Retail Profiles: San Diego’s Hanger 94

kailee bradstreet

• April 22 2009
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“30 Shops In 30 Days” is our way of keeping a close eye on what’s happening with retailers across the country. Over the course of a month, we’ll feature a new in-depth shop profile every day. Is your shop interested in being profiled? Contact us at business@transworld.net.

Hanger 94
5270 Jackson Drive
San Diego, Calif.
Hanger94.com
619.469.949

Milo Myers has been working in retail since he was 16 years old. After years of being a shop kid, the San Diego native moved on to open his own store, Emerald City, in 1987 in Coronado and Mission Beach and later he created his own line of apparel, SMP Clothing. Ten years ago, he settled into retail and has been running Hanger 94 ever since, although the shop has moved from its original location in Rancho San Diego to a bigger, 14,500-square-foot space in La Mesa.

Myers describes himself as quiet and says that he doesn’t like to promote himself or the shop, but the industry is certainly taking notice of Hanger 94’s success: The shop was recently nominated for a 2009 Breakthrough Retailer of the Year SIMA Image Award. On top of that, Hanger 94’s online store has been recognized as one of the best out there. Myers took some time to talk to TransWorld Business about the shop and his take on the current economy and state of the industry.

Hanger 94 seems to have a large selection of product available at its online store. How does your online store compare to brick and mortar?
We pretty much mirror every product we have in the store with what’s offered online. Our site is one of the highest ranked and we have the largest selection of any other online retailer within the surf, skate and snow industry. So that’s really where we are focusing our energy and attention.

How are you continuing to improve online sales?
We are continuing to maintain and advance the technology with e-commerce. We have two full-time programmers and three full-time employees dedicated to working with online sales.

How long has the site been up and running?
About two years. We had an online store back ten years ago but the industry shut it down. We had a few manufacturers that weren’t happy that we were selling online. But a few years ago we realized it was time to jump back into it and now we’re going strong.

What percentage of your inventory is dedicated to the following?

Hardgoods?
We have about 40 percent of total dollar value in hardgoods. That’s distributed equally amongst skate decks, snowboards and surfboards. We have about 400 skate decks on our wall. We started off as a a true, core skate shop at the old store and then ventured more into surf [and snow].

Apparel?
30 percent

Footwear?
30 percent

What footwear brands do you carry?
C1RCA, Lakai, DVS, Osiris, Vans, Supra, Fallen, etnies, and a few others.

How do you select the brands that you do carry?
We only sell true core brands. If kids walk in here and we have brands that are not legit, we look stupid. We are a brand in a lot of ways ourselves and we don’t want to dilute the value of our brand. We’re probably losing some money by doing it that way, but by not chasing the money the money is often times there. Brands that sponsor athletes and advertise in the major magazines are usually the ones we carry, but even that doesn’t always mean we will. I know I can walk around with my head up because we’re giving back to the industry by supporting core brands. If the head of a company is still getting in the water everyday, and still out there skating everyday, and participating as an active part of the industry, I look at that brand as still giving back to this industry.

Have you altered the way you’re buying for 2009. If so, how?
Yes, we look at the brands individually and see what core products are really selling and only buy those items. We really focus on what each brand’s core strengths are. What’s happened is that the consumer has obviously narrowed down what they are buying, too. It’s made it easier for us to cut down on that fringe buying.

What’s your closest competition in the area?
Macy’s is right across the street and they sell most of the top performing brands that we sell, so we’ve really had to look at product buys and start to diversify. They are going to have the basic black boardshort or chino, so we’ve made sure to buy other colors that you wouldn’t find there.

What are some things brands are doing to work with you shop?
We have a great working relationship with all the key brands and through the tough times we haven’t had to do anything to strengthen those relationships because they were already there. Vans is the easiest to work with - they are what we call true partners. Billabong, Quiksilver, Volcom, Rip Curl - they all make sure we are making margins and are shipping on time. In shoes, Podium has been great. Those brands are the majority of our business.

What was your reaction to being nominated for the 2009 Breakthrough Retailer of the Year SIMA Image Award?
I don’t think we will win, but we were nominated so it’s huge. We do a great job out here on our little island.