Retail Profiles: Nor’Easter Surf Shop, Massachusetts

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• April 24 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.

Nor’Easter Surf Shop
376 Gannett Rd.
N. Scituate Mass. 02066
781.544.4610
noreastersurfshop.com

Locations: 1
Square Feet: 8,000
Open Since: 1989
Owner: Mark Keup

What was your experience before opening your own shop?
Nada. I learned from my mistakes and I made a lot of them. My parents gave me a great work ethic. Shoveling driveways,newspaper routes - do those count?

Do you have an online store?
No.

What percentage of your inventory is dedicated to the following?

Hardgoods?
55%

Men’s apparel?
18%

Junior’s apparel?
10%

Accessories?
10%

Footwear?
2%

Sandals?
5%

What are your top three most profitable product categories?
Accessories (mostly sunglasses- small footprint, high profit), hardgoods (surfboards,wetsuits,skateboards) and sandals/boardshorts.

What has been the single best-selling brand over the past six months?
O’Neill wetsuits and clothing.

Who are the top three sales reps who service your store, and what sets them apart?
Greg Levy, O’Neill,FCS; Derek Wallace (been with us non-stop since day one), Costa Del Mar, Olakai, Croakies; and Marc Angellilo, RipCurl, Ocean Minded, Creatures of Leisure, Kialoa, Future Fins.

We have many good reps but these guys were in the shop this week so I remembered their names first.
The lazy reps are long gone - weeded out by the slow economy.

What is your overall impression of the market over the last six months?
We’re a hardgoods shop, so recessions tend to be slightly up times for us because people want to escape the doomsday TV/newspaper reports. Nothing makes you forget about the recession like a set wave looming on the horizon. This is our third recession and we have come out stronger after each one.
We do not have a tourist base to lean on during the summer - kinda of a good thing. We have never depended on their dollars so now that that’s drying up, we don’t feel the shrinkage in sales because we never had it to begin with. The ding business,ding repair kits and aqua seal sales are way up. Customers are making their boards and wetsuits last a little longer.

What stores are your closest competition in the area?
We are surrounded by PacSun (3), Zumiez (1), Hollister (2) and all the other mall clothing stores. Purposely we are positioned heavily in hardgoods; the posers won’t touch it because of the customer service that is required and the lower margins. Our whole shop crew surfs and skates…But a quick nickel is better than a slow dime (I can not remember who told me that - someone wicked smart). Without the posers what would we have to bitch about except the cold water and the lack of waves. Everything has its purpose!

Overall expectations for your business over the next 6 to 12 months?
Up 3-5%. Higher if the summer waves are a repeat of ‘08.

Are you altering the way you buy for 2009? If so, how?
We are buying more U.S.-made surfboards, because we are seeing a heavy backlash against the overseas surfboards. We are also getting much tighter with our buying on clothing and footwear. No more styles just to add color to the racks, if it’s not a ‘dumb-dumb, no-brainer, all day long’ then it’s not in my shop. Sorry design guys, New England surfers are fairly conservative.

Is your shop working closer with any particular brands?
We will be working closer with the companies our customers are buying. When the economy recovers we’ll start experimenting again. [top three best-selling brands are Oakley, Weber and Roger Beal boards, and Olukai.]

What are some things brands are doing to work with your shop?
Window displays, POP, sponsoring shop riders to get the word out, co-sponsoring shop events, pro rider shop visits, and public tech sessions. We will be working with them harder this year than in the past.
Hopefully some of the brands will re-examine their distribution and get back to their roots. Money isn’t everything.