Retail Profiles: Minneapolis, Minnesota’s Cal Surf

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• April 26 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.

Cal Surf
1715 W. Lake St.
Minneapolis, MN 55408
www.cal-surf.com
info@cal-surf.com
612.822.6840
Owner: Scott Oreschnick

How many square feet is the shop?
2800

How long has the store been open?
April Fools Day 1988

What was your experience before opening the shop?
I started skating in 1979. I graduated from the University of Minnesota, started working at Cal Surf in 1991, and bought it in 1999.

Do you have an online store, and what’s the percentage of sales compared to brick and mortar?
Yes, about 5%.

What percentage of your inventory is dedicated to the following?

Hardgoods?
By dollars, 20% skateboard hardgoods, 20% snowboard hardgoods, 5% accessories. Obviously by volume we do a lot more with skateboards than snowboards.

Men’s Apparel?
15%

Junior’s?
Less than 1%

Accessories?
5%

Footwear?
35%

Sandals?
Less than 1%

What are your top three most profitable product categories?
Shoes, accessories, apparel (by margin), not necessarily in that order.

What has been the single best-selling brand in your store over the past six months?
Nike SB

Who are the top sales reps at your store and why?
I love them all and hate them all. All around service was better before product became overdistributed and sold into non-skate shops.

What is your overall impression of the local market over the last six months?
It is definitely in a down cycle. Skaters are still skating, but the MTV kid has already bought his/her board and since that kid is not a skater, they already have their skate uniform and they don’t need a new deck as they don’t break anything skating in between soccer practice and piano lessons. Thankfully, we predominately have passionate kids shopping here.

What store is your closest competition?
Familia

What are your overall expectations for your business in the next six to twelve months?
I expect to be flat to a little down. I don’t anticipate a great back to school. I also think it is going to be a tough year in the snowboard market. A year out I anticipate our business will be better because of contraction in the industry amongst shops, vendors and online dealers.

How is your shop altering the way its buys for 2009?
We are being more selective with certain categories. However, we are a skateboard shop. We sell to all types of skaters. We are going to make sure not to give sales away because we only cater to one type of skater.

Is your shop working closer with any particular brands?
We have done some special projects with Nike SB, DC Shoes and Spitfire Wheels in the past year. We have solid relationships with most of our vendors and we welcome their input on how to grow their brands. We have a lot of events in the works for this year and we will partner up with vendors for those events.

What are some things brands are doing to work with your shop?
We will have our usual string of demos and in-store appearances this year. We have some companies that have stepped up to the plate with custom pop or unique buying programs to differentiate their brand in the store. In these times it is important to separate your shop from everybody else. A standard pop package that goes to the “a” shops or “b” shops from every company can look really bad in the store. Slatwall cards or displays don’t work if you don’t use slatwall in your store. The store as a brand is strong right now and can strengthen a company’s image. The vendors need to customize their programs to work with the shops.