Retail Profiles: Icons Of Surf

josh hunter

May 27 2009
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The Icons Crew: (L-R) Anthony Manfredi, Ben, Matt, Evan, Ken Mockett, Chris Carlow, and Matt.

Icons Of Surf
710 N. El Camino Real, San Clemente, CA
(949) 429-7133
www.iconsofsurf.com

When Ken Mockett opened Icons Of Surf in San Clemente, California he took a simple approach to entering the retail business. After visiting more than twenty surf shops in Southern California looking for a new board and not finding anything he was interested in, Mockett had an idea. He rented out a small space on Pacific Coast Highway, called his ten favorite shapers, ordered ten boards from each of them, and lined the walls of the shop with one-of-a-kind custom surfboards from labels like Bing, Jacobs, Dewey Weber, Gato Heroi, and Christenson.

Now, five years later Icons of Surf has moved into a new 3,700 square-foot location right down the street from its original location. It has sold over 4,000 boards, stocks more than 300 at a time, and has enjoyed 25-percent growth since September 2008. The shop is anything but typical.

When asked to name the stores closest competition, Mockett replies: “We have no competition because there’s no other shop like this!” The store’s inventory is 75-percent hardgoods and every board in the shop is a custom design. Bonzers, quads, twin fins, stingers, hulls, noseriders—if you can dream it up then chances are Icons Of Surf probably has one in stock. Resin tint, gloss coated masterpieces line the store’s racks like candy, and even the most jaded surfboard collector will find something they want to add to their quiver.

“If it’s mainstream, we don’t want it,” says Mockett. “We intentionally don’t carry mass market brands. Every board in the shop is handmade in the USA by a craftsman. No imports.”

The softgoods offering in the store is unconventional as well. Heritage brands like Birdwell Beach Britches hang next to art-inspired lines like Ando & Friends and Australia’s Shortstraw. The wetsuit offering includes brands like Nine Plus, Gato Heroi, Matuse, and Es-cent-ial and range from conventional cuts of rubber to full retro beaver tails.

“The big thing for us is integrity; integrity in business and surfing with integrity,” adds Mockett, who stresses customer service as the most important aspect of the business.

At Icons Of Surf customer service comes in the form of nine staff members that all surf together on a regular basis. In fact, Mockett takes the entire staff on a surf trip once a year. Last year they went to Kauai. This year they’re headed to Japan in October.

The shop’s online store is also growing. While Mockett chose not to comment on what percentage of the store’s overall sales come from online business, he did say the Web site is a key part of the business.