Transworld Business Surf Hardgoods Retail Survey: Part 2

josh hunter

• January 09 2009
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Beginning in November and running through December, Transworld Business surveyed 185 leading surfboard retailers from around the county in order to present an accurate report on the state of the surf hardgoods market. Every shop we contacted is a reputable surf hardgoods dealer with extensive experience in the marketplace. There is much more data than can compressed into one post, so stay tuned to Transworldbusiness.com over the next few weeks for up-coming installments from our comprehensive assessment of the surf hardgoods market.

Surfboard retailers and manufacturers have not been impervious to the current economic climate, and the results of the Transworld Business Surf Hardgoods Retail Survey reflect that. When asked to rate the current state of the surf hardgoods market, here’s what retailers had to say:

In this second installment, we’re breaking down what the leading surfboard retailers in the U.S. are stocking their boardrooms with by construction/ materials.

First we asked retailers to break down their inventory into three major construction categories:

Then we asked retailers to break down their surfboard inventory into sub-categories, in order to get a clear picture of what types of products are currently in the market place. (Click on the chart below to enlarge)

To further explain the chart above, the data from the survey shows that more than 81-percent of the research sample’s inventory is dedicated to foam core surfboards, which are boards made of PU, epoxy, or a combination of the two.

Of that 81-percent, approximately 76-percent of foam core boards currently stocked in retailer’s inventories are made of PU foam and glass, followed by EPS foam and epoxy resin (21-percent).

Advanced composite boards take up the next largest chunk of rack space, at approximately 15-percent.  Retailers report that nearly 61-percent of that space is occupied by boards featuring cored composite sandwich constructions. With an additional 37-percent of advanced composite inventory being dedicated to hollow composite sandwich constructions.

To better understand the construction classifications above, read the following definitions provide by SIMA’s Board Builders Special Interest Group:

Surfboard Construction Categories and Definitions

Foam Core
• Polyurethane/Foam and Glass (PU) - often referred to as the “traditional” surfboard construction method, this process uses a polyurethane foam blank, fiberglass cloth and polyester resin.

• Polyurethane Foam/ Epoxy Resin - often referred to as the “traditional” surfboard construction method, this process uses a polyurethane foam blank, fiberglass cloth and EPOXY resin.

• EPS/Epoxy - a construction method using an expanded polystyrene or extruded blank, fiberglass cloth and laminated with epoxy resin.

Advanced Composite
• Hollow Composite Sandwich (i.e. Hydro Epic, Aviso, S-Core, etc.) - this category of surfboard construction includes boards that feature a hollow skeleton made of a composite material such as carbon.

• Cored Composite Sandwich (i.e. Tuflite/Surftech, Boardworks, Placebo, Firewire, etc.) - a construction mehtod using a low density foam core covered by a sandwich of laminates and high performance sheet foam filler.

• Thermo Plastic Skinned (i.e. NSP, Bic, South Point, etc.) – this category of surfboard construction includes boards that generally feature a medium density foam core reinforced by fiberglass and resin, and covered in a thermo plastic skin.

Softboards
• Closed Cell Polyethylene (i.e. BZ, INT, Doyle, Morey, etc.) – a construction method using a high density, resilient foam core with a semi-soft sheet foam exterior and some type of hard skinned bottom.

For a little background info on the retailers we surveyed, check out these statistics: