snow and store manager Matt Ruther. The store opened May ’07, and they’re still tweaking the matrix. “We strayed a bit from the big brands this year, but we plan to move back to the top five,” says Ridings. Business is down around fifteen percent and Mike says it’s due to the shorter trips tourists are making this season. “They’re doing the quick three-day vacation instead of the week-long stay.”

While surfboard sales are slow, skate has been absolutely rocking! The empty racks prove this point as Mike waits for the reorders to flow in. Sector 9 is leading the way. Like a broken record, junior sales are strong—let’s hear it for the gals! Boardshorts are also holding their own. Brands on the top are Lucy Love, Hurley, Rip Curl, and DaKine bags. To promote the biz Mike and his partner Derek Shockro are working hard to drive folks to Liquid. They’ve got a huge fall preview fashion show coming up on July 24. It will feature both men’s and juniors fashions along with a step show and music by DJ Amaze. In August they have an art, music and movies festival and partnership with Best Buy. This is really cool: they put video cameras in the kids hands and them send them off to make movies. Then the kids use software with help from the Geek Squad at Best Buy to edit, and the winner’s movie opens the event. How fun is that?

Liquid is a cool store with a cool vibe. I love the wood work throughout, the couches to chill on, and the big screen. Stop by and see what these guys are coming up with next.

Thanks for riding shot-gun with me on this trip! I said it would be a hoot! Saw a lot of old friends and made even more new ones. Check back for updates on my travels and don't forget about my blog. Who knows, maybe I'll be in your town soon!

See you in September and don't hesitate to call me or drop me an e-mail with any questions about Surf Expo, registration for the show or just to chat. Thanks for all you do and for keeping the stoke alive!

Ciao for now, kids!


Mahalo,


fish

Author: Sean Obrien
 
 
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  press releases
 

Halloween Wakeboard Day With Keith Lyman at the Carlsbad Lagoon

Wakesports will host a Halloween costume party at the Carlsbad Lagoon on Saturday, October 18th. The fun will kick off around noon and continue until sunset. Liquid Force is flying professional wakeboarder Keith Lyman out to join in the festivities.
10/10/2008

Buckle, Inc. Reports Comp Store Sales Up 19.7%

The Buckle, Inc. (NYSE: BKE) announced today that comparable store net sales, for stores open at least one year, for the five-week period ended October 4, 2008, increased 19.7 percent from comparable store net sales for the five-week period ended October 6, 2007.
10/10/2008

C4 Waterman Team to Go Big at Battle of the Paddle

C4 Waterman and their distributor, Boardworks, have rallied a red-hot team of stand up paddle (SUP) racers for this Saturday's $25,000 Battle of the Paddle at Doheny State Beach, Dana Point, California.
10/10/2008

Rip Curl promotes Brian Bosson to VP of Merchandising Operations

Rip Curl is excited to announce the promotion of Brian Bosson to Vice President of Merchandising Operations. In his new role, Bosson will expand his responsibilities overseeing the Tech Product Division into the production and development business.
10/10/2008

Bikini Flavors Gives Conservation a High Fashion Makeover

Bikini Flavors is proud to announce its partnership with the Caribbean Conservation Corporation (CCC).
10/10/2008

Steamer Lane Prepares For Oakley Pro Junior Series Finale

The nation's top professional junior surfers will compete at the Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) Grade-3 North America Oakley Pro Junior Championships at the 2008 O'Neill Cold Water Classic at Steamer Lane, Santa Cruz, Calif. Oct. 21-26.
10/10/2008

Zumiez Total Net Sales Up 4.8% While Comp Store Sales Dip

Zumiez Inc. today announced that total net sales for the five-week period ended October 4, 2008 increased 4.8% to $33.6 million, compared to $32.1 million for the five-week period ended October 6, 2007.
10/10/2008

Jetpilot Announces Website Launch

The Web site is designed with efficiency and clarity in mind. The goal was simple: Create a window into the world of Jetpilot and what the brand is all about.
10/06/2008

Grenade Launches Footwear Collection

Grenade Footwear was designed to cover our feet when the days grew colder and so we could stop rummaging through the bins at Goodwill for the next good pair to skate.
10/06/2008

Furl TV To Conquer Colorado On Comcast

Exciting new Fall snowboard series “The Adventures of Danny & The Dingo” and “Standard Snowboard Show” perfect for new market.
10/06/2008

Sign Up For SIMA's HR Boot Camp Today

Registration open for 4th event in SIMA’s new educational Coot Camp Series: HR Boot Camp.
10/06/2008

DC Supports "Movember" With Limited Edition Sandal Release

For the second consecutive year DC is proud to support Movember, an annual charity ‘mo’-vement committed to changing the way men think about, discuss and treat their own health issues.
10/06/2008



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