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PLUS: NEWS, EVENTS, RETAILER HELP, BRAND PROFILES: CONTRACT SNOWBOARDS, CREATURES OF LEISURE, URBAN KREATION

SNEAKER filth 4 PAGES Of SKAtE ShOE PORN!

SNOWBOARD MARKET2009/10 EUROPEAN SAlES ANAlYSiS

KEEPING IT (UN)REAL:thE RiSE Of COUNtERfEit SKAtE GOODS

BiG BUSiNESS iN SMAllS - thE UNDERWEAR MARKEt UNCOVERED

BIG WIG INTERVIEW: adidas' jascha muller

#049. OCTOBER 2010. €5

E U R O P E A N S U R F / S K A T E / S N O W B U S I N E S S

INSIDE THE ISSUENEWS

FINANcIAL INDExRETAILER AWARD – INSOMNIA, BULGARIA

RETAILER HELPEVENT ANALySIS – TONy HAWK TOUR

cOUNTERFEIT SKATE GOODSLIFE AFTER PRO SURFING

SKATE SHOE PIcTORIALHUB TRADE SHOW REVIEW

INDUSTRy INSIGHT – MEDIA TRAININGBIG WIG INTERVIEW

SNOWBOARD MARKET ANALySISSOcK & JOcKS

NEW SKATE SHOE BRANDS BRAND PROFILE – cONTRAcT

BRAND PROFILE – URBAN KREATION BRAND PROFILE – cREATURES OF LEISURE

NEW PRODUcTS MARKET INTELLIGENcE

OPPORTUNITIES EVENTS

ONE EyED MONSTER

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049

i found a nice quote on a friend’s Facebook profile the other day. It’s by Jim Muir and goes way back to 1898: “Thousands of tired, nerve-shaken, over-civilized people are beginning to find out that going to the mountain is going home; that wilderness is necessity.” When I secretly stole it from his page to make it my own post, I realised that others liked it too and saw it being perpetrated through the web on the same day. Wilderness stuff on Facebook in 2010? What’s up with us boardsports people? I have a theory on it: Although we’re certainly not moving into the wild – unless there are some really good spots out there – most of us feel like we go “home” when we’re on our boards. Whether in the mountains, on the streets or on water – we’re free and uninhibited by rules and limitations, creatively seeking our emotional outlet. That is… until another little Facebook message reminds us that one of our friends has just made some toast, can’t sleep, or that XYZ “likes BoardsportSOURCE” (which you’re meant to check out right now).

Let’s get this straight. We’re nerve-shaken wrecks, longing for time in the wilderness, but all we over-civilised boardsports people are mostly subjected to nowadays is INFORMATION, and this is exactly what we’ve got for this SKATE Issue. Covering one

of the most visible trends of the moment, we look at the new skate shoe brands on the block. Ever since marketing departments have figured that there are loads of people with two feet out there, we’re seeing footwear brands popping up everywhere. Looking at newcomers such as WeSC Footwear or Kr3w Footwear, we’re trying to find out what the newbies are bringing to the table. Our Big Wig Interview also works in the footwear business – Germany’s Jascha Muller - Global Sports Marketing Manager at adidas Skateboarding at only 26 years of age, tells us about his background and his view of the industry. Counterfeiting in skateboarding is another, and much more negative, trend that we’re looking at. Also, we ponder the outcome of the Tony Hawk Tour, consider the role of athletes in the industry; and finally we profile some newly formed companies and some industry pioneers in our Brand Profiles: Contract Snowboards, Urban Kreation, and Creatures of Leisure. As you can see, there’s no time for the wilderness at the moment. And now back to Facebook.

Holger von Krosigk

Managing and English Editor Jojo [email protected]

Surf and French Editor Iker [email protected]

Snowboard Editor Rémi [email protected]

Skateboard Editor Holger Von [email protected]

German Editor fine lines marketing [email protected]

Art Director Owen Tozer at [email protected]

French Editorial Assistant Denis Houillé[email protected]

Web & News Editor James [email protected]

Proofreaders Jo Fairweather, Lydia Heckl, Marie-laure Ducos

Contributors Uwe Ballon, Chus Castéjo, Dave ‘DC’ Colwill, Fabien Grisel, Franz Hoeller, Muck Müller, Digby Reed, João Rei, Luke Van Unen, Dirk Vogel, Denis Houillé, Matt Barr, Chris Moran.

Jobs and Distributor Services Digby [email protected]

Advertising & Marketing Clive [email protected]

Germanic Markets Advertising Konrad ‘Kone’ [email protected]+49 (0) 89 5526 0915

Production [email protected]

Accounts [email protected]

To [email protected]

Publisher Clive [email protected]

Published by Extreme Sport Business22 Friars Street, SudburySuffolk, CO10 2AA. UK

Boardsport SOURCE is published bi-monthly© Extreme Sport Business. All Rights Reserved

www.boardsportsource.com

ON thE COVER Frode Goa, Founder of Shit Skateboards. Nollie BS tailslide, Randaberg, Norway.

CONtENtS Tony Hawk in Brightonphoto: James McPhail

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in any retrieval system of any nature without prior written permission, except for permitted fair dealing under the Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988. Application for permission for use of copyright material including permission to reproduce extracts in other public works shall be made to the publishers. Full acknowledgement of author, publisher and source must be given. The views expressed in this publication are not those necessarily held by the Publisher.ISSN # 1478-4777

10. www.boardsportsource.com www.boardsportsource.com 11

Benoit Brecq has been appointed Communication and Team Manager at Hoff Europe. His role includes supporting their European and international distributors, getting media exposure for all brands of the company, creating ads and events, supervising photo shoots, managing budgets and making brands books, and also the management of all Surf, Skate and Bodyboard teams of the company. Prior to this Benoit was in charge of developing web marketing activities at Hoff, bringing a strong background in sales and marketing for this position.

O'Neill has entered the headphone market in collaboration with Philips. The Philips/O’Neill headphones collection will feature four high performance styles - two headband style The Stretch, inspired by heavy-duty materials and wetsuit styling and The Snug, a flat-folding headphone. The in-ear selection includes The Covert, a discreet bud with iPhone control, and The Specked, which comes with tangle-free cords. The campaign will be spearheaded by selected O’Neill team riders, Jeremy Jones, Mark Mathews and Ane Enderud and available at retail stores throughout Europe.

Following exceptional growth Iron Fist clothing and footwear, run in Europe by Jackson Distribution, have moved to a larger premises, increasing their warehouse space to 42,000 square feet. From its European debut in 2004 turnover has doubled year-on-year and the same growth is forecasted again following a successful selling season. Iron Fist are fast becoming a highly recognised brand having successfully branched out from the niche player they once were.

O’NEill LAUNCH HEADPHONES

iRON fiSt EXPAND

BURtON

hOlDEN

ZiMtStERN

INDUSTRY NEWS 049hOff

VölKl

MERViN MANUfACtURiNG

for daily breaking news go to:- for daily breaking news...

OMAREEf

CREAtURES Of lEiSURE mOvERs and shakERsCORpORaTE EvEnTs

ARBOR

APO Snow have been acquired by a Swiss company. Its Founder, Regis Rolland (pictured), stated, “After a difficult year of recovery proceedings, I am really proud to have found investors to continue the APOcalypse story.” Regis founded Apocalypse in 1985, A-snowboards in 1993 and APO in 2003. The APO team will still be part of the new company and we will step-up its efforts in this new era thanks to stronger financial support.

On Sunday December 19th the international snowboard community will mobilise to give the general public the opportunity to try out snowboarding. Worldwide federations, schools, clubs, shops, resorts and riders will offer a large number of free activities for beginners to advanced snowboarders all for free. Since its creation in 2006, World Snowboard Day has seen the number of its events multiplied by four to reach 139 events in 2009. With about 1900 activities and more than 70,000 participants, WSD has become a key event and point of reference for the international snowboard community. For more information go to www.world-snowboard-day.com, and join the World Snowboard Day community on Facebook, Twitter and MySpace. And don’t forget to spread the word!

ispo has launched the ‘Your Key To Trade Fair Success Initiative’, a new service designed to help exhibitors improve their trade show results by offering a comprehensive package of procedures including instruction and training, check lists and other services. This new service for exhibitors at ispo 2011 consists of theoretical advice, as well as practical solutions for the challenges presented by trade fair planning, realisation and follow-up. A wide range of professional online instructions and training, workshops, check lists, tools and services is available via the online information portal http://www.ispo.initiativemesseerfolg.de/en/ispo/index.html. The initiative is managed by Meplan GmbH, a subsidiary of Messe München.

The tuxedos and party frocks were out in full force at the 2010 Waterman’s Ball. Eurosima presented a number of awards: first up its ecological innovation prize and ¤5,000 went to Völkl for its range of ecologically friendly snowboards. The Technological Innovation prize and ¤5,000 was won by Sport Contrôle for the protective earplugs SORKY developed in partnership with Sympatex that protect ears from infections or other diseases linked with aquatic sports. The Performance Group of the Year award went to GSM for its 2009-2010 results and also for its steady growth for the past 10 years. Finally Maxime Huscenot received the European Athlete of the Year award for his ASP World Junior title at Narrabeen, Australia. The 17 year-old is the first European surfer to win this trophy. The EuroSIMA Board honored Amaury Lavernhe with the EuroSIMA Special Award for winning the 2010 IBA world bodyboard tour and Michel Hoff, former General Manager of SAS Aupa Hoff and EuroSIMA founder member, received the Lifetime Achievement award for his active contribution to the development of the boardsports industry and culture in France and Europe.

APO FIND NEW INVESTOR

SPREAD THE WORD - WORlD SNOWBOARD DAY 2010

iSPO LAUNCH NEW TRADE SHOW SUCCESS INITIATIVE

EUROSiMA PRESENT BIG AWARDS AT THE WATERMAN’S BALL

With so many lens tints, coatings and filters available for different environmental conditions, it can be demanding for even industry experts to select the optimum combinations and nearly impossible for less experienced consumers. With this problem in mind Oakley went back into the design bunker to create OakleyView, an application that brings real-life sport scenarios into the retail environment and enhances the consumer experience in an interactive way.

The OakleyView app realistically simulates sporting and everyday environments in different light conditions and then allows the user to compare the effect of 18 unique lens tints. The App features landscape panoramas, 360˚ views and zoom options. A self-explanatory, internationally comprehensible system of icons means the application can be implemented universally. This will enable Oakley retailers to help consumers experience the advantages the different lenses offer before they purchase the product. Official Oakley dealers can request a flash version to embed on their web pages.

OAKlEY UNVEIL NEW LENS APP

Vans EMEA is launching a new line of outerwear purely dedicated to the European market. Historically Vans Europe has run the same outwear line as North America but following strong sales in Europe the decision was made to launch a more specific line that takes into account European cut and colours. The news range consists of jackets and pants for both women and men.

Factory Media Ltd, has acquired six brands from the German publisher B&D Verlag GmbH, The media assets acquired consist of six consumer magazines and six websites, Surfers (www.surfersmag.de), Moto X (www.motoxmag.de), Skiing (www.skiing.de), Snowboarder MBM (www.snowboardermbm.de), Freedom BMX (www.freedombmx.de) and Skateboard MSM (www.skateboardmsm.de). The additional brands will boost Factory Media’s total assets to 19 print magazines and 23 websites, published in six languages.

Stereo and Hi-Fi Wheels have signed a long-term international licensing agreement with owners of Theeve Trucks and Armourdillo, Antics International. Stereo was founded in ‘92 by Jason Lee and Chris Pastras and the agreement with Antics, which is based in Vista, will allow them to focus on the creative and marketing side of the brand while Antics handles the day-to-day sales, distribution, production and international operations.

VANS LAUNCH EURO-SPECIFIC OUTERWEAR

fACtORY MEDiA BUYS GERMANY’S LARGEST ACTION SPORTS MEDIA PORTFOLIO

StEREO & hi-fi WhEElS SIGN NEW LICENSING AGREEMENT

A final YES was given in Oslo finalising the plan to host the inaugural World Snowboarding Championships (WSC) in the winter of 2012. The WSC will be held every four years featuring men and women’s slopestyle and halfpipe competitions, and will crown a world champion for each gender and discipline. Riders will qualify through the Swatch TTR World Rankings and the WSF National championships and every nation will be involved in the qualifying system via its National Snowboard Association.

WORlD SNOWBOARD ChAMPiONShiPS GETS GO-AHEAD

Marian Kaeding has been appointed as new European Marketing Director for Burton Europe overseeing all European Marketing aspects for the Burton, Red & Anon brands and reporting to Europe’s General Manager Hermann Kapferer. Marian has officially been in his new role since August based out of their HQ in Innsbruck. Previously to this Marian had been Marketing and Sales Director for Forum, Special Blend and Foursquare at Burton Sportartikel GmbH for five years when the brands were merged with Burton Corp.

Holden Outerwear has filled three important additions at the company. Colin Madden joins the staff as Holden’s Vice President of Sales, previously he was a Director of Sales at Burton most recently Vice President of Sales at Neff, Alex Messmer will direct Holden’s European distribution. Alex, formerly with Rusty Europe, Volcom and Vestal Watches Europe will be based in Biarritz.

Zimtstern are shaking up their sales and marketing with a number of new appointments. Stefan Lehnert will be taking the position as the Head of Sales; previously he was the Sales Manager for DC Shoes in Germany and Austria. Reto Scheidegger will now concentrate on the marketing of the winter and summer collections as well as overseeing the new product category Zimtstern Bike. The Swiss sales team will be strengthened by Cyrill Fischer, who had been working for the distributors Dac Sport and Bussport for many years as a sales representative and will be responsible for the regions Berne, Basel, Vallais and central Switzerland. Markus Berger will work with key accounts covering the rest of German speaking Switzerland and Tessin. French speaking Switzerland will continue to be handled by Casoar SA.

Snowboard industry vet and former pro snowboarder, Kyle Phil is Mervin Manufacturing’s new Vice President of Sales. Kyle will oversee sales for all Mervin brands and categories including Lib-Tech, Gnu and Roxy reporting to Mervin GM, Ryan Hollis. Kyle will also manage retail marketing including point of purchase and trade shows. While his main focus will be the Americas, he will work closely with global partners and distributors. Beyond snowboards, Kyle will also be working with to expand skate, binding and NAS sales.

Nicolas Dazet has been appointed as Quiksilver Technical Division’s new Marketing Director and Miky Picon is the new Director of European Marketing and Products. A Hossegor native, ‘Daz’ founded Concrete Entertainment in 2001, which combined his two passions surfing and imagery. His most successful work behind the camera has been Quiksilver’s Cloud 9 plus other projects for Canal+. Daz made his debut in marketing during the late 90s with Arnette. Miky has been a Quiksilver team member for many years, so following his decision to "hang up" (his surfboard professionally) it was a natural move to take his experience into the business side of the equation.

Hervé Lacastaigneratte is now the European Brand Manager of Creatures of Leisure based in South West France. He is responsible for all aspects of brand management, distributor support, marketing, surf team and overall European business development and will report directly to Creatures global headquarters in Western Australia. Hervé previously spent many years with Quiksilver Europe working in a number of key roles including Product Line Manager (Wetsuits and Accessories), Marketing Director (Europe) and then General Manager of the European Technical Division.

Arbor have announced three new appointments for the Winter 2010/2011 season. Andy Rieger joins the crew as Team and Events Manager. Additionally Andy will be Arbor’s Online Marketing Manager and Bavarian sales rep. Frank Meyer joins the team as new National Sales Manager for Austria and Germany and will cover Eastern Germany sales and support directly in house the needs of all retailers. Philipp Suwa joins Arbor in logistics and admin and is also in charge of supporting the Arbor Demotour.

Starting from the delivery of the seasons’ main orders, Coniv Sports will now do the turns for Völkl Snowboards in Switzerland. This move means the former agency structure will be replaced by a distribution channel, retailers will benefit from reduced delivery times as well as a simplification of account issues. Harry Gunz - Völkl former distribution partner and eminent European snowboard greybeard - has decided to follow his other passion for mountain bikes. His new responsibility will be boosting the sales of an upcoming bike wear brand, Qloom. RadAir will continue to be distributed through Marker Völkl International and the RadAir Tanker can also still be ordered from Harry Gunz. Völkl Ski and Marker Bindings as well as Völkl Performance Wear will still be handled by Völkl Switzerland AG.

12. www.boardsportsource.com

Stock Name Stock Symbol 52 Week High

52 Week Low

P/E Market Cap (millions)

Latest Price

(time of press)

YTD Total

Return

Brands

Adidas AG GR:ADS ¤45.77 ¤31.35 16.788 ¤9.096BN ¤41.10 20.513

Amer Sports Corp AMEAS:FH ¤9.10 ¤5.15 12.087 ¤1.059BN ¤8.72 62.255 Atomic, Bonfire, Salomon

Billabong International BBG:AU AUS$12.32 AUS$7.31 13.752 AUS$2.032BN AUS$8.030 21.066Billabong, Element, Kustom, Von Zipper, Nixon, Excel, DaKine, Sector 9

Columbia Sport NASDAQ:COLM $60.10 $37.02 28.074 $1.918BN $56.71 37.417

Collective Brands PSS:US $26.65 $12.41 9.863 $1.022BN $15.88 -15.307 Airwalk, Lamar, Sims, Vision Street Wear

Globe International Ltd ASX:GLB AUS$0.76 AUS$0.38 23.975 AUS$31,512,000 AUS$0.760 76.744Dwindle (almost, blind, Darkstar, enjoi, Tensor, Speed Demons, Globe, Cliche)

Iconix ICON:US $19.08 $10.75 14.441 $1.232BN $17.04 -1.96 Ocean Pacific, Zoo York

Intersport PSC Holding XSWX:IHSN CHF139.90 CHF100.00 14.663 CHF44,000,000 CHF100.000 6.680

Jarden Corp. JAH:US $35.11 $24.55 12.996 $2.726BN $29.76 9.851 Adio, Hawk Shoes, Holden, K2, Morrow, Planet Earth, Ride, Volkl

LaFuma SA FP:LAF ¤14.66 ¤10.40 7.390 ¤39,568,000 ¤11.38 -0.175 Oxbow

Luxottica Group Spa IM:LUX ¤22.27 ¤16.17 24.825 ¤9.222BN ¤19.92 13.480 Oakley, Arnette

Nike Inc NKE:US $78.61 $57.66 20.297 $37.799 BN $78.66 36.353 Converse, Hurley, Nike SB, Nike 6.0, ACG, Nike Snowboarding

Orange 21 ORNG:US $1.65 $0.25 N/A $19,130,000 $1.60 25.000 Spy Optics

Quiksilver Inc NYSE:ZQK $6.09 $1.63 23.875 $626,268,000 $3.84 34.266 Bent Metal, DC, GNU, Quiksilver, Quiksilver Womens, Roxy

VF Corp VFC:US $89.23 $68.60 13.063 $8.466BN $78.43 11.445 Vans, Pro-Tec, Eastpak, The North Face, Reef

Volcom Inc VLCM:US $24.79 $14.76 18.040 $435,913,000 $17.86 10.794 Volcom, Electric

WeSC SS:WESC SEK 123.50 SEK 69.25 18.011 SEK 878,946,000 119.000 58.173

Zumiez Inc ZUMZ:US $22.53 $10.68 45.919 $624,169,000 $20.40 19.075

GLOBE INTERNATIONAL made a NPAT of $1.3 million for the financial year ended 30 June 2010. This result, while modest, is a significant improvement compared to the loss of $8.9 million reported for the prior year. Total revenues for the year were $91.7 million, 22% below the $117.6 million reported in the prior year. In constant currency terms, net sales were 9% below the prior year, excluding the impact of the discontinuation of the Australian retail business. Despite the reduction in total revenues, the Group generated $5.5 million of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation, compared to a loss of $4.5 million in the prior year. This $10 million turn-around in profitability is directly attributable to the restructuring undertaken during 2009 and the refined approach to working capital management and on-going cost control at all levels. The strength of the Group’s financial position continued to improve, with $6 million cash generated from operations during the financial year and the Group had cash of $14.9 million and no debt, Globe expect that conditions in FW11 will continue to be volatile and, as such, revenue growth is difficult to predict.

VF CORP posted record Q2 earnings despite the expected slow down in the world economic recovery. Revenues in the period rose 7% to $1.59 billion compared with $1.48 billion for the second quarter of 2009. Net income and earnings per share reached record levels in the quarter, with each increasing by 47%. Net income rose to $110.8 million, compared with $75.5 million in the 2009 quarter. These results were attributed to lower product costs, continued expansion and improved gross margins in retail stores and lower inventories. VFC said their direct-to-consumer businesses remains an important long-term driver of both organic growth and margin expansion, with these revenues increasing 7%, driven by 25 new store openings in the quarter. The direct-to-consumer businesses of The North Face and Vans brands each achieved double-digit revenue gains in the period. The company has raised its outlook for the year now expecting revenues to increase 4 - 5% in 2010.

VOLCOM INC. Total consolidated revenues were $62.5 million for Q2 2010 compared with $54.2 million in Q2 in 2009. Total revenues in the company's US segment, which includes revenues from US, Canada, Japan and most other international territories outside of Europe, as well as the company's branded retail stores, were $50.8 million, compared with $43.6 million in the prior-year period. Total revenues in the company's Europe segment were $5.1 million, compared with $5.9 million in the same period in 2009. Total revenues in the company's Electric segment were $6.6 million, compared with $4.7 million in 2009. At June 30, 2010 the company had cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaling $110 million, and no long-term debt. For the 2010 third quarter outlook the company currently expects total consolidated revenues of approximately $102 million to $105 million.

QUIKSILVER Net revenues from continuing operations for Q3 of fiscal 2010 were $441.5 million compared to $501.4 million in Q3 of fiscal 2009. Pro-forma consolidated income from continuing operations for Q3 2010 was $12.5 million compared to $3.7 million for Q3 2009. In the Americas, net revenues decreased 9% during this third quarter to $234.6 million from $256.8 million in the same quarter last year. European net revenues decreased 20% during the third quarter of fiscal 2010 to $151.7 million from $189 million in Q3 2009. In constant currency, European segment net revenues decreased 11%. Shortly after the end of Q3 the company completed a debt-for-equity exchange with its investment partner Rhône Capital, this reduced its quarter-end debt level by $140 million in exchange for approximately 31.1 million shares of Quiksilver common stock priced at $4.50 per share. The Company stated that based on current trends, Q4 revenues are expected to be down in the mid-teens on a percentage basis compared to the same quarter a year ago.

BILLABONG Sales in Europe lifted 5.2% over the prior year taking full year European sales to $344 million. Key products in Europe through the period included the Group’s technical range of snowboard outerwear and wetsuits, which showed double-digit sales growth. The t-shirt category continued to show good momentum and accessories performed strongly, particularly the backpack segment. Changes are being introduced throughout the business to allow it to support greater speed to market and therefore accommodate the needs of the growing company-owned retail base, which opened 28 European stores over the period. Element is performing very well, capturing the urban skate trends that are emerging in southern Europe, while Nixon and VonZipper are each showing strong reorders. The conversion of some of DaKine’s European distributor business into direct-sales operations in the second half contributed to a strong performance for the brand..

049


Who are the key players at Insomnia? I would say that those would be the people that have been involved with the shop throughout the years - the Insomnia Collective, that includes the skate team, everybody who has ever worked in the shop, photographers, graphic designers, Mums, Dads. We don’t have a secret handshake or anything, it’s just a bunch of people from diverse backgrounds that have put in some elbow grease and burnt a few brain cells for skateboarding in Bulgaria.

What is the product mix of your store? The product mix in the store is 40% hard goods and 60% soft goods. Insomnia is a core skateboard store, but we do have a bit of snowboarding apparel in the winter.

What percentage of your sales are from online business? Online stores are relatively pretty new to Bulgaria, so it is something we are still developing over here. At this stage you really can’t compare one with the other.

What are the benefits of having a physical shop over simply having an online store? I’m sure you have heard this before but I would say the talking to customers face- to-face, people hanging out in the shop, the jokes, the racket. You don’t get that online.

What are the main brands that your store carries? Independent, Girl, Chocolate, Jart, DVS, DC, Fallen, Lakai, Osiris, Matix, Fourstar and Horsefeathers.

Are new lines important to your product mix? New lines are important for offering your customers something fresh. But it’s a bit tricky in Bulgaria as people are yet to get bolder with their wardrobe. The majority of people have yet to shed off the dark olive and brown phase and experiment.

How do you stay in touch with the wants and needs of your customers? We follow the trends but at the same time we never neglect the needs of people who want the classic things.

From your perspective, what does the future hold for the industry? Well if the global warming doesn’t fry our brains and Facebook doesn’t take over our lives I hope that there would be a growth in all these action sports

as nothing beats the feeling of hanging out with your friends (outside) doing what you enjoy.

What kind of advice can you give other independent retailers who are trying to compete against the big box megastores?Keep things fun, up close and personal.

Does your store sponsor athletes, competitions, etc?Insomnia has a skateboard team, which consists of skateboarders from different parts of Bulgaria, different styles of riding, different dress style - mixed nuts! The support we give to competitions is kind of seal of approval as we only participate in events that we truly feel that the skateboarding in Bulgaria will benefit from. We feel strongly about staying true to skateboarding. What makes

your store so successful? My window displays ha-ha.

Where do you hope your business will be in five years? We hope that there will be more kids skateboarding, more skateshops and more people putting back support into the skate scene. Then things will be better for everybody.

What is the biggest challenge an independent retailer faces today and how do you meet that challenge? Megastores are a big challenge for Independent retailers; we try to remain flexible and brave.

In what ways can suppliers improve their support for independent boardsports retailers? It would be nice if people remember that sometimes small shops does mean small orders. Have you noticed any difference in business because of the recent economic crisis? Bulgaria has been in a crisis since 1989, and just as the country began to see the light at the end of the tunnel, the global economic crisis hit. At the moment things are pretty much back to square one, or perhaps 10. Hopefully it’s a case of when you hit rock bottom the only way is up, otherwise we will have to start digging. On a final note, don’t get the wrong impression that Bulgaria is a sad and depressed country – it’s not! We would like to thank Independent for the great window display competition and for the cool prize. And a big thanks from me to everybody from the Insomnia Collective for helping out with the project.

“We don’t have a secret handshake or anything, it’s just a bunch of people from

diverse backgrounds that have put in some elboW grease and burnt a feW brain cells

for skateboarding in bulgaria.”

retailer award

INSOMNIAThe Insomnia skate store in Bulgaria is the winner of SOURCE’s Retailer Window Award, sponsored

by Independent. Over 100 shops entered this tightly fought competition, but the Insomnia

Collective synched the top prize of €5,000 of Independent products, thanks to the time, thought

and creativity put into their display. Interview with Mary Hiekova, Head of Marketing.

www.insomniacollective.com +359 (0)2 980 59 77


04There are numerous different options for price point differentiation. What they all have in common is their potential to raise the sales and profitability of a store. It all boils down to the necessity to steer away from treating all customers equally, and offering personalised pricing and marketing initiatives instead. In a best-case scenario, every customer would pay exactly the maximum price he or she is willing to pay. Hitting this “sweet spot” in practice will prove rather difficult, as it requires navigating a large amount of complex information that is hard to compute. But as a first step, even implementing the most basic, practice-oriented price point differentiation system can work wonders. To stores that are willing to make the effort, it can prove as a key to a vast potential of untapped revenues.

PRIcEMANAGEMENT

part.04

In everyday retail, the most commonly found methods of price point differentiation are:

tiME-DEPENDENt PRiCE POiNt DiffERENtiAtiON:Driving time-dependent price point differentiation means offering different price points at different moments of purchase. The reasons are either time-dependent costs paid by the store (extra wages for overtime, etc.), or in many retail situations, the differences in preferred shopping times among customers.

Some industries even go as far as offering different prices for different times of day, for example energy utility providers and fitness centres. In retail, the most common time-dependent price point differentiation is seasonal; customers can score better prices for a snowboard in April than in October. Retailers use time-dependent price point differentiation as a tool to clear their stock levels, create cash flow, or make space for newly arrived products. Price variations at shorter time intervals – such as days of the week or times of day – are hard to realise in retail and would probably only lead to mistrust among customers.

SPAtiAl PRiCE POiNt DiffERENtiAtiON:A space-oriented price point differentiation is based on geographically defined markets. We see spatial price point differentiation, when flyers for special low-price sales are distributed exclusively in low-income neighbourhoods. In this case, sales prices are communicated to a customer segment that could not be attracted with regular price points.

Another effective example of spatial price point differentiation: A store distributes vouchers for price rebates in a region that is significantly outside its regional catchment area. This enables the store to mobilise a number of new potential customers; most of them probably would not make the long trip to the store without the incentive of rebate price coupons.

This way, the store can clear out its overstock, without having to slash prices for existing costumers.

PERSONAl PRiCE POiNt DiffERENtiAtiON:With personal price point differentiation, a shop is offering identical services to different customers at different prices. Some of the main criteria for making this selection include age, gender, income level and occupation. Age-based price point differentiation is mostly found in industries where businesses aim to achieve long-term customer retention. For this reason, many banks are offering free bank accounts to students, hoping that they will remain loyal customers to the bank after entering the job market – even if it means paying for the bank’s services at that point. The boardsport business also uses age-based price point differentiation to a great extent; most children’s clothing is offered at lower price points than comparable adult sizes. Realistically, these lower prices cannot be justified by the lower use of resources for producing kid’s products. There’s something else at work here, namely the reduced willingness to pay money for “kid’s stuff” among parents, who, in the end are the ones making the purchase decisions. But by offering attractive price points for kids, retailers can prevent parents from choosing lower-priced, no-name products in favour of “real” branded goods. To achieve this effect, retailers have a large number of creative options: How about handing out flyers with rebate coupons specifically at elementary schools? This will open up an entirely new customer segment, one with a remarkably high customer lifetime value.

Retailers also resort to personal price point differentiation quite frequently, which in most cases is not aimed solely at the press. In a recent example, a popular jeans brand for the opening of a new flagship store mailed out a set of limited, individually numbered keys to select people. These recipients included journalists, VIPs, artists, riders, etc. for whom the key

unlocked a lifetime discount of 20% on all the store’s products. With this innovative measure, the store will be able to retain a highly targeted clientele for a long period of time. Similarly, many stores also offering special rates for members of local sports clubs and associations.

CUStOMER ClUBSCustomer clubs are a specialized variety of personal price point differentiation. They offer an effective way for winning new customers, while connecting existing customers more closely to the store in the long run. Membership in a customer club provides access to a wide number of benefits: Mostly these are emotional perks, like V.I.P. access or first look at new collections; but they also come with real price point incentives.

The advantages for the shop are, of course, obvious: Next to stabilising customer relations in the long run, customer clubs also yield valuable data such as contact info and transaction records. Professional customer retention systems provide customers with a machine-readable club card, containing all the customer’s current contact info, point balances, etc. When making a purchase, the data on the card is linked to the customer’s shopping card, which unlocks important insight into the shopping habits and preferences of individual customers. This information can be leveraged into highly targeted advertising initiatives. For example, the store could send out snowboard flyers specifically to those customers, who have purchased snowboards and equipment before, but not yet this very season.

MUltiPlE-CUStOMER PRiCE POiNt SEttiNGIn this case, the price depends on the number of people buying a certain product. This kind of price point differentiation is not very common in practice, but it does offer a great variety of creative pricing options for shops that know how to play it well.

Vertical price point differentiation is the sole domain of globally active enterprises. Basically, it means selling products in different countries at different prices, regardless of the individual market segments within these countries. For example, most products are cheaper in Bulgaria than in Switzerland. But for retailers – who cater to a mostly regional catchment area – this kind of vertical price point differentiation does not apply.

What matters more in retail practice, however, is horizontal price point differentiation. In this concept, consumers with the same or similar willingness to pay are grouped together into the same market segment, which is then addressed with specially

targeted price points. But as consumers are gaining more and more market insight these days, targeting individual segments with their own specific prices is getting harder. This is why horizontal price point differentiation in retail usually goes hand-in-hand with related product differentiation initiatives or differentiation of other marketing tools. In practice, it’s always easier to justify higher prices to customers by pointing out that the product offers additional features or higher use value. In the automobile industry, price point differentiation is mostly implemented by offering a great variety of customization options for vehicles. In cases where companies are afraid to damage the image or prestige of a brand by catering to a more

price-point-conscious consumer segment, they often choose to launch an entirely new brand to cater to this group. This, option, of course, is not only limited to companies but also a choice for retailers who can launch their own so-called “store brands”.

PREREqUiSitES fOR hORiZONtAl PRiCE POiNt DiffERENtiAtiONRetailers are only able to realise price point differentiation if:1. Consumers exhibit a different degree of price point readiness (willingness to pay).2. They can identify different market segments and approach them individually.

retailer helpretailer help

RAISING PROFITS THROUGH PRICE POINT DIFFERENTIATION

Stefan Dongus is a co-owner of Cologne-based fine lines marketing, a marketing and consulting

agency specialising in the action asports industry. [email protected]

the past three episodes of this series covered the basics and main criteria for price point management in boardsports retail. we also learned about the many options for price positioning, as well as the wide variety of pricing strategies for introducing new brands and products, and for keeping up with competitors. But as this episode of retailer help will show, price positioning and strategising are not the only tools available to retailers for making forward-looking price point decisions: one of the most important tools is differentiation, which can be a decisive factor for driving sales and profits in your store. Stefan Dongus shows us how it’s done.

By defining a coherent price positioning and pricing strategy, a retailer ultimately decides on which price league he’s placing his business in. Regardless of this overall pricing strategy, a retailer also needs to decide on whether to keep pricing for all target groups constant or not. If he chooses to offer variable price points for different target groups, he’s engaged in what is called price point differentiation.

This is a tool for working the market with a specific approach, an approach that needs to be based on careful market segmentation. The basic idea is to cater to different groups of consumers with different prices. So in order to offer an efficient price point differentiation at your store, you first of all will need to identify these individual consumer groups, or “market segments”.

Always keep in mind: The main goal of price point differentiation is to raise the profitability of your business. This is done through a process, which in marketing speak is called “skimming off the consumer's surplus”. It basically means that consumers with a higher willingness to pay money are approached with higher-priced products than consumers with a lower willingness to pay. Simple! Because after all, the worst mistake for a store is to waste a good customer who’s ready to leave serious money at the shop with some low-ball sales offers. If the customer goes for the sale, the store is still making profit – but it’s not tapping into any of the consumer's surplus.

Let’s have a look at this principle more closely in a diagram:

In the “no price point differentiation” scenario, the store is always selling a product at the same, consistent price, indicated as P1. At this price point, the store is achieving the sales volume X1. The actual sales, in this diagram, are defined by the area opened up by the price P1 and the sales volume X1. The cost, here, is defined by the space spanned by the cost and the sales volume X1. The resulting margin is illustrated by the blue-coloured space, which indicates the contribution to profit from selling the product. In other words, the larger the blue space, the more profit for the store.

Now look at the scenario where the retailer is driving price point differentiation by selling the product to two different customer groups at different prices P2 and P3. In this case, the contribution to profit results from adding up all the individual blue squares. As this example demonstrates, the overall blue space – indicating contribution to profit – is actually larger. So the shop’s profits are higher when driving price point differentiation. By offering different prices to different market segments, the shop is able to skim off some of the consumer’s surplus that would be left untouched in the “same price for every customer” scenario. In an ideal world, the shop would be able to sell at the maximum price every individual customer is willing to pay (as long as it’s higher than what the retailer pays wholesale).

At the same time, even this very basic example already hints at the fact that price point differentiation can be a complicated, research-intensive undertaking. In order to realise the full potential of this tool, a store needs to be able to identify these different market segments clearly; and establish appropriate communication channels for relaying specific prices to them.

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Price / Cost

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VERtiCAl AND hORiZONtAl PRiCE POiNt DiffERENtiAtiON

PRiCE POiNtDiffERENtiAtiON iN REtAil

OUtlOOK

www.boardsportsource.com 19

THE BiRDMAN’S

BIG DAY OUT

in the last few years action sports has witnessed

an explosion of grand-scale events, but have any

surpassed the grandeur and budget of the Quiksilver

tony hawk tour? SOURCE’s Chris Moran reports.

if there was ever a moment in history when action sports muscled into the big time, then the Quiksilver Tony Hawk show in Paris over the weekend of the 20th November 2009 could have been it. Held at the Grand Palais - Paris' most opulent exhibition hall built in 1897 - an estimated crowd of 25,000 people assembled, with many thinking “what the hell is a skateboard show doing here?”

That's certainly what I thought, and I wasn't alone. "It's just incredible," said Factory Media's Marcus Chapman. "Ten years ago this is the kind of place the security guards would give you a kicking for skating. Now they're opening the velvet rope and everyone's a VIP."

Ostensibly a skateboard comp followed by a demo from the legendary crew of Sandro Dias, Sergia Ventura, Andy MacDonald and The Birdman himself, the sheer scale and audacity of the event seemed to be a statement of sorts. The question on many lips was this: why had Quiksilver spent so much money on a relatively private skateboard demo?

"We did it to show the world that we're a skate-oriented company," says Quiksilver Europe's Head of Marketing Nicolas Foulet. "We wanted to connect our brand to the urban art and music scene, and we wanted to celebrate the 40th anniversary of our company."

Many at the show, and especially those in the VIP area (a mock-up of the infamous Rock Food bar from Hossegor) were simply awestruck. "Just look around you," said legendary surfer Tommy Carroll. "Isn't it amazing that we're even here? I think it’s a real statement to say that boardsports are now big time.” As the first person to have broken the $1million surf contract barrier back in 1988, Tommy talks with some authority.

With a major art installation showing Quiksilver through the ages, and with virtually every major professional athlete that had ever worn the wave logo (including Kelly Slater, Torah Bright, Candide Thovex and Travis Rice) in attendance, Carroll’s theory made sense. It did seem that the Paris show was a major statement by Quiksilver, to reaffirm its position as the big gun of the action sports scene.

But how did an event of such scale do to their bottom line, was it worth the effort? "It's difficult to monitor the sales impact from such an event, and I'd be lying if I gave you numbers," says Foulet, "but we wanted to work the image of our brand toward the end consumer, so the resulting PR return and promotion from the event was very good. We also wanted to involve our best accounts and retail shops at the event through staff incentives and special treatment packages, as a thank you to the people who work for us."

Soon after, Quiksilver decided to take the Tony Hawk Show on the road. "Our idea was to bring the same vibe to our main or growing markets," said Foulet. "The Paris show was a huge success, and we had amazing media return, so this was a natural progression." The tour hit Berlin, Rome, Barcelona and Brighton, hitting all the same buttons on every leg. "The great thing about Tony Hawk is that he not only appeals to the young and new breed of skaters," says Quiksilver UK’s Meena Rajput, "but also the older generation of skaters who remember him as their hero back in the day." As a Brighton resident, I saw Tony on the front page of the local paper, he was chatting on the news at breakfast, and the kids in my family were all buzzing with the anticipation that he'd be coming to the seafront. As a branding exercise, Quiky got their boardriding message out to a broad spectrum of people, causing maximum hype in a wide range of media from the local daily to every national core mag in the country, not to mention the all-important social networking effect.

event review

Photos: James McPhail


INFILTRATING SKATE RETAIL Knockoffs appear to be getting more refined across the board, and now even include hardgoods. “In the past, mostly hats and T-shirts were affected by counterfeiting, but we’ve definitely noticed a rise in fake hardware, especially decks, over the past couple of years,” says Frank Messmann. The skateboard industry veteran says that the rise of heat transfer as the main method of applying deck graphics has fuelled a new wave of fake, but deceivingly real-looking, hard goods; “Sometimes it’s hard to determine whether it’s our product or not without testing the actual wood.”

What’s also new, is that counterfeit skate products have been popping up in brick-and-mortar retail, properly price-tagged and offered amidst legitimate gear. Ivan Moreno, owner of Nomad Skateboards reports; “All around Spain, we had a lot of fake products from Royal, Girl and other brands coming up two years ago, even some Royal [truck-only company] decks! Incredible, but some shops were buying that crap. In the South of Spain it’s a bigger problem, and there seems to be big trouble in the Canary Islands.”

Bård Grøttum of Badlands Skateshop in Tromsø, Norway says he has not seen any fake products in his region, “but if you go to Oslo, a much bigger city, you will definitely find some. The Supra/Kr3w distributor recently got the police to raid a shop that was selling fake Supras.”

Richie Löffler remembers one of the biggest cases to date: “A few years ago they had fake D3s by Osiris at [name of store chain withheld by SOURCE], these things were the bomb!” Working with German authorities, the owners of Osiris ended up confiscating over 12,000 pairs(!) of counterfeit shoes from 23 stores in 2008. Yari Copt, owner of Joker store and Warriors Skateboards in Lugano, Switzerland, was surprised by seeing “a lot of fake Vans in shops in Lisbon, Portugal.” Meanwhile, Pat Lindenberger at Ground Zero store in Worms, Germany, says he receives, “offers of fake decks and completes, mostly Zero and Baker regularly. T-shirts and sweats not so much. Although one time a kid walked in with a fake DC shirt, and even asked it if was real!”

CATCHING THE CULPRITS In 2009, Urban Supplies distribution noticed suspiciously cheap decks and completes by Zero, Baker and Black Label – for whom Urban is the official German distributor – sold at stores around the country. Urban Supplies co-owner Jörg Ludewig soon found that, “these fakes are thrown onto the German market by local vendor [company name withheld by SOURCE], who sells fake decks directly to stores, with stores knowingly buying these fakes and offering them to their customers as authentic items!”

Ludewig sent some of the “Zero” decks to Black Box in California to determine their origin. “These could have been grey market boards, from someone other than our official distributor. But by analysing the wood and manufacturing, we could determine they were indeed counterfeit,” explains Frank Messmann.

Legal action is currently underway through Black Box’s German lawyer. “Ever since Black Box has pursued it, [company name withheld by SOURCE] has apparently held off on making offers to retailers. They also used to make fake soft goods by DC and Element, but apparently they managed to stop them,” says Jörg Ludewig. Messmann admits that pursuing counterfeiters can be a lengthy battle. “If you really want to go after it, you need lots of time and energy. Before you know it, you’re looking at ¤20,000 in legal fees, without having achieved anything.“

PREVENTATIVE MEASURES Sole Technology’s Don Brown (who incidentally, employs a full-time anti-counterfeit specialist), says, “To fight counterfeiting, we ensure that our trademarks are registered in every key country – even if the brand isn't sold there yet. For any new brands out there; make sure you

get trademarks for your brand, otherwise someone else will!”

Frank Messmann agrees that prevention is better than cure: “It’s important for manufacturers to secure their entire supply chain, making sure that there are no backdoors for counterfeiters to exploit. With heat transfer graphics, you have to make sure your graphics aren’t transferred to inferior products somewhere, especially if you outsource this step in the process.”

While most countries leave it up to the brands to fight their own legal battles, Swiss authorities are lending a helping hand: “Here in Switzerland we have a customs authority we can call to officially prosecute vendors of fake product. All I need to do is confirm that the products are fake. How’s

that for a usefulgovernment agency?” says Andreas Reichenbach at Brazil Distribution.

JUST THE BEGINNING? Without any specific statistics for the skateboard industry, it’s hard to predict the future course for product piracy in skateboarding. Don Brown at Sole Technology offers this; “These tough economic times have created the dangerous combination of companies cutting their anti-counterfeiting budgets and consumers desperately trying to stretch their dollars. That could certainly lead to increased counterfeiting.”

Ivan Moreno also says that lowball prices for fake brand name products could ruin consumer attitudes. “If our store sells the product at the proper price, the first impression in the mind of kids is that we’re bastards stealing from the people, when the fake store selling a fake Girl tee at half price will look cool.”

And while core retailers including Pat at Ground Zero in Worms are turning a cold shoulder to fake product offers, they are also aware that retailers not so intent on keeping it real may take the bait. “It’s definitely an interesting issue,” Pat says. “With Zero complete boards at ¤40, there’s a lot of temptation involved. Especially in times like these.”

counterfeit goods

COMING TO A SHOP NEAR you?

with all the swashbuckling blockbuster movies, Hollywood has us believing that pirates are pretty cool dudes. And while pro skaters including Jim Greco and Ali Boulala have been hitting the streets dressed like Captain Jack Sparrow himself, one kind of (not so cool) buccaneering is plaguing the skate business: product piracy.

Industry watchdogs - The Global Anti-Counterfeiting Group (GACG), recently reported that up to 12% of sporting goods and toys on the world market, as well as 11% of clothing and footwear, are fake. Counterfeit products currently account for 5-7% of overall international trade at an estimated value of more than $500 billion per year, according to the ICC Counterfeiting Intelligence Bureau.

There are no specific statistics for the boardsports business, but in an industry driven by brand name power as much as ours, product piracy is a known problem. “On average we seize and destroy several thousand units of counterfeit products a year. Being copied unfortunately comes with the territory of having great brands,” says Don Brown, Senior VP of Marketing at Sole Technology (etnies, éS, Emerica, Altamont and 32), “I've seen all kinds of crazy products that are either identical to our products, but not ours – or products that are the same style, with slight deviations of the logos,” he adds.

Richie Löffler from Mantis Life Store in Hamburg has seen some even crazier knock offs; “I once bought some éS G-string underwear from a street vendor for ¤1 - incredible!” On that note, let’s quickly define the basics: Richie’s example, the creative re-use of company logos and graphics – even on G-string underwear – is known as ‘bootlegging’. The close imitation of officially licensed products, on the other hand, is called ‘counterfeiting’. Both traditions are alive and well, and entire street markets in Far East Asia offer fake products just like the real thing, or exotic variations.

A PROBLEM WITHOUT BORDERS In today’s globalised world market, bootlegged and counterfeit products are no longer restricted by regional boundaries. “We’ve seen it happen on and off around the world for a couple of years now, but counterfeit products are becoming an increasing problem in Europe,” says Frank Messmann, from Black Box Distribution.

The origin of fake products is no secret: “All fakes come from China or Turkey,” says Eric Mader at Fresco Distribution in Italy. This statement is in line with European Union customs statistics, that state that 58% of counterfeit goods seized at EU borders in 2009 come from China, followed by Turkey at 4.92%.

“China is a manufacturing powerhouse that makes many of the skate industry's products, and historically a lot of the counterfeited Sole Technology products have also come from there,” says Don Brown. Meanwhile, Benoit Copin at Puzzle video, formerly Marketing Manager at Aeon Shoes and Lordz Wheels in Paris warns: “We may not always be able to tell that we’re dealing with a fake product. The industry in China may just produce more than the skate companies order and put it on the black market.”

The most prominent route into Western markets today is – surprise! – the Internet. “One type of vendor, mostly based abroad, delivers fake goods to end consumers via eBay,” says Jörg Ludewig at Urban Supplies Distribution in Germany, adding, “T-shirts are the ‘highlights’ among fake products, also hoodies and sweaters. Sellers are pretty ruthless about it, offering designs that don’t even exist originally. I once bought a Flip T-shirt on eBay, which was mailed from Thailand, making sellers practically untouchable. The quality of the shirt was, sadly, quite good.”

fake skateboard products used to be the sole domain of online

auctions and dodgy street markets in the far east. But recently,

knockoff goods have been popping up at skate stores all over

europe; properly price-tagged and sold as authentic items.

SOURCE investigates the world of counterfeit skate goods.

report by Dirk Vogel.

the global anti-counterfeiting group (gacg) recently reported that up

to 12% of sporting goods and toys on the World market, as

Well as 11% of clothing and footWear, are fake.

“We may not alWays be able to tell that We’re dealing With a fake product. the industry in china may just produce more than the skate companies order and put it on the black market.” Benoit copin, puzzle video.


LIFE AFTER PRO... A NEW CHAPTER IN PROFESSIONAL SURF CAREERS

organised by the eurosima cluster, the French Surfing Federation and the Regional Body for Youth, Sports and Social Cohesion (DRJSCS), in association with CREPS, the Basque Sports Academy and Biarritz town council - this day was more than just a meeting. This was the opening of a (final) chapter, to help guide the careers of top-level athletes right through the world of surfing.

French surfing is rallying and the empty shelves that were cruelly void of trophies just a few years ago are filling up with World Championship titles and other illustrious distinctions. The European contingent is now being taken seriously and, alongside their newfound status in the sport, the athletes themselves have launched professional careers whose routines and lifestyles have reached the same level as other more mainstream sports disciplines.For years the sacrifices endured on the competition circuit outweighed the means put at the athletes’ disposal. Nowadays, with the help of growth and economic development, sponsors have the means to finance, protect and aid their athletes at each stage of their career in the mould of Quiksilver, Rip Curl and Billabong, who have traditionally always strived to make great advances in fulfilling these tasks.

But behind the scenes there is a source of concern for the surf industry because for every elite surfer who makes a name for themselves on the international scene, many are forced to jump ship when it’s just about to set sail. Professional transition, without qualifications or professional experience other than on a board, is more often than not synonymous with re-employment complications. Loss at this stage is felt on two levels, for the surfer and for the industry itself. The top surfers who live and breathe the industry from a very young age are subject to wavering marketing strategies once they have become one of its by-products.

To make an inevitable yet happy transition into the professional business domain, questions must be asked in good time. Questions that fill parents’ hearts with doubt when their children devote themselves heart and soul to surfing; pertinent questions that deserve an answer to prevent dreams of

surfing from brutally closing out when facing up to career prospects. More than 150 people turned up at the Biarritz Casino for a day dedicated to raising awareness about managing the careers of top surfers, which focused on a central theme - to inform elite athletes of the means put at their disposal to both tackle their athletic careers and anticipate successful retraining for the professional world. Juan Gonzalez, General Manager of DC Europe, welcomed the initiative, which he says is in line with their business policy, “We are very close to our riders and, by following any interest that they lend to our company’s projects during their sporting careers, we are able to identify their qualities in order to offer them the best opportunities for their retraining. Those who play the game and show real motivation and competence have a real chance of joining the company at the end of their athletic career.”

Many athletes and ex surf pros shared their experiences, enlightening those who, at a key moment of their lives, have to make the right choices to plan for a secure future. Christian Guevara, Commercial Director of Volcom Europe, was one of the room’s shining examples of successful transition. For him, “Studying is a pledge made to ensure an easier transition but I admit that, to a certain extent, it is difficult, even impossible to study and have an international pro career. In this case, it is important to maintain and gather other areas of interest alongside surfing, even if it means taking some breaks from your pro career: art, music, photo/video, other sports… these will all be advantageous to the re-employment process. Above all though, an intact joy for going surfing goes hand in hand with making a successful transition”.The options presented to surfers were numerous and shone some light on an often gloomy situation. Additionally, the EuroSIMA Cluster are helping certain surfers who are retraining, making current personal profile assessments and tailoring business coaching to help them embrace a new stage of their lives.“We hope that this day will send out a beacon and can help top-level athletes find an balance between professional life, family life and a passion for surfing”, reveals Fred Basse, President of EuroSIMA and General Manager of Rip Curl Europe. A noble, useful goal whose positive knock-on effects we should take our fedora hats off to.

to understand the extent of the maturity and strength of a sports industry, you just

have to look at the status of its top-level athletes. in fact, the ‘professionalisation’

of a scene often follows on from economic growth. surfing has been experiencing

this transition for years and a summit held at the Biarritz casino in july was

dedicated to raising awareness of managing careers of top surfers. By iker Aguirre.

Chaming Geordie Sam Lamiroy is a prime exaple of a pro surfer who has gone on to become an

ambassador for the sportpic: O Neill


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the great British summer was in full effect as the inaugural HUB show got underway in torrential rain and apart from some very cold and wet feet there was a positive vibe throughout. This engendered an element of camaraderie and humour among the assortment of attendees, and over 500 key industry buyers attended the event, held at Bristol’s amphitheatre and waterfront square.

All under cover, the marquees were buzzing with big brands, eco-friendly manufacturers, niche lines and new independents. Exhibitors included hardware brands such as Firewire, Mystic, Trampa Mountainboards, Liquid Shredder, the Shiner portfolio and apparel favourites such as Analog, Billabong, Dragon, Lightning Bolt, IAMWHY, Independent, Etnies, RVCA, Sutsu, Troy Lee Design and WeSC were all on show. Caz Hayes from IAMWHY commented, “It’s been really good we’ve had some good leads and the contacts from networking with the distributors and brands here have been great. We hope to convert them all into sales for 2011.”

While Mark Selvey from brand WeSC said, “It’s something that the British boardsport industry needs, a show that caters for it. We’ve had a few new customers, plus all the pre-booked meetings before the show so it’s been positive.” On the Tuesday night, exhibitors and retailers headed over to the nearby Big Chill Bar for the show party, which provided a welcome celebration after a busy

day of business. On the final day, the sun shone and Bristol became a completely different city to the rain soaked sprawl it had been on the first day. This set the tone nicely as the outside area could now be put into full effect with the various skate demos happening on the King Ramps half-pipe. Bristol provided an ideal backdrop for the event; its culture of surf, skate, snow, skate, art, fashion and music lent a perfect fit, and the Waterfront venue, at the heart of the city‘s cultural centre, offered plenty of cafes and bars for networking during and after the show.

For retailers looking for industry advice, the retail workshop sessions provided an open forum for ideas and discussions on hot topics such as branding, social marketing, stock management, cash flow and so on.

The excitement from the industry surrounding the new event was palpable and HUB provided

a much-needed new focus at a challenging time. Buyer Roger Povey of York-based Mayhem summarised the event as "intimate and enjoyable, looking forward to next year!" Charlie Allan, co-owner of locally based Shiner Distribution, echoed this, heaping praise on the show’s first outing “Our guys have been flat out on the stand all day, we had some really great customers and accounts coming through.... it is definitely one for next year.”

Some brands who were unable to exhibit for the whole show did turn up to have a look round and

offer their support. Matt Rumble from Hurley was one such case having been unable to attend for the whole duration he managed to make it on the final day and was suitably impressed saying that the brand would definitely be at exhibiting next year.

All the brands, despite the dampness of the first day, did say the event and venue were an improvement on its previous incarnation as Surf Shop Expo held in Exeter and was definitely one to pencil in for next year, many also suggesting that fashion buyers should be watching the show closely too.

HUB’s plans for next year include more brands and stands, and show organiser Lucy McPhail is currently considering the prospect of running a consumer event alongside. This would be strictly separate from the trade-only aspect, offering an opportunity for the end consumer and also retailers to get more involved.

“our guys have been flat out on the stand all day, We had some

really great customers and accounts coming through.... it's

definitely one for next year.”charlie allan, shiner distriBution

the inaugural huB tradeshow took place in Bristol, uK in august; despite some stereotypical British summer

weather, the mood was upbeat. SOURCE’s Digby Reed reports.

contact lucy mcphail at [email protected] tel: +44 (0)207 973 6635

tradeshow review


it’s the holy grail of all team managers - to find an action sports athlete who can kill the competition, quip one-liners with the press, charm customers at shop signings and always name-drop their sponsors on TV. "More and more we are looking for the complete package with our surfers," says Reef's global team manager Heath Walker. "While sheer surfing talent is still the key, we know that a surfer who knows how media works will attract way more exposure and help sell the brand."

Hence the recent launch of Ride O’Meter, a new media tool designed to measure how much coverage riders get in the press. Franck Corbery is behind the idea. “Brands invest heavily in their teams,” says the former O'Neill team manager, “and it's about time they had a tool allowing them to measure that accurately.”

With the average age of an athlete getting younger, understanding the mechanics of marketing, how to act professionally and how the media works can be a tough ask for even well educated kids. Without a clued-up parent to help them - or an agent to deal with their contractual obligations - there’s a chance their talent might be overlooked; especially when they hit that shy, troubled time that the rest of the world knows as ‘the teenage years’ and fail to perform off their boards.

“The absolute classic mistake made by skaters and surfers is that they think they’re being sponsored just because of their ability,” says Stuart Brass from Soulsports, himself agent to X Games gold medal winner Jenny Jones. “But really, being sponsored

is a marketing gig like any other. They’ve been sponsored to help brands and shops sell equipment, and their ability on a board is important, but so is how good they are at pushing their sponsors.”

How then should brands invest in their athletes? Step forward the Action Sports Media Training course. “There’s a misconception in the action sports industry, where brands often think that the athletes who get it, and make it, are the ones worth

sticking with,” says ACM Agency’s Chris Moran, a one-time Burton European Team rider and the guy Nike 6.0 turned to when setting up their UK team. “If you have talented kids who don’t really understand what they’re supposed to be doing, train ‘em up, otherwise you lose your investment in that rider, and the athlete ends up disillusioned with the entire industry.”

ACM runs media training workshops for clients ranging from major brands to lone world champions. “The aim is to educate riders about their value as assets to their sponsors,” says Chris. “We take them away for a couple of days, explain the brand’s message and philosophy, and basically break down

how sponsorship works. We also make it fun - the athletes come up with their own brands, we hold an event, film it, make a magazine out of it, and then show them who got the best coverage and why. Hopefully they can then relate this experience to their relationship with their own sponsors.” Tracks Surfing Magazine Deputy Editor Ben Mondy is also behind the initiative. “In other industries, teaching young athletes about what their sponsors

want is pretty basic stuff,” says the Aussie mentor. “If you’re going to pay some kid in the hope that they get on television, or represent you in the press, you definitely want to make sure they know what to say, what not to say, and why an off-the-cuff tweet or facebook posting might come back to haunt them when they’re famous. It’s the same stuff for shop-sponsored riders as it is for big players. If they learn it young it’ll stay with them forever.”

“What always staggers me is that you wouldn’t launch a new board short or outerwear range with a keynote speech by a 15-year old kid who’s got no knowledge of what the design features are” says Moran. “But that’s effectively what brands are doing when they’re sending their untrained athletes out into the media world to represent them. What we’re saying is: tell the athletes what their job is, who they’re working for, and give them the tools and the media training to do that job properly.”

“Yeah and if they don’t get it after that,” laughs Mondy. “Then that’s the time to fire ‘em”.

“the absolute classic mistake made by athletes is that they think they’re being sponsored just because of their ability… but really, it’s a marketing gig just like

any other… ” STUART BRASS, SOULSPORTS.

EFFECTIVE ATHLETE SPONSORSHIPA Youtube clip just after the 2006 Olympics shows Shaun White on CNN.

“the steWardesses Were all stoked to see the gold medal,” says shaun. “after that i Was getting

unlimited drinks.” “Wait a minute,” interrupts cnn reporter nancy grace. “drinks? you’re nineteen

years old.” “yeah,” replies shaun, without missing a Beat, “i’m talkin’ about mountain deWs baby.”

for more info on acm’s media training workshops go to: www.acmwriting.com

industry insight

WALKTHEWALK, T A L K T H E T A L K

"Smile!" Danny MacAskill, no

stranger to the power of YouTube, faces the

camera on a media training course.

photo: James McPhail


Jascha, please start by telling us how your career with adidas began? It all started in 2001, when I was first sponsored by adidas as a team rider. Back then skateboarding was relatively new at adidas, which was a good point for me as I was able to witness the whole development of the last ten years across different projects.

From which different perspectives did you get to know the brand?I would separate this into different phases. From 2001 to 2006 I was a team rider, an intern under Bryce Kanights in 2006, a team manager until 2008 and during this time filmer and producer of the video ‘Diagonal.’ Since 2008, I’ve been Global Sports Marketing Manager at adidas skateboarding.

What’s your relevant headquarter at adidas – the one in Herzogenaurach or in Portland?Neither of them, because the sports marketing department that I work for is based in Amsterdam. But I’m quite often in Both Herzogenaurach and in Portland.

How often do you travel to the US?Quite often, I was there four times this year already. The product team is based there, our creative agency, Juice Design, many of our team riders are there and also the US team manager. We’re well

connected through weekly telephone conferences, but there’s nothing more important than just going out for a beer and sharing some face time.

You were part of the Diagonal video project, both as filmer and producer. Skate videos and filming have always played an important role for you in the past, right?Indeed, the video camera has been my companion throughout my skateboarding days. When I was 13, I filmed all my friends around me. It helped that Torsten Frank and Michael Rathgeb, the two best German filmers, came from the same area and I was their ‘little brother’ who tried to support them with their projects.

And then everything went hand in hand …Yes, skateboarding and videography is just a natural fit. It all went parallel for me and both areas have profited from one another. Torsten and Michael were incredible mentors for me and I tried my best to support them with my own filming. After graduation, I studied Communicactions Design with the pathway to filming and video and did a three month internship under Bryce Kanights at adidas Skateboarding in the US. Through that internship I got to know the whole US team and the skate industry over there.

“WE’RE living in an ExCiTing ERa fOR vidEO. ThE signifiCanCE Of vidEO has nEvER BEEn highER Than TOday – Thanks TO ThE inTERnET. BuT ThE ClassiCal vidEO paRT in a full lEngTh pROduCTiOn is sTill ThE hEaRT Of ThE maTTER.”

Be it by destiny or by chance, adidas is staying true to its German roots – even in its skateboarding department.

While former Bavarian powerhouse Dennis Busenitz has become the Three Stripes’ most iconic rider, Stuttgart’s

Jascha Muller has undergone a meteoric rise from team rider to Global Sports Marketing Manager. He explains

to SOURCE about his job as ‘Moderator’ between the world of the global brand and that of skateboarding.

Interview by holger von Krosigk.

With all your insights into the international industry, what’s going on that is really different from what you’d imagined as the little skate kid in Stuttgart?When I was a kid, everything was just exciting and I looked at a lot of things from a very romantic perspective with a lot of admiration. The reality is a lot different from that, it’s a business as many others, an industry with economic goals. But if you accept that and compare it to other businesses, you realise that things are a lot more casual in skateboarding.

What are some of the things that Europe has that America hasn’t?Culturally, Europe is a lot more versatile and richer than California – with all those different languages, habits and traditions. The spots are a lot more interesting and it’s easier to skate here. All in all, Europe offers more freedom than any part of the US.

And what does Cali have that you don’t find anywhere between Berlin and Barcelona?Low handrails, stairs and good burritos! No, honestly, California has a lot to offer and more than just sunshine all year round. The American dream really exists somewhere, I think. As a professional skateboarder in the US you can make a very decent living, while it’s a big struggle in Europe. I also think that skateboarding isn’t that much of a bust anymore in the US. It’s become so popular and people respect it as a sport, much more than a couple of years ago.

Do you still grab the video cam once in a while?I haven’t had a camera in my hand since Diagonal. The last serious trick I filmed was Dennis’ Ollie over the table at Sants in Barcelona – so no HD-experience in my case! But I think I’m going to get myself a digital SLR camera. The technical development over the last few years was amazing.

The importance of videography in skateboarding is unbelievable. What do you think of the recent developments in that area?Video has been developing into the most important tool for professional skateboarders. Videos mirror the progressive cycle of the sports. Individuals raise the bar and do what other people try to copy, which a few people then take on to another level – to be an example themselves.

Web clip vs. full part – is Youtube going to replace the classic video part?We’re living in an exciting era for video. The significance of video has never been higher than today – thanks to the Internet. But the classical video part in a full-length production is still the heart of the matter. There are uncountable possibilities for shorter videos on the web though. And I think that quality will be the crucial factor in this jungle of digital information. Filming is, and will be important in the future - it’s the most important task for a professional skateboarder.

…which is not that easy to understand for outsiders.The documentation of skateboarding is far more important than the contest – that’s the elementary thought. I try to explain that to outsiders with an example from the world of soccer. The stadium, in which the game takes place, is the world of media for skateboarding. Whether print, web or video, documentation counts. Magazines are the weekly league, while full length videos are the world championships which takes place only once in four years.

And the players are your team riders. How do you get along with all the riders at adidas? At adidas, everyone is really mellow and easy-going. If you select riders for a team, talent and skills are the basic requirements, no question. But personality is really important as well, because you have to work as a team over a long time and spend time with each other. What do you think about Dennis Busenitz and the role he’s playing at adidas?We know how important he is for us. Dennis is of great value for us at adidas and Dennis really knows how to appreciate that. When he worked out his shoe, the whole soccer silhouette was completely his idea. It was a lucky pull for adidas and he came to us at the right time. Former US team manager Bryce Kanights has a big share in that.

What do you think about the status of Europe in skateboarding nowadays?The US is, and will continue to be, the biggest and most important market in skateboarding. The largest part of the professional skateboarders, media and companies are based there. But Europe has been

growing, especially with Kingpin Magazine, and companies like Cliché or Blueprint or videos such as Diagonal. In the future, the two continents will be a lot closer – everything’s going to be more global.

After all, adidas is still a global player and skateboarding is a subculture with a very critical following. How would you describe adidas’ approach in skateboarding?At adidas Skateboarding, every person is involved in skateboarding. From product to design, from marketing manager to creative agency, we all skate. And doing so, we get all the trust and support from the rest of the company and we’re working together harmonically. Regarding the skate team, I read a nice quote on a blog yesterday: “adidas has the best group of skaters for speed, versatility, and originality." If you want, you can also deduct our approach by looking at the company history. adidas stands for quality and a long and successful history in sports. The founder, Adi Dassler, had the vision to create the best product for every type of sports – individually and authentically designed to meet the specific demands.

What’s your daily routine – what are some of Jascha Muller’s daily tasks?My work either consists of a lot of office time including loads of emails, phone calls and conceptual work, or I’m away in different parts of the world – on tours, visiting events and seeing the team.

What do you love about your job?I’m grateful for the opportunities that I have through my ‘job title’ and really like working for the sports marketing department. It allows me entrance into the whole world of skateboarding, but at the same time also into the world of adidas. These are two different worlds and my job is to ‘moderate’, I think it’s important to know that everyone can be replaced and that nothing can be taken for granted.

What do you hate about your job?I really love my job but sometimes it’s hard to switch off the brain. Sometimes my girlfriend calls me a workaholic – and believes that I should try saying “good morning” to her first and then to my cell phone.

“in ThE fuTuRE, EuROpE and ThE us Will BE a lOT ClOsER, EvERyThing’s gOing TO BE mORE glOBal.” JASChA MULLER ADIDAS

SKATEBOARDING'S GLOBAL SPORTS MARKETING MANAGER

BIG WIG INTERVIEW


it’s a cliché to say that no two winters are ever the same, and last winter was a counter-example of this. Just like the year before, the snow was plentiful across all European mountain ranges. The return of the El Nino weather effect, combined with considerable ‘cold-stores’ in the Nordic regions (due to the oceanic glaciers remaining stable in certain areas) sent waves of cold air streaming into Europe which subsequently swathed our mountains in a white, snowy blanket in mountain ranges from East to West. Great

Britain recorded the coldest winter since 1978 and Scotland recorded its coldest season since records began in 1914. However, on a global scale, the average temperature was in fact 0.6°C above the norm for the season, and the period from December – February was in fact the fifth hottest recorded – which just goes to show that looks can be deceiving! Let’s not spoil the celebration though, good times were had last winter and, like every year, SOURCE lends its ear to the industry to analyse the results of this fun-packed season. The results for this report are sent throughout the whole industry and cross analysed.

thE EUROPEAN MARKEt: FIGURES BY COUNTRY

Thanks to excellent snow conditions across the Alps in the past two seasons and low stock level in shops, the decline in sell-in sales was suppressed and stabilised to -2% this winter. In terms of units, the most significant drop was once again seen in Russia, which has shed 13,000 boards in two years. Less noticeable losses came from Scandinavia, Austria, France and also from Spain (see fig 1).

Germany continues to dominate European sales with an increase of around 55,000 boards, followed by Switzerland (49,000 boards) and then by France (48,000 boards), meaning the three leaders retain their podium places in terms of volume.

It’s notable that 81.5% of European sales were made by just nine countries (compared to 80% last year), whilst overall market share in Eastern countries decreased from 18% to 17% - this demonstrates that concentration of sales is strengthening within old Europe while the promise of the East is gradually subsiding.

Among the biggest losses of the 9/10 winter, Russia saw a decline in general hardgood sales of around 13%, followed by Switzerland at -8%, Austria at -7% and France at -6%.

Over the last five winters, overall European sales has shrunk by 100,000 boards, 109,000 pairs of boots and 114,000 pairs of bindings. This equates to the total number of sales amassed by the two leading nations in Europe - which is a significant figure - even if the overall market outlook is showing signs of smiling.

tURNOVER BASED ON RETAIL PRICE

The overall European market is worth about ¤272 million (based on retail price), which represents a strong rise compared to last year - approximately 20%. This increase can be explained by technological fine-tuning in the three hardgoods segments, particularly reverse camber boards and rear entry bindings.

75% of overall turnover came from men's productscompared to 72% last year.

21% of overall turnover came from women’s products compared to 23% last year.

4% of overall turnover came from kid’s products compared to 5% last year (a return to the 2007/08 level).

¤126 million - sales of hardgoods46% of which were from snowboard decks, compared to 28% in 2008/09.

for the second consecutive season, boots and bindings played a moreimportant role in overall turnover, accounting for almost 55% of sales.

winter 2009/10 was a long, cold snowy one with truck-loads of

the fluffy stuff falling on mountains throughout europe. But the

million-euro question is of course, how did the snowboard market

fare as a result? in this sixth annual post-season analysis, SOURCE’s

snowboard guru Remi forsans does the homework to bring you an

in-depth market overview.

2009/10 SNOWBOARDMARKET ANALYSIS

market analysis

Remi Forsans, Snowboard

Editor Boardsport Source, will give a full

presentation on this topic at the next European Snow Forum. Dates to follow on

boardsportsource.com


EUROPEAN MARKEt ShARECross-analysis of information sent back by the industry allows us to estimate the position of European brands per product segment. Hermann Kapferer (MD, Burton Europe) will be happy to see that Burton are still sitting comfortably at the top, they continue to maintain their focus on the snowboard market and keep out of the freeski debate. Nitro Snowboards hold onto their position in second place in boards, but lose out to Ride in bindings (the 'Ride Contraband' model won an award at our last Snow Forum in Garmisch). Third place was a hard fight this year but goes to Salomon, surpassing K2 in fourth place and Ride who maintain their fifth place in the yearly standings. A pleasant surprise entry comes from Voelkl who are finally rewarded for several years’ hard graft. Distribution brands such as Wed'ze (Decathlon) and Crazy Creeks (Intersport) retain an important place, whilst Rossignol’s downward curve continues.

Burton

nitro

salomon

K2

ride

head

rome

volKl

liB tech

elannidecKerflowatomic forumwed’ze crazy creeKsrossignol

123456789

10+

Urban distribution, compared to that of resorts, has clawed its way back, taking 61% of the market share in the hardgoods domain. As a result, rentals are slightly down with 22% usage compared to 23% in the previous year. It's a good bet that these last two snowy winters have finally made riders want to buy their own gear. Pro-shops have continued to enlarge their market share to 31% of total equipment sales – up from 26% last winter. For brands, pro-shops now represent an economic dynamic that is almost as powerful as the large sports chains (Intersport, Sport 2000, Twinner...). SOURCE can’t emphasise enough that we should build on this positive trend, because pro-shops have always offered unconditional support to the sport, breathing lift into a whole host of small brands. It’s the pro-shops that bring diversity, richness and progression to our sport - they are loyal and integral to our community.

Last year, we declared a supplementary decrease of 4% in the total units of hardgoods (boards, boots, bindings) sold, but this year good weather conditions helped limit this decline to ‘only’ 2% in 2009/10. At the moment of writing this new market analysis, the forecast is pointing towards an increase, and that hasn't happened in a long time. The outlook is that total hardgoods sales will increase by around 2%. Softgoods appear to be climbing a steeper growth axis, especially helmets and goggles.

SNOWBOARD MARKET 2009/10

09/10 europeansnowBoard

BRAND POSitiONS

market analysis

tRENDS 2009/2010

Fig 1: EU winter 2009/10 Sell-In (industry to retailers), Boards sales estimations per country.

Fig 3: Distribution segmentation in % over last two seasons.

Fig 2: EU ranking estimation, snowboards, winter 2009/10.

Country Boards sold % of Market 2010vs2009 2010vs2009

GerMany 54714 15.41% +2.87% +1527

sWItZerland 49429 13.92% -0.4% -196

franCe 48857 13.76% -3.25% -1643

austrIa 39429 11.1% -4.42% -1821

russIa 30143 8.49% -15.98% -5732

Italy 25857 7.28% +7.18% +1732

uk 15643 4.4% +6.5% +955

BeneluX 13167 3.71% +12.06% +1417

sPaIn 12500 3.52% -8.26% -1125

fInland 11833 3.33% +11.37% +1208

CZeCH reP. 10917 3.07% +0.96% +104

norWay 10833 3.05% -17.46% -2292

sWeden 10167 2.86% -9.12% -1021

Poland 9367 2.64% +1.95% +179

sloVenIa 2000 0.56% N/A N/A

HunGary 1580 0.44% N/A N/A

denMark 1533 0.43% N/A N/A

serBIa MonteneGro 1480 0.42% N/A N/A

CroatIa 1200 0.34% N/A N/A

sloVakIa 1000 0.28% N/A N/A

GreeCe 960 0.27% N/A N/A

kosoVo 920 0.26% N/A N/A

roManIa 820 0.23% N/A N/A

BulGarIa 800 0.23% N/A N/A

TOTAL 355148 -2.11% -7645

35%

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%Pro Shops Independant Chains Big Boxes Flagship

2008 / 2009

2009 / 201026% 26%

33%

16%

0% 0%

32%

12%

25%

31%

DiStRiBUtiON


market analysis

MARKEt SEGMENtAtiON BY PRICE, DISCIPLINE AND GENDER In men's snowboards, 60% of products sold were between ¤200 and ¤400 (retail price) compared to 56% last year. The increase is especially significant in the ¤300 - ¤400 segment, which rises from 28% to 37% of total sales (Fig 4). Products over ¤400 reclaim a position that was lost last year - this significant price increase in boards is largely due to the advent of new camber technology - this confirms that technology is central to consumers' purchasing decisions.

In products for women, (Fig 5), the results are pretty much the same as last year, and the leading price range is again ¤300 - ¤400. In total, products of less than ¤300 now only make up 44% of sales. The other segments each took a 6% rise, which positions the ¤300 - ¤400 bracket at the same level as for men.

The freestyle sector, which saw a sharp decline last year, has maintained an overall share of sales at 34% this year, and the segment leader freeride/freestyle (48% of sales) has split somewhat, shifting some riders towards freeride/backcountry. This segment has absorbed the biggest progression with 14% of the market share. Next year should bear witness to whether this trend is set for the long-term or whether it's just an after-effect of the snow quality of these last two winters. For women, this trend is less pronounced and freestyle is continuing to progress, asserting 31% of total board sales, this means its share is almost as high as in men’s, however this trend is sure to calm down in the next few years. Perhaps this catch-up is attributable to the benefit from a tailwind of heavy marketing.

Unfortunately, we are witnessing a downturn in kids' snowboarding and their participation has fallen back again to 7%. Numerous initiatives to reopen snow classes are in progress, notably in Austria where brands like Burton have set out to increase the involvement of children through their schools.

In the very same article last year, we highlighted the risk of a paradox - a probable growth in demand for stock from shops if the winter is good, while the industry remains cautious in its production. That's what happened, consumer demand was high, stocks were cleaned out and shops are once again ready to commit in a more significant way.

Brands have finally realised that they owe their survival and their future to developing their technology. The Boa System today represents around 44% (45% for ladies) of boot sales, rear entry bindings 27% (29% for ladies) and reverse camber boards 49% (43% for ladies).

In distribution, the Internet phenomenon continues to intensify and now represents between 10 - 12% of European board sales. All systems are go for our sport, but we can't ignore the threats that surround us, mainly to do with factors linked to the economy such as product price levels and fluctuating exchange rates (mainly with Eastern countries). Distribution concerns remain: what is the future profitability of hardgoods sales, what sort of credit limit can be offered by suppliers or banks and is it necessary to continue to have a shop window on the street to sell a snowboard?

What is certain is that habits and trends change, and the emergence of touring and backcountry are proof of this.

Small, independent sports retailers are disappearing or merging while sport shop chains seem less and less interested in snowboarding. This is slightly paradoxical since we know that freeskiing is now attracting less snowboarders and that it has actually served to highlight freestyle in general, as seen at the X Games Europe in Tignes last March.

Less duality, less freeskiing vs. snowboarding creates one sole discipline, one lifestyle: freestyle. Snowboarding can once again feel proud and hold its head high - the sport's image is pure, modern and young. You just have to look at the impact and influence snowboarding had during the Olympic Games to be convinced. But a sport with a young image doesn’t mean it should leave out its ageing riders, I said it last year and I'll insist on it this year. Do not drop the elders for the sound of the young sirens: they have great spending power and free time. The truth is, the access price of our sport is dissuasive for the youth and it's essential that we don't make winter sports into a reserve of the rich.

Finishing on an optimistic note, there are strong reasons to think that newly emerging markets will reinforce these upturning tendencies: Poland and the Czech Republic are fitting examples of this. New technologies, innovations and the emergence of eco-responsibility within our sport are setting examples for the sports industry as a whole... and long may it last!

SNOWBOARD MARKET 2009/10

CONClUSiONS

8%

23%

23%

37%

10%9%

35%

16%

37%

3%

MEN 70%WOMEN 23%

Fig 5. Female Snowboard price segmentation, 2009/10 season

Fig 4. Male Snowboard price segmentation, 2009/10 season

Fig 6. Participation (sales) 2009/10

CHILDREN 7%


market report

A CATEGORY PROBE

Socks and underwear - what our American buddies refer to as “smalls” – were once perceived as accessories of limited value, traditionally regarded as simply part of the accessories range of a clothing brand. They are now, however, very real and valuable products in the action sports world. There is certainly a market to take advantage of with smalls; and one which only looks set to grow. “The sector has matured from a mere accessory into a product category of their own right,” says Emmanuel’s Loheac, CEO of Pull-In, and he’s a man who knows a thing or two about the boxer short… French born Pull-In underwear was founded 10 years ago with a range of about seven products; they now produce approximately 800 SKUs per year in three categories of men’s, women’s and kids. Presently they have eight concept stores scattered in key cities around the world, with a growth plan of two-three new stores per year.

Of independent retailers stocking their product Pull-In estimate that 25% of accounts are boardsports specific, equating to 20% of their doors. Although significant, they predict growth in core stores will be far slower than that of general streetwear or mainstream fashion stores; “They [core retailers] don’t want to take any risk and prefer to stabilise their business. For example, we do around 90% in terms of sell-through, but boardsports shops reorder just +25%,” comments Loheac.

NEW PLAYERS A simple accessory like a pant, sock, watch or headphone can grow into a micro-market in its own right. Who would have imagined Nixon or Skull Candy becoming such bohemoths? Specialisation in any sector can pay off, even with an action sports accessory. Back in ’99 pro skater Justin Strubing and brother Jason found themselves discussing the aspects of boxer shorts that they felt were inadequate; “you know, your parts are always popping out of the hole, they're always going up your ass or you skate across town and they get all twisted up…” explains Strubing over a few cold ones in Max Fish. Seeing a market niche uninhabited this quickly grew into a plan to create a boxer short company for skaters that addressed

issues such as “peek-a-boo penis” and “hungry butt”, as they’ve creatively termed them. Silo was born.

More recently industry veteran and former Element Global Marketing Director Ryan Kingman began heading up the launch of Stance, a new brand targeting what it sees as one of the last untapped frontiers in action sports: socks. A market currently estimated by them at $20 million per year. Apart from the “first-in-category” advantage contributing to their momentum and projected success, Stance will be the first to truly champion this category and provide a comprehensive line for retailers. “The response has been incredible so far and we’re truly humbled by the amount of support people have shown for the brand, category and program we’re developing. Retailers seem excited by the fact that we are building out a category that should be add-on sales for their stores and they don’t have to kick out another brand to bring us in.”

SEASONAL SALES Response from boardsports retailers was somewhat mixed, but generally positive with respect to appreciating the contribution of smalls to their overall business. Titus - online giant with a long list of physical storefronts throughout both Germany and Austria - informed us that their search-word ranking for ‘socks’ is normally around 30th place, although the words ‘underwear’ or ‘boxershort’ do not normally appear in a ranking of 150. These items make up just under 10% of their accessories range, remaining consistent throughout the year irrespective of season, as they do not stock technical underwear. Consumption, on the other hand, is not consistent but peaks just prior Christmas, a sentiment which was confirmed by all other respondents. Attila Santos from CoreShop in Budapest estimates a pre-Christmas sales increase of around 10%, as does Hey Ho Let’s Go in Barcelona, while Pull-In attributes up to 35% of their sales to this period, highlighting the very real importance of gift purchase with socks and underwear.

we all wear them; they’re stocked and sold in every skate, surf and snowboard shop in europe. as well as a

growing offering from the large apparel companies, there’s an increasing array of specialist brands devoted to

them. luke van unen takes a brief look at the underwear market in boardsports.

&socKs jocKs:


market report

Intersocks, who produce socks under licence for K2, say that quite naturally due to their market, “Sales (as producers, not retailers) are much higher in the winter season and it’s critical to have all the socks delivered to distributors not later than September in order to ensure sales before the end of the year. Furthermore, we usually plan December promotions with our distributors and key accounts. So I would answer that sales definitely increase around Christmas.”

Sweet Dreams, the female-specific boardsports store in Innsbruck, Austria, mentioned the importance of add-on sales, and that customers rarely come in with the sole intent of purchasing these items. Sister store for males across the square, Xdouble, says that although socks and underwear might not be vital to overall sales, they produce their own branded boxers, listed along with the best-selling brands for them.

UNDIES GET TECH Although a necessity (at least for most people), socks and underwear are not by any means generic items: undifferentiated from one another. Marketing certainly plays its usual part in this, but further and more importantly is function. “Underwear plays an increasingly significant part in sports brands,” says Miky Picon of Moskova, “because the customers seek in addition to the design, comfort and also the technicality which will adapt to the practised sport.” Silo says all of their boxers are stretch cotton which helps prevent them from getting all twisted up. “They have a reinforced fly to do away with the unnecessary peep show and a double gusset back to help prevent them from riding up your ass. All the boxers also come with the condom cargo pocket because we are on the forefront of the safe sex movement. Ha!” A wise move for such a demographic…

Stance talks of blending fashion and function as being the goal; “Active lifestyles require a sock to perform as well as look good… We’ve upgraded the functionality of our socks by offering combed cotton, elastic arch band support, seamless toe closures and a deep heel pocket with a Y gore seam. Our Gripper Cush skates socks feature Coolmax fibre and cushioned Stance Artist Series - Don Pendleton grip pads for the ball and heel of your foot. We developed these at the Berrics and we have a strong response from the skate community.”

69slam underwear label, with 16 concept stores worldwide at just six years old, talks of materials in terms of their evolution; “From cotton we expanded into polyester, and from underwear we expanded into swimwear.” Within this undergarment-slash-swimwear sector, a new sub-category of technical underwear for the surfer is emerging. For summer 2011 O'Neill will be launching what they call their First Layer Series, intended to keep you rash-free for as long as you wear them - surfing or walking around in between sessions. The design philosophy comes from practice and experience; often walking around on the beach all salty and sandy in your normal boardies rather than being in the water is the moment where you have the most chafing on your legs. The difference between the first layer and normal underwear is the fabric, which is made from a lycra blend with quick-dry features and a soft handle, making them super comfortable. First layers will be available in two lengths - a normal boxer short silhouette and a longer alternative designed to cover the whole boardshort area.

Relatively new on the underwear scene, Moskova also has technical underwear for the surfer in the form of their M5 model. They even have a Jujitsu model dedicated to team surfer Michel “Spartan” Bourez who practices the martial art in between killing it in the water. Diversification!

Lycra and stretch cotton, elastic arch band support and seamless toe closures, “peek-a-boo penis” and “hungry butt” – the market in smalls appears to be anything but small, both in terms of scope and financial significance. No going commando any more, there’s something for everyone. And don’t forget to fill that condom pocket!

“retailers seem excited by the fact that We are building out a category that should be add-on sales for their stores and they don’t have to kick out another brand to bring us in.” Ryan kingman, sTanCE

for summer 2011 o'neill Will be launching What they call their first layer series, intended to keep you rash-free for as long as you Wear them - surfing or Walking around in betWeen sessions.


skate trends

Before jumping the gun and declaring an all-out ‘boom’ or some kind of ‘start-up craze’ for new skate shoe companies, it’s

important to note: None of the brands featured in this article are entirely new to the skate biz. These are all existing brands launching their own footwear divisions.

With that in mind, what’s their motivation for branching out, especially in these tough times? One thing they all have in common is that their new shoe lines are designed to sit well with existing collections. “WeSC has had an overwhelming success with headphones over the past years, so the idea for a shoe collection slowly matured under the motto ‘from head to toe,” explains Christoph Knopf, WeSC Marketing at ACN Distribution, Germany. Similarly, Axel Pauporte, Marketing Director at One Distribution (KR3W and Supra) comments; “The footwear is a natural extension of KR3W and represents and reflects the lifestyle.”

Chris Carter, General Manager of DNA Distribution (Habitat Skateboards and Alien Workshop) says, “We have seen a lot of potential in the footwear category for years now. I believe it is a great platform for Habitat to expand into. The brand message lends itself well to footwear. With our expanded sales and distribution network coupled with the manufacturing and development resources available via Burton and Gravis this became much more feasible.”

Another hardware brand, Diamond Supply Co, is launching its own shoe division. The custom line of footwear, produced by the DVS Shoe Company is set for pre-release in Spring 2011; with a full global launch set for Fall 2011. Tim Gavin, VP of Podium Distribution (DVS, Matix) comments; “We’ve done so many successful collaborations with Diamond over the years. Moving into a licensing agreement with them was an easy transition.”

Créme skateboards founder, Robert Hourmont, says the footwear line was “launched for the same reason we started Crème in the first place; to create a brand with multicultural input and diversity, which cares about and supports European skateboarding, delivering the European flavour in style and functionality.”

NEW StEEZ Let’s look at some of the new shoes: The understated-yet-sleek design of KR3W models such as the “Franklin” ultra-high top, the “Grant” chukka boot and the timeless “Jackson” low top – available in Europe since September – complements the street-smart chic of KR3W denim. “The consumers have only had the opportunity

to see it on blogs thus far, but the response has been favorable and anticipation is high,” said Axel Pauporte before the launch.

Habitat, known as an eco-conscious and artistic hardware brand, continues these traditions with artist collaborations on select Habitat Footwear models, as well as water-based glues and sustainable production methods wherever possible. “We have been producing and marketing boards for a decade. We were honestly ready to try something new and more refined. Habitat has a very cohesive image and an iconic logo that works well for shoes,” says Joe Castrucci, Art Director and co-founder of Habitat Skateboards.

Créme Footwear’s collection, including the mid-top vulcanized “Rising” and highly padded “Landing” low-top – next to a full girl’s line – launched exclusively at the Barcelona flagship store weeks before a full launch in September. Says Hourmont; “Our shoes are high quality, look good, feel good and ride well! It helps that we have a good retail price and nice margins.”

Famous Stars and Straps, the clothing label launched by Blink 182’s drummer Travis Barker, stays true to its hip, street-level aesthetic with the slim “Future” high top, the comfy “Amp” high/low top and the clean-looking “OG” model; complemented by accessories like golden Boom Box keychains, as well as limited edition labels and packaging.

WeSC models including the nautically inspired “Ahab”, the skate-oriented “Emerson” and the suede “Hagelin” high-top continue the company’s skate roots and “street fashion” aesthetic. “The overall verdict among retailers is that the shoes are the perfect fit for the WeSC style,” says Christoph at WeSC, who premiered the new shoes at Bright and Bread & Butter in July.

Small core shops, like High Five in Hannover, Germany, tend to single out only one or two of the many new brands, but with encouraging results, “Habitat Footwear was an instant sensation!” says Dennis Laass at High Five, who lists the new brand as a bestseller right next to Lakai and Globe, and also ordered Créme Shoes.

Overall, retailers who have already been stocking these brands are the most likely candidates for also carrying their new footwear lines. “The aforementioned brands are strong in their [core] categories, WeSC is huge, and KR3W is doing pretty good, but their share of the shoe business is almost not existent, yet,” says Eric Mader, adding: “We will have to see how this one develops...” We will be keeping a close eye too.

“Habitat Footwear was an instant sensation!” dennis laass at high five, germany.

wesc, habitat, Kr3w, créme, diamond supply co. and famous sas launch footwear lines. By Dirk Vogel

“we Have seen a lot oF potential in tHe Footwear category For years now. i believe it is a great platForm For Habitat to expand into.”

chris carter, dna distriBution.

A NEW SKATE SHOE BOOM* CRéME

KR3W

WESC

hABitAt


brand profile

contract S N O W B O A R D S

Who is on the management team and what are their backgrounds?Dariusz Rosiak, founder of the company, is a mentor for all of us. Back in the early nineties, when snowboarding was just knocking on Polish doors, he was involved in developing the sport at the local scene. Dariusz organised the first national competitions and was also the first president of the Polish Snowboarding Association. His daughter, Gosia Rosiak who is now in charge of the company, was one of the best polish female snowboarders in the 90’s (she took 19th place on Nagano Winter Olympic Games in 1998). I bought my first snowboard in 2000, and since then it’s the love of my life. Now Dariusz is responsible for R&D, Gosia is the president, and I do all the marketing and promotional stuff.

What is/are some of the most important lessons that you’ve learned about running a company?1. It WILL be harder than expected.2. Good product and experience is not enough.3. Support may come from unexpected places.

What’s different about your company, both in product and the way the company works?It’s the way we produce our gear. We’re located in the same building as the factory and we know all the guys who make our boards. Because of that, we are able to observe, control and actively participate in the whole production process. The second really important factor is our location. We operate from Bielsko, Biala City located in the middle of Beskidy Mountains in southern Poland. It’s a 30minute drive to Szczyrk, one of the best Polish snow resorts. Thanks to our location we’re able to develop and introduce new ideas and technological innovations in our snowboards in a short space of time. It’s also quite inspiring when you see mountaintops from your office.

You guys are one of the first brands to come out of Eastern Europe, what benefits and disadvantages has this made to you?Thanks to our location in central Europe, it’s easier to influence and to manage to the whole European market. Of course Western Europe is extremely important, but you cannot underestimate the potential of the CEE (Central Eastern Europe) and Eastern European markets. I believe that thanks to our location, and cultural similarities we have a better understanding of these local markets than any of the snowboard brands based in Western Europe. Manufacturing in a Polish factory NBL Sport gives us huge advantage of using experienced team of engineers and craftsman with impressive skills and experience. We decided to produce in a European factory while many others have migrated their manufacturing to China. I believe they will regret this decision in the future. Our location is also ideal from a logistic point of view right at the heart of Europe. We can deliver our gear in extraordinary time to any place in Europe. It doesn’t matter if you have shop in Chamonix or in Moscow, if you want our snowboards, we can get them to you in no time.

Why should retailers sell your brand?Contract snowboards are high end, premium quality products, but the main reason for the brands existence is our patented 3D Snake Transition Technology. We believe it brings a totally new category of snowboards to the market. Until now the main split was: camber or rocker snowboards. Now customers can choose something totally different than they seen before. 3D Snake Transition is something that makes us unique in the market. Three Dimensional Flex And Torsion Engineering is our flagship technology, we’re super proud of it. We designed a unique 3D wave between the bindings area, which gives the snowboard a totally new riding characteristic. Our goal was to create a truly universal snowboard;

an all-mountain weapon that combines both the advantages of a stiff freeride gun and a flexible freestyle board. 3D Snake Transition allows to keep the board really flexible longitudinally (+35% more flex than the standard models) and add more than standard torsional rigidity at the same time (+10% more than the standard models). The 3D waves stiffen the board while riding on the edge or up the walls of the halfpipe and gives it amazing grip and increased torsional performance. What’s more, because the board is flexible, it has bigger sidecut radius, so it’s more stable at speed. Our tech also gives extra pop to the board. 3D Snake Transition Contract’s exclusive technology (pending patent) makes us unique among the others. The important thing is, our tech is visible with to the bare eye, so everybody who visits the shop and see our board is curious about it.

What is the sales spiel retailers should use when telling customers about your products?When a customer spends money on our products they can be assured they get superior quality, handcrafted in Europe board, with outstanding technology that will take their riding style to the whole new level.

What was the company philosophy when you started? How has it changed from then till now?The philosophy is still the same as it was at the beginning – to produce best quality, technologically advanced snowboards handcrafted with passion. And have fun when doing it.

What does the future hold for your company?We plan to work hard to increase brand awareness and recognition. For our 3D Snake Transition, we’re applying for industry awards, so we can prove its advantages. We’re also looking for distributors, shops and sales agents across the Europe willing to help us conquer the world of snowboarding.

contract snowboards brought a totally new category of board

to the market with their 3d snake transition technology - an

all-mountain weapon that combines both the advantages of a

stiff freeride gun and a flexible freestyle board.

tel: +48 33 822 42 40

www.contractsnowboards.com


brand profile

URBANKREATION

The concept behind Urban Kreation is quite innovative - can you explain the company to us?We come from the standpoint that form follows function. Most clothing brands are poor quality and marketed with pretty boys. All our clothing is lined with the stuff that stab proof vests are made from: gossamer-thin but virtually indestructible. It is effectively a second skin to save your first one. Skaters and riders know that nothing is going to stop the physics of a meaty slam, but it's the small niggling skin abrasions like hippers, which constitute the greater part of being unable to ride for days at a time. Our clothing eliminates them. Simple as that really. We also know that from time to time it is beneficial to have an extra sliver of protection on a purple hip, knee, shoulder, so all the products have removable internal sleeves, which afford a slim insert where you need it. Useful for when you are riding ramps that don't need full pads but still hurt to spill on. Form follows function.

Who is on the management team and what are their backgrounds?I set up www.thefactorylive.com, an experiential marketing agency, about seven years ago now, where we put on face-to-face events to promote brands allowing consumers to try products before they buy. I called up Niall Neeson after we collaborated for video games giant EA, and his consultancy group Sensible Answers (www.sensibleanswers.org) now handle our brand development. Niall is the founder of Kingpin, Europe's biggest skate magazine, so we couldn't

really have found a better fit for our brand within the European industry and core scenes.

What's different about your company, both in product and the way the company works?In terms of product the benefits are there for all to see as soon as you realise the advantages of a product designed with function first. As a company we are led by our testing team so our starting point is what works and not what the rest of the market is doing.

Why should retailers sell your brand?Because no one else is looking out for the consumer as a practitioner.

What is the sales spiel retailers should use when telling customers about your products?Brands like Dickies, Carhartt and Hard Yakka have all established a presence because they are functional workwear - an accidental asset. We make casualwear with much greater protection through design, research and development, and so you only need to buy a fraction of the quantity of clothes you end up ruining through bails, slams, knee slides and all that good stuff.

Do you sponsor any riders? What other marketing are you running?Yes, we have a banging skate team stretching from the UK to Bulgaria and will be releasing a series of vignettes online to showcase them, a real eclectic mix of legends and new bucks on the come-up. We

also hook up scene leaders from some of the other niche grooves of urban culture who advise us on product tweaks from genre to genre. Invaluable knowledge that. Other marketing ideas include a new media launch which will go direct into riders' hands without the need for middlemen, and of course our community website where our followers can exchange ideas, pick up tester samples of new products and become involved with the movement.

Have you noticed any affects from the recent global economic turmoil?Absolutely - across all the creative industries all the soft money has gone and it's not coming back.

What do you foresee for the future of the industry?The days of the giant domestic distributor are numbered, if not already over.

What does the future hold for your company?Believe it or not, we are actually working with a NASA-tested fabric right now, which may come in across all lines in the near future if our rider and follower response is positive. Developing our team's dreams and ambitions is a really important one, we can help young people to live their dreams, and so we build on that daily. Beyond that, Eastern Europe is looking particularly strong for us and with the spots out there this will give our media output a really fresh flavour too. Just working on optimising the functionality of our clothing really - form follows function – never forget.

clive robinson returned home from

working on the superbike circuit

one day last year and found the

skater kid next door plastered to the

pavement. a light bulb flashed and

he set up urban Kreation, the only

brand in the world to use Kevlar t in

a range of protective clothes aimed

at street sports.

CONtACt DEtAilS: clive robinson / tel: +44 (0) 203 384 5151 / www.urbankreation.com


brand profile

CREATURES OF

LEISURE

Who is on the management team and what are their backgrounds?Creatures Global Headquarters is still based in Western Australia. Satellite operations have been set up on the Gold Coast in Eastern Australia as well as Oceanside, California. Creatures have recently appointed a European Brand Manager - Hervé Lacastaigneratte (former General Manager of Quiksilver Technical Products) - located in South West France. The Global Management team are all passionate surfers doing what they love.

What’s different about your company, both in product and the way the company works?Creatures is a company dedicated to building the best surf products. Surfing is in the blood of all employees and there is a commitment to create products that Creatures own staff would be happy to use. Creatures prides itself on its creativity and has brought many world first innovations to the market including the Leash Bearing Swivel, DNA Flex Mould Leash, Sure Fire Release Tag, Slim Fit Board Covers and Hi-Lo Traction Technology. There is a strong philosophy that the products will offer the customer real benefit and there is a clear advantage in choosing to purchase Creatures.

Why should retailers sell your brand?Creatures is not simply another surf hardware brand. There is a dedication to innovation and commitment to provide surfers more from their surfing experience. Creatures produce the finest quality surfing accessories in the world; it is our sole focus to further enhance the surfing experience. It is this dedication and commitment that has attracted the world’s finest team of surfers including Mick Fanning, Steph Gilmore, Dusty

Payne, Clay Marzo, Ry Craike, Kai Barger, Nat Young, Garrett Parkes, Koa Smith, Andrew Doheny, Aaron Cormican, Romain Cloitre and many more incredible athletes.

What is the sales spiel retailers should use when telling customers about your products?Creatures are committed to providing retailers key product features and benefits as well as clear point of difference in every product presented. Creatures are serious about its products and have spent over 25 years refining its manufacturing and driving its innovations. Surfing accessories are Creatures sole focus and have chosen to pinpoint this product category. The key sales spiel retailers should use when telling customers about its products is that Creatures is simply the best product available and used by the finest surfers in the world.

What is the biggest mistake you see retailers make when it comes to selling your products? How can they correct that mistake?Not educating themselves on the technical products they sell. When it comes to hardgoods, customers are looking for guidance. The more a retailer can know about the products they sell the more satisfied the customer will be with the advice given. Buying a surfboard can be a big purchasing decision for many people. We encourage retailers to guide customers towards surfboard accessories that will help protect the customer’s investment and increase their overall surfing experience.

You only make surf accessories, have you any plans to move into the board or wetsuit market?Surf accessories are Creatures core business and there are no plans to move beyond the category

we are best at. We will continue to focus on our core categories; leashes, grips, covers, shortboard accessories, retro/fish, longboards, SUP and bodyboards.

What was the company philosophy when you started? How has it changed from then till now?Creatures focus from day one has been to produce the most innovative, quality products for surfing. There has been no change to company philosophy in over 25 years. Creatures build products for surfers and are still at the cutting edge of advancing surfer performance.

What are the biggest hurdles for the industry today? How do you think they should be overcome?As surfing becomes more mainstream, larger companies are neglecting genuine innovation and focusing on mass production. It is up to the industry to continue to push performance and encourage continual change and new ideas. This will keep the sport fresh and there will always be a place for quality products.

Have you noticed any affects from the recent global economic turmoil?The economic crisis has had its challenges however Creatures has continued to grow throughout. While surfers continue to surf, Creatures will continue to build and supply products that enhance the surfing experience. Quality products will always be in demand for surfers.

What does the future hold for your company?Continued innovation, expansion and growth.

john malloy started making surf leashes back in 1974 under

the pipelines label at their small factory in yallingup,

western australia. the leashes were made out of necessity

in the large surf of the local area. after a series of product

developments and world-first use of urethane cord in

leash construction, creatures of leisure was formed in

1987; now their product line spans board covers, traction

and auto accessories too.

EUROPEAN CONtACt: hervé lacastaigneratte / Ph +33 670 094 615 / www.creatures.com.au


01. ROXY - tshirt Janie's got a Gun100% viscose. Graphic is a blend of art nouveau and 80s retro-inspired airbrush. A special potassium based treatment process to give them an ultra worn effect, reflecting the pre worn look Retail Price : 45 eurosWeb : www.roxyeurope.com

02.AMBiGUOUS – BennethIn accordance with the simple idea of “How to make a living doing something that makes you happy,” Ambiguous keep on making clothing their friends want to wear, be they artists, musicians, skateboarders, snowboarders or surfers. Availability: SS11. Retail Price: ¤49www.ambiguousclothing.com

03. VONZiPPER – Strutz100% UV Protection, base 6 spherical lens, impact resistant CR-39 Lens, hand-tooled acetate frame, wire injected temple core, stainless steel optical hingeAvailability: SS11. Retail price: ¤85 www.vonzipper.com

04. NhS – Uncommon iPhone caseNHS is stoked to announce the partnership with Uncommon iPhone 3G/3GS & iPod Touch cases featuring customized graphics from Independent Truck Company, Creature Skateboards, Santa Cruz Skateboards, OJ Wheels and NorCal.www.getuncommon.com/collections

05. tSG – Arctic Kraken The Arctic Kraken delivers the perfect solution for athletes with problems finding the right helmet for their head shape. The segmented, flexible helmet interior is able to adapt to many different head shapes. Availability: FW10/11. Retail price: ¤99.90www.ridetsg.com

06. KARi tRAA – taule SPTaule SP is a special edition of the Kari Traa seamless base layer line.. Stretchy and seamless, this underwear is comfortable for any sports activity and the feminine pattern adds a chic, dynamic edge to an urban look.Retail price: ¤55-99 www.karitraa.com

07.SiMS the first Christian hosoi Pro Model DeckAt the age of 14 Christian Hosoi joined Sims Skateboards and turned pro. This is the first pro deck for Christian - Circa 1981. The Rising Sun Design is inspired by Christian's Asian heritage. A limited run of 250 pieces are SIGNED AND NUMBERED by Christian Hosoi. Availability: FW10 www.selectsk8.com

08. VOlCOM – Activist JeanGuaranteed “road-tested denim” - You can count on these Volcom brand jeans to be there when you need them most. Modern straight leg fit, 15" leg opening, low rise, button fly.Colours: Dark Vintage, Rinse, Indigo w/brushAvailability: SS11 www.volcomeurope.com/jeans

NEW PRODUCTS

06.

04.

08.

03.05.

02.

07.

01.

049


Like vert skaters at a big air comp, the German economy is flying. Charging ahead with continuing momentum, the second quarter of 2010 brought record growth rates at levels last witnessed in 1987. Analysts at the German Central Bank who, at the onset of the year

predicted zero (!) growth for Germany’s GDP, are now expecting a 3% increase for the entire year. It’s a Big Air Bonanza!Backed by positive trends in the employment segment and resurging exports, confidence among businesses climbed to 106.7 on the Institute for Economic Research (IFO) index in August; up from 101.8 in July. Consumers are also gradually starting to believe that all this good news is not just a fleeting trend, but here to stay. Consumer confidence climbed up to 4.1 points in September from 3.5 in July on the Association for Consumer Research (GfK) scale. So in other words, people are beginning to stop worrying and get into spending money again, to a certain extent anyway...Is the German board sports segment also soaring to new heights however? As it turns out, the tricky weather continued to prove more powerful than general economic trends this entire year. Jörg Ludewig, co-owner of Urban Supplies Distribution in Wiesbaden, sets it out: “Overall it’s been a pretty ‘flat’ year, quite a funny weather story... January and February were shitty because of snow; April was decent, then May brought rain that continued for about eight weeks. June and July were super hot, but also kind of flat because of the [football] World Cup. In August we had our open house tradeshow, so we came out minimally ahead of last year, in the single digits.”

On the retail front, this assessment is shared by professional skateboarder-turned-retailer, Klaus Dieter Span at Black Box store in Düren: “I see the changeable weather as the main negative factor. It’s been very hard to plan ahead in terms of what to stock. Accessories, hats and shirts will always do well, but there’s not much profit in those. That said, overall I’m happy because I was able to increase takings on last year.

sKate: Brands and trendsIn terms of what’s selling, the good news is that core skate brands are still the lifeblood for many stores. “Here at the shop, products by skate brands are going well, including INDY, Spitfire, Supra and even adidas skateboarding. Our hottest items are skateboards by Cliché and Trap,” says Kay-Uwe Lorck, owner and founder of the store with the best name in Europe, maybe the world, “Fuck You Too” in Dresden.Klaus Dieter at Black Box notes, “there are a large amount of newcomers in summer 2010. The market for kid’s products is opening up a number of new possibilities, almost every skate brand these days is offering kid’s clothing, much to the delight of parents.” Kay-Uwe Lorck says that events like his FYT Skate Cup also brings in the younger generation, “They’ve seen the brand at the contest and come to the store with their parents and get a complete deck, which is a great way of getting them started with a quality set-up.”Asked about their top-selling brands, retailers reported great results for Element, Plan B, Trap and Jart (hardware), Carhartt and Cleptomanicx (softgoods) and also Vans, Etnies, Supra, Fallen and DVS (footwear). In the bigger picture, Jörg Ludewig is touting a return to the situation in 1986, when the ‘Big Five’ skateboard companies reigned supreme. “The big brands are getting bigger and the small ones are staying small. Overall, hardly anyone is buying small brands anymore these days...”

online vs. stationary retailAsked about their current concerns, many core boardsport retailers replied as Sven Eckert, CEO of TX SPORTS GROUP in Nuremberg did, “What’s troubling me is the current slaughtering of retailers by massive online portals such as ‘Brands for Friends’ and other non-specialised sales portals.” Jens Gramer, CEO at 58 Store in Ulm, echoes this statement, “Sadly, stationary retail is struggling more and more. Stores crumble under the online pressure and many retailers have fallen into a certain helplessness and lethargy.” Both Sven and Jens said they are countering this trend by offering exclusive brands, product variety and service, by sponsoring events and giving customers a tangible experience that online just can’t provide.Not everyone is worried, on the hardware side of things, Thomas Tröger at Harbour Distribution (ÜBER Skateboards, Rockers Hardware) in Hamburg comments, “We know that real skate shops just can’t be replaced. Of course there’s growth in the online business, but mostly in soft goods, where price competition is tougher.”

surf: what a summer Surf season will go out with a bang with the third Quiksilver German Surf Championship organised by the German Waveriding Association (DWV) taking place from October 9th to 17th in Mimizan, France. “This will be huge! Last year we had 250 competitors and this year we are expecting up to 350 people,” said Jens Espenhahn, press speaker at the DWV, adding: “Within three hours of launching the specific event website we received more than 1,700 visitors.”Thanks to event partnerships like this, Quiksilver continues to sit in the top three surf brands reported by retailers around the country, next to Rip Curl and Billabong. Gradually, the German market for specialty shapes seems to be opening up. One of the trailblazers in this segment is Germany’s own Rouven Brauers with his innovative blend of custom-shaped surfboards. His BUFO boards – check out bufo.com – featuring Hydroflex Technology are handcrafted in Germany. Endorsed by big wave rippers such as Robbie Page, the technology has ushered in a renaissance of customised decks around the globe.

snow: Big things aheadBy the time this issue arrives in stores, the snow season should be in full swing. Actually, it has been high on the agenda for many stores since fairly early in the year, including 58 in Ulm. Says Jens Gramer, “Our pre-orders have been placed since February 2010, and we’ve been receiving our winter shipments since May!” At the same time, Jens points out, “winter street wear is kicking off really well, including T-shirts and zipped hoodies.” Strong snow brands around the country included the big players – as usual in the snow segment – including Burton, Billabong, Zimtstern and Special Blend. Jens Gramer at 58 emphasises the importance of keeping things fresh: “Our loyal customers want to see and purchase new styles. Our expectations for the season are very positive in terms of boards, boots and bindings. We are aiming for the mid-to-high price ranges and know the right brand mix is also crucial.”To bring this Market Intelligence full circle, the snow segment is of course just as dependent on the weather as the skate business, so hopes are up for early and constant snow. Jens at 58 says, that with events, a good brand mix and a special shopping experience, they, like many are looking forward to winter!

MARKET INTELLIGENCEGERMANY

By dirk vogel


The French market is being buffeted by the winds, albeit sometimes favourable, of this post-crisis shambles. Everyone’s goal is economic recovery, but optimism, a very rare gift in France these days is having trouble taking root, despite the sun shining on the skate and snowboard markets.

Besides the financial scandals enveloping Mr Eric Woerth, the Budget Minister and Lilliane Béttencourt, the country’s richest heir, the Government is really clutching at straws to try and fight the financial difficulties it’s been going through since 2008. It has announced recently a potential tax on all financial transactions and the cancellation of the polemic “tax shield”, limiting the tax rate applied to very high incomes to 50%. At the same time, to make Mr Sarkozy’s headaches worse, is the unavoidable retirement reform. Imposed due to the abysmal state of Social Security’s finances and an ever-aging French population, it dropped the country into another series of paralyzing strikes and deaf dialogues.

With Sarkozy’s popularity waning in the wake of unfulfilled campaign promises, the economy in general would appear to be sluggish, with household spending still down and France experiencing above-average unemployment (10%) for Europe. The controversial French budget minister recently confirmed that France's economy should grow by 1.5% this year, marginally, but still above the 1.4% the government initially envisaged. Sadly it will be lower amongst us humble surf industry mortals. Christine Lancereau of Ragdoll in Anglet said, “We’re really feeling the economic crisis this year; customers are more focussed on low prices but we’ve matched the demand, offering cut price products even in skateboard hardgoods.”

The surf market has ended this summer season with not all stores on the same level. Some have managed to sail through the storm while others are suffering from the change in consumption that’s occurred. This said, the surf industry has asked the right questions and stock management policies have been implemented with strategic skill. Hence, stock policies are better and end-of-the-line policies are led with measure and control of their secondary effects. While two years ago you just needed to snap your fingers to find anything half price, the industry has taken control of de-stocking networks. Discount websites and stores not really worrying about the secondary effects of their sales policies are disappearing while the industry’s strategic partners in this segment, such as Anglet’s online retailer labelpark.com, are growing stronger. In spite of this, if we read between the lines we see it’s led to a rather uncomfortable consumption trend for regular brick and mortar retailers, as Christine Lancereau mentioned.

Despite these difficulties, surfing is on the up. The aforementioned skewed consumption is pushing tourists to consume less, but better. Hence, fresh-air sporting activities and those offering more “enjoyment time” per invested euro ratio, show record bookings. Surf schools are in this category and their season has become longer through the years, now with three and a half months of full throttle activity. Hard good sales are seeing a similar trend. Consequently, as soon as the post-crisis cloud clears, surfing will enter a new growth phase.

While surfing gathers momentum, retailers are happy to count on temporary, moneymaking fads. Ragdoll’s Christine Lancereau gave an example, “Holographic wristband sales were CRAZY this summer; up to 30 units per day in August!”

In the meantime, French snowboarding is looking back at a good 2010 season and facing this upcoming 2011 winter, shops and brands are enthusiastic. Rossignol’s Christophe Chanet explains, “We’ve got a good dynamic going. Shops are careful, they order later, with pre-books based on their best sellers. The market is healthy and stable.” Alban Jehlen, from Salomon confirms, “Salomon registered a serious growth in the European market, in France and Germany in particular.” Their secret weapon? “We’re offering five different types of inversed cambers; we offer novelty.” It is true that inverted camber is becoming, more than ever, a must-have.

“Customers are more and more attracted by inversed cambers and we anticipate the progression will gain momentum,” explains Alain, from Tip Tip in Bourg Saint Maurice-Les Arcs. “We find a similar exponential trend around Boa systems for boots and back entry bindings… We are talking ease and speed. Accessible and novelty products are the sellers… but above all, originality”.

When it comes to outerwear, you will see less and less prints. “Single colours are trendy, provided they are flashy, with cool fabrics and attention to detail,” explains Michel, manager of 4 pro shops in Val d’Isère. “Customers buy fewer items but ones of better quality. They’re also buying block plain colours or block multicolour. Full prints are out, while checks and flannels are back strongly in core shops. When it comes to pants, Baggies are out and cuts are becoming slimmer,” specifies Laurent from Urban Surfers, in Paris. “These new trends are taking root and become strong sellers on the Internet.”

“Our e-shop represents 15 -16% of our turnover,” explains Ambre, from Namasté, in Lyon. “An online store is a must have if you want to remain competitive, even though there is fierce competition out there on the web. Sales on our web store confirm the trend we see in our brick and mortar store - mid to high end product. Price points don’t work for us”.

Skateboarding is smiling at the end if it’s season too, as hardgoods sales were, as can be expected during summer, generally strong. There were mutters here and there of volume remaining flat year-on-year, but overall the skate hard goods business seems to be picking up. V7 Distribution, France’s biggest catalogue of major US skate product, said that in parallel to surf and snow, they have seen a stronger demand for US "high image" brands, with sales of the more up-market and premium hard goods brands increasing. Bertrand Soubrier of Haze Wheels noted another area of hard goods sales on the increase this summer - cruisers and re-editions. “Now it’s like a return of the first generation who are buying a lot of cruisers and old school boards, because they’re pushing 30 to 40 years old now.” This falls in line with the contemporary trends in board width.

In terms of skate soft goods, sell-through this summer seemed to peak later with a greater volume moving during the sales period of the summer’s close; “We heard everywhere that the sale season was very good, which shows that people are waiting for that period to buy at a lower price,” Jean-Marc Vaissette of V7 informed us. “That also applies to the skate business. Skaters are looking for cheap prices when it comes to shoes and apparel.” One local industry veteran confirmed that the French skate footwear market has been very tough with trends changing towards slimmer and classic styles/brands.

As said before, there is good and bad in the French market, not a common voice of optimism but, hey, the light’s shining like crazy at the end of the tunnel!

MARKET INTELLIGENCE

fRANCEBy iker aguirre, lucy paltz, luke van unen.


Summer has passed. Early morning dew, low hazy sun and easy easterly winds are signals that can’t be ignored. There are no copper leaves and there is still warmth in the air, but winter is not far off and autumn is upon us today. Questions are in the air during this

changeling season. How was summer trade? What will early winter sales be like? How will consumers react to increasing rises in VAT? What will 2011 bring?

Lets start with the first of those questions; How was the summer?

According to the ONS and the information gathered from some of the UK’s largest retailers, summer was a little bit flat (not just the surf either). Overall retail sales figures for August were in decline 0.5% and the last time this happened was back in January. The ONS also revised the published figures for July’s growth from 1.1% to 0.8%.

The talk coming from several economists is that this sharp fall in retail spending is a reaction by the consumer to the political decisions that will cut public spending in the second half of 2010 and increase VAT at the start of 2011. But is this affecting our market? Where are the vast majority of pounds spent on Surf Skate and Snow product coming from? Parents? Students? Young Professionals?

There is no certainty, but if you look at a typical surf store, you could argue that during the summer it is the family market that drives sales via holiday purchases, inexpensive wetsuits, bodyboards and start-up surfboards mixed with an ever-decreasing amount of surf fashion. During the spring and winter months, this market is driven by weekend surf tourists, usually young professionals with disposable income, or students with loans to spend. Adding to this is the yearly trade provided by the core local customer (who probably gets a 10% discount), these guys and girls are buying must-have equipment, higher priced wetsuits, specific fibreglass or new construction boards and the odd tee here and there.

Is this customer demographic different for snow and skate? You could argue that skate stores lack a holiday market although there is a seasonal up turn during the summer months and skate does not readily attract the young professional market. You could also argue the snow market has a customer demographic similar to surf, with tourism playing a greater role in overall sales. The more ski and snow holidays taken by UK residents the greater the sum of money spent on essentials, surely?

So, does a drop in British wintersport holiday numbers as reported by the likes of Crystal (11% reduction in bookings during the 09/10 season) equate to a reduction in sales or are the savvy Brits booking their winter breaks without the aid of these package companies?

I called some snow retailers towards the end of September to get an insight into early season trade and their thoughts on the current trends. Most stores had around 80% of all winter stock in the process of being delivered, but on average, 90% of all hard goods were on the floor (or the website) and selling already. The second week of September seems to be the most common ‘start’ of hardware sales, however Bataleon delivered as early as the start of August and

capitalised on some good first-in first-out sales! So far some notable requests from consumers seem to be the higher end products from the likes of Burton, with many snow veterans or seasonaires adopting a buy-it-now policy when it comes to the products they can’t live without. Thoughts from retailers are that this is largely driven by the reduction in many manufacturers levels of inventory. Outerwear sales are yet to materialise in any great number but for the most part outerwear sales won’t hot up till November or December. Chris at Revolutionz in Norwich gave me an in-depth run down on summer sales and early season snow. “Summer has been good here, early in the year we had the opening of a new £300,000 skate park. This has helped increase our BMX and skate business. We consolidated our brand mix going into spring and removed the ladies fashion, which has allowed us to invest that budget into areas, which we see as core to our business.

“Our men’s fashion is driven by the likes of Volcom, Etnies and Emerica, with focus around skinny fit denims, dark tailored tees or tops and a minimalist look finished with a pair of Vulcanized soles or some classics from adidas. ‘Adi has been a recent edition to the store and it has sold very well to all types of customers and draws a different consumer through the door.

Our winter season has started really positively, with Ride and K2 delivering boards at the end of June. These started selling to our local dry slope riders and seasonaires straight away. In the last couple of weeks we have seen more ‘holiday snowboarders’ who have booked a trip for the winter and are now starting to think about equipment, this is where we make the majority of combination sales, boards, boots, bindings, but you can only do this once all three categories have hit the floor, which usually means these sales come later in the season.

So far our best sell-through is on Salomon boards with Rome right on their tail, our outerwear is starting to attract some attention, bright colours are being picked up and our first drop of Thirty Two outerwear has sold a couple of pieces already. I think we are in for a competitive season, there is so much good product out there from all the brands, consumers don’t feel the need to buy the most expensive piece of kit just for the name, its becoming way more performance focused.

I’m quietly confident that we will have a good season and this, in my eye, is largely dependent on snow. There’s talk of plants fruiting early from friends in Europe and apparently this is the old farmers telltale sign of a snowy winter! All in all, I’m pretty confident as an independent snow retailer, service and choice are our most valuable assets and we are constantly striving to offer the best in both of these areas.”

So dear readers, there seem to be some perky shop keepers out there, ready for the winter and its up and downs. I for one am looking forward to the Autumn/Winter and all the fun, fun, fun it brings.

Keep smiling.

our Winter season has started really

positively, With ride and k2 delivering

boards at the end of june. these started

selling to our local dry slope riders

and seasonaires straight aWay.

MARKET INTELLIGENCE

U.K.By dave colwill


To the disappointment of the entire country, the Austrian government decided to postpone the release of its highly anticipated budget saving programme until December. With vital elections coming up in Vienna and Styria this October, one need not be a genius to

recognise this step as an obvious attempt to keep as many voters as possible from drifting off to the sadly ever stronger right wing party.

With the rather bumpy order season for spring 2011 behind us, it would seem appropriate to reflect on the somewhat similar summer sales of 2010. With most of Austria’s shops playing it safe this summer by focussing on the larger brands which year after year have proven to be top sellers, Tim Dyson of Fame Boardshop in Vienna detects an identity crisis within the core skate stores, frustrated by the fact that the exact brands that used to be exclusively available within their area, can now be purchased at any mega-store or fashion boutique. Robert Longin from SP-United defines this development as a vicious cycle in which core stores devote themselves to establishing smaller brands which immediately expand as soon their trend catches on. “Such is the fate of the core dealer,” says Robert.

Shoe trends for Spring 2011 can be defined by words such as slim, flat and canvas. At the same time, extravagant models, straying away from the classic skate shoe styles, such as Elements “Emerald collection” also seem to be on the rise. The same goes for tight jeans, low cut shorts, plaid shirts, both long and short, as well as Chambray.

Vintage and understatement models such as Rusty’s ‘Blank Series’ are most definitely also worth mentioning, especially considering the fact that this somewhat simple fashion, serves as common ground between boardsport, core and mainstream fashion stores and hence leads us to the next point on this articles agenda:

Whilst youth clothing was one of this summer’s top sellers, women’s clothing suffered a severe setback. When asked about this development, Joachim Weitgasser’s of Weitgasser Altenmarkt gave the simple answer of price. One top from the aforementioned simple fashion line in a core or boardsport store, amounts to the same price as two or three very similar looking ones in a mainstream fashion shop. The only difference of course is the missing price or defining logo. With the latest trends always in stock at easily affordable prices it is a somewhat sad but undeniable truth that huge fashion chains such as the one that begins with H and ends with M have become a very welcome alternative to boardsport and core stores.

On the bright side, Nille from La Resistance in Zell am See, reports that in contrast to women, men still lay a lot of value on which brands they purchase. In any case, survival of our beloved boardsport business will, in the end depend on what we have always done best: being independent, creative and thus setting ourselves apart from the rest. A prime example would be the new “wired series” hooded sweater by Rusty, available for men and women, complete with integrated earphone plugs. My personal favourite of this past order season and hopefully an inspiration for the future.

market intelligence

AUSTRIA By Uwe Ballon, Motion Sports

Did you know Ireland has the cheapest rooms in Europe for hotel accomodation? (So a poll showed.) A party capital still, Arthur Guiness will be pleased!

Winter stock is beginning to move. Admittedly, Northern Ireland is slower than the Republic of Ireland, possibly down to increased retail footprint as two major UK players opened flagship stores within a week of each other in central Belfast. This will pinch core stores further when winter sports apparel might be dumped into season sales. This threatens the elusive hunt for margin for independents towards Christmas.

Ireland is probably unique among Western economies in having been hit so hard by the economic down turn and also savaged by rapid deflation. Now, you can manage if you’ve got money, because your cash will go further, but widespread borrowing in the high times is still being felt nearly two years later. Turnover has declined and profits are down and many retailers in Ireland are operating on skeleton staff and have readjusted their cost bases.

With re-adjustments made, and what some people call ‘becoming more competitive!’ means, slowly, people are spending again but generally they are paying less for the same goods. Retailers are meeting their demand but putting themselves under pressure for margin and it’s hard not to focus on this.

I recently caught up with Ollie at Ocean Scene based in Ennis Co. Clare who told me, ‘”People have definitely changed their buying habits. It’s been tough but we’re back on track… hardware is steady… both across skate and surf. Animal

and Quiksilver are still my major brands and DC for footwear. I can see a definite shift moving to traditional mountain sports brands like The North Face, but I am stock rich at the moment so something would have to go before I could introduce something new. My surf school is doing well and there is always plenty of surf to enjoy through September and October.” Check him out on www.oceanscene.ie

Another interesting surf story is the Irish Surf Association attempting to ensure two waves are saved in Doolin County Clare. A proposed harbour pier is set to interfere with these classic waves. If you are interested in showing some support for the West Coast Surf Club and the Irish Surfing Association, please follow the link below and sign their petition. This contentious plan is also facing opposition from current World Pro-Surf Champion, Australian Mick Fanning and from FáilteIreland. They’re simply requesting that Clare Co. Council ensure the engineers engage with local surfers and agree to alter their designs to protect these waves. http://www.petitiononline.com/Doolin10/petition.html

So, Ireland is business as usual, struggling through our modern blight. Heads are down, working hard to get by. Fists held high in defiance of the fat cats who dare destroy what we hold closet. We still need a push in the right direction, as we can be our own worst enemies with our old chum deflation rearing his head. Retail deflation signals that consumers are still jittery, but history shows us that normally, an end to retail deflation is needed for general confidence to return through the rest of the economy. So, the sooner we find the balance and build confidence in ourselves, the sooner we’ll feel the recovery.

The financial media is reporting that Russia is back on track and the recession is finally over. Car sales have started to grow after almost two years of constant decline. Some are showing +50% growth, even among the luxury sector. Despite two months of heavy drought,

the economy survived and GDP is reported to be up 3% (1% less than expected due to consequences of the drought). There are also positive signs in the bank’s attitude to small and medium sized business. Instead of sitting on their money, they have started to loan. Besides this, there is a pretty low (for Russia) inflation rate that has led to lower interest rates; averagely they saw a drop from 20-24% down to 10-13%. Retail is generally doing much better than a year ago, however it is still in pretty bad shape and bigger companies are recovering faster than small ones. Tourism is doing passably as well. Last week, I spoke to a friend of mine, the owner of the well-known Russian company Ertzog. This is one of the leading tour operators in the ski and snowboard industry, he said that bookings are coming in fast and he expects record numbers this autumn. The action sports market is moving a bit slower than others but things look positive here as well. Distributors have just finished collecting orders for Spring 2011 and the bottom line is… if you did not increase the volume of the orders by at least 50% from Spring 2010 then you’re in trouble. Spring sell-through was pretty good and it could have been much better had there not been extreme temperatures and forest fires in the continental part of Russia. In August, Moscow was completely deserted. People fled the smoke, which was even on the underground. Thanks to a lot of effort by Russian skate deck producer Absurd skateboards,

skateboarding is back. Hard goods are selling quite well, there are still problems with shoes and apparel, but things are not looking as bad as in early spring. Retailers can already feel that. Distributors are a different story; it looks like some companies were hit so heavily that they will never recover. Many of them are sitting on stock and experiencing serious problems financing their businesses. Some are still shipping spring orders to their customers, which is not a good thing for brands if it continues.Beach and surf brands were huge this summer, the heat made everyone need at least a few hours on the beach everyday through July and August. Sandals and boardies were bestsellers everywhere. Despite the warm weather at home many people were travelling to surf destinations and Bali and Sri Lanka are still the top spots for the young and active. The surf influence is very strong right now. Wakeboarding also received a portion of new comers, in Moscow the cable project proved to be very successful. Wake surfing – a new sport for Russia - was the flavour of the month in Moscow this season. Increased orders for Spring 2011 are a direct result of this current trend. We already have the first feedback from snowboard sales. Due to small orders last autumn, sell-through was proportionally strong and it seems that there will be reorders this autumn. Early bird distributors shipped more than 60% by the end of August and some retailers have already sold out of specific boards!We all will, as usual, pray for snow. Please, let it snow! I wish everyone the best winter ever.

market intelligence

IRELAND

market intelligence

RUSSIA By Yuri Kolobov

It's high time to get on with the winter and put this second-rate summer behind us! Once again a lack of warmth and sunshine has done nothing to remedy a difficult economic situation.

Maybe it didn't hit quite as quickly as in other areas but the effects of the crisis that is said to be finishing are still very much present. Some retailers are struggling to survive. According to them, it's just as busy as before but the cash people are parting with has nosedived, the average amount spent plummeting by 50%. You've got to be pretty tough to handle the loss of half your season's turnover. With fearful consumers and abominable weather, this summer was a real headache for many of us.

Even the Ticino canton wasn't spared from bad weather. For Alan at Specialboard, Mendrisio, boardshort and flip flop sales were tough going, but he managed to compensate for this by selling jackets, hoodies and other heavy items, getting rid of his leftover winter stock in the process - not such a bad thing after all.

One bonus for specialist shops in Switzerland is that they can dust themselves off after a bad summer season and focus on their main business period, which starts right now with winter gear. The winter season is, more often than not, the decider while the summer season can be bad without disastrous consequences. This is due to there not being much initial purchasing outlay and any remaining stock simply costs less. We all hope that the winter will be a good one, that everyone can struggle up the hill and make it over to the other side.

The skateboarding market seems a little stuck; after a spring and early summer that were on track, overall sales have been rather subdued and this applies across the board. It seems to me, seeing skateboarders on the streets is becoming less common, especially just being used for getting around. Of course there are still loads of people in the skate parks, the big contests like the European Skateboard Championship in Basel are still attracting a crowd and new videos are causing a stir on Facebook. What kind of skater or ex-skater can resist Andrew Reynolds’ part in “Stay Gold”?!

However, a drop in the general enthusiasm and sheer number of skateboarders inevitably decreases the number of boards sold too. Further, it is obvious that the situation of the Dollar vs. the Swiss franc is problematic. The Dollar is so low that youngsters with a bit of money can group together and place orders on the Internet to get their stuff cheaper stateside. This is definitely becoming more commonplace and is weighing heavily on certain retailers.

Distribution changes have taken place and after the restructure of Rusty on a European level, Nidecker have decided to take charge of the brand in Switzerland from the start of 2010. This operation makes sense when you know that Romain de Marchi, closely linked to Nidecker through his collaboration with YES snowboards, has been the Rusty ambassador since the launch of their outerwear. Casoar have also now taken control of the glove brand Celtek.

market intelligence

SWITZERLAND By Fabien Grisel


Let’s start with the Italian economy in general. Italy seems to be recovering but the problems of cash flow and long payment terms still remain. This is causing problems for a lot of companies in the distribution sector, as they have to finance their goods for over four

to five months. In politics there are continuous ups and downs because Prime Minister Berlusconi has been causing confusion for quite a while now.

For the boardsport business, the SS11 selling season is coming to an end and there are some trends I can definitely point out. Shoes are still selling well, super slim shoes in different colours are popular, but also the really chunky styles are making a big comeback. The normal skate shoe has slowed down a bit, as this kind of style is not so trendy at the moment. In addition, the tech factor is not a big deal at present, as nobody seems to care if a shoe lasts two months or a year! For clothing, the tank shirt and V-neck shirt are the new must have for spring/summer 2011 season. Headphone sales are still strong; Wesc is having great success with their headphone line in the fashion stores while Skullcandy remains the most popular in snowboard shops.

For winter ‘10, the normal hoodie of various colours and prints is the biggest profit maker, not far off are shoes and jeans. The zip hood has yet to become popular, Italians seem to prefer a well-tailored full hoodie.

Skate hard goods sold well this summer and retailers are very happy the skate business is strong again. Comvert, who distribute the Italian brand Bastard, has taken over the agency selling Jart in Italy, so good luck guys.

Shops are already receiving their winter goods and there’s one interesting thing I’ve noticed. Because hardgoods can be difficult to sell if the snow comes late, shop owners want to create a second selling tool by putting their hardgood inventory online. Nearly all snow retailers are creating an online presence. Hopefully, the Italian customer can get familiar with buying online, because the shops are investing a lot of money in their websites and they deserve some sales and profit from it.

Most of the online web stores are having a lot of hits and viewings but so far, not many sales. This tells us that the customers are already using the Internet to choose their gear, but in the end, they still want to buy directly from a shop. First of all, the traditional Italian customer isn’t used to buying online as the market is still pretty slow and secondly they like buying in real life. Many online dealers around the country agree; they have a lot of requests via e-mail, but only a small percentage of those evolve into an online sale. Many customers are still more confident with phone sales rather than mailing or instantly buying.

Personally, I think that our online market will reach a similar size in relation to our population and country size that Germany has now, in about five years. So, those sowing the seeds well today will be rewarded soon.

That’s all for now, hopefully the snow will come soon and winter goods will sell smoothly. We need a good winter season after a difficult spring/summer season what with economic turbulence and abnormal weather!

MARKET INTELLIGENCE

itAlY By franz hoeller

How and when the economy will begin to recover must be one of the most asked questions in Portugal. Everyday seems to bring more bad news. Recently we heard about various European Governments’ spending rates for 2010. Greece reduced theirs by 14%, Ireland by

2.9% and Spain by about 2.5%. Only Portugal’s Government increased their spending comparatively to 2009, by a full 4%! As the financial needs of the state increase, it’s absorbing most of the credit available, crowding out the businesses and raising interest rates that private initiatives have to pay to access any loan. Even the public debt is paying interest of almost 6% in some cases. It would be dangerous not to expect nasty consequences from this.

Next January 1st, taxes will rise once again for employers and employees due to the phase out of tax deductions and the new Contributive Code. At a time when unemployment is at historically high levels, close to 11%, it seems we are doing all we can to make it worse. If a Martian landed in Portugal it would probably think it was a country ruled by nutters! To make matters worse, this is how it’s always been. For centuries the Portuguese Governments seem to have taken sadistic pleasure in ruining the economy and impoverishing the Portuguese. However, despite this tough economic environment our industry is still thriving and it seems there’s a market ‘clean-up’ going on which is probably a good thing.

Most of the well-established and professional retailers have streamlined their inventories and the brands they carry. Better-kept records and data as well as tighter financial management seem to be helping, as they should be.

Generally, retailers are worried about the economy and unemployment, but the

most important factor remains Mother Nature. According to Frederico Laranjo, owner of Jump Store in Faro, his customers are already ordering snowboarding hardwear and are anxious for winter. “I am fairly optimistic regarding my snowboarding business and the last few week’s sales have been pretty good for back to school products like backpacks, denim and Vans classics shoes”. He also added that he has to carry a wide range of product in order to give his customers choice.

The Tribal skate shop manager and co-owner, Eduardo Viegas, is also optimistic about next season although he doesn’t see any major changes from last year. “The hottest product and brands in our store are basically the same as last year; canvas shoes, denim and woven sales will keep growing”. Joaquim Guedes, owner of Waimea surf shop in Matosinhos says, “The major reason why I am optimistic about the future is the growth of our market’s customer base, the number of people surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding increases every year and the age range is widening.” He said that today he sells to consumers from 8 to 40, when a few years ago his customer’s age range was a lot narrower. Another very important factor is the web, which provides extra product information. According to Joaquim, the demand for snowboarding products will be a lot higher this season. “Last year there was a shortage of product, so our customers are already ordering and buying product as they don’t want to miss out. So if there’s snow, business will be pretty good”.

It seems that there are reasons why we can congratulate ourselves on our industry. There’s good product on the market, professional retailers and demand. Let’s get to work.

MARKET INTELLIGENCE

PORtUGAl By helder ferreira


Praktikant/in im Bereich Kommunikation/PR

Wer wir sind…

FREEDOM & ENTERPRISE versteht sich als Kommunikationsagentur mit Fokus auf Public Relations und berät nationale sowie internationale Kunden im Bereich Sport, Mode und Lifestyle. Wir bieten unseren Kunden die kreative Ideenentwicklung, fundierte Beratung, strategische Konzeption und die Umsetzung aller PR- und Kommunikations-Maßnahmen.

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engagierte und kreative PraktikantInnen für die Bereiche PR, Events und Social Media, die unsere Mitarbeiter durch die Übernahme vielseitiger Aufgaben unterstützen. Arbeiten wie journalistische Hintergrundrecherchen, Presseaussendungen, Aufbau und Pflege von Journalistenkontakten, Versand von Musterteilen, das Erstellen von Pressespiegeln, aber auch die Unterstützung bei Events, Pressekonferenzen und Shootings gehören dabei zum Tagesgeschäft. Auch die eigenständige Abwicklung einzelner Projekte ist vorgesehen. Im Optimalfall bringt Ihr sportliches sowie modisches Interesse mit und habt ab Mitte September sechs Monate Zeit, diese im Herzen von München, am schönen Gärtnerplatz, zu verbringen.

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Haben wir Dein Interesse geweckt? Dann schick uns Deine Bewerbung, gerne auch per Mail, an:

FREEDOM & ENTERPRISE Daniela Golik Gärtnerplatz 5 80469 München

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We are looking for a

PRODUCT MANAGER APPAREL SNOWBOARD

IIC-INTERSPORT International Corporation is the brand-management and purchas-ing company of the INTERSPORT group. With its retail turnover of EUR 9.3 billion and more than 5’200 associated retailers in 38 countries, INTERSPORT has the worldwide leading position in the sporting goods retail market.

OUR REQUIREMENTS: Degree in apparel technology • Experience in sports apparel development • Education in business administration • Fluent command of English, both written and spoken • Negotiation skills, international flair, sportive mentality • Good social competence and team spirit

YOUR DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: Plan and execute all aspects of product management • Develop international apparel collections for technical snowboard gear - Exclusive Brands • Create design briefings and range plans • Analyse sales results and market trends • Position the category and set product strategies • Organise and lead meetings with international and external customers • Supervise and guide (assistance)

OUR OFFER: Challenging opportunity at INTERSPORT International with domicile Berne/Switzerland • Cooperation in a dynamic team • Possibility, with creativity and personal commitment, to further develop our business • Progressiv conditions of work and employment

IIC-INTERSPORT International Corporaton, Monika Baumgartner, Head Human Resources, Wölflistrasse 2, CH-3006 Bern, Tel. +41 31 930 78 01, [email protected]

Associate Footwear Merchandiser –Converse UK & Ireland

(London-Based)

MISSION: Drive overall footwear merchandising process in UK and Ireland, aligning local market requirements and objectives with regional and global brand strategies

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES:Optimize the seasonal footwear go-to-market (GTM) plan for UK & Ireland:Assist in driving the overall seasonal footwear merchandising and UK range compilation and adoption:

- Help in determining the mix of product by Tiers and Channels;- Assist in defining GTM plan on franchise / story and key product initiative basis across

market tiers and channels;- Recommend product price positioning;- Construct seasonal product flow plans;- Determine seasonal carry-over strategy;- Identify in-line programs to be positioned as exclusive offers with key accounts.

Coordinate seasonal GTM strategy together with UK sales and marketing team; act as a footwear ambassador in key meetings.

Provide support on seasonal GTM tools – catalogs, price lists, etc.Develop account exclusive programs (SMUs) for the UK key accounts:Identify and size the need for new-to-develop exclusive account products and programsSet up seasonal SMU plans for UK key accounts;Assure diversification in SMU offer;Align Suggested Retail Pricing with in-line offer;Align design and development executions with in-line developments with global teamManage data input and data maintenance for all SMU developmentsPrepare and execute presentations of SMU plans to the key accountsProtect timeline of critical moments during the seasonDirect efficient handling of sample flow in office.Identify and communicate local needs to global team:Analyze historical sales performance and define seasonal needstogether with commercial teamIdentify relevant consumer insights &market trends in UK & Ireland and communicate to regional & globalofficesMap regional needs for each season and communicate on timeline to global product teams (based on sales history and markettrends)

Required Experience: -• European Footwear Merchandising Experience or similar commercial role• Knowledge of European Consumer and retailer landscape and emerging market trends• UK market knowledge desirable• Demonstrated ability to convert consumer insights into product brief and successfully develop

and drive SMU programs• Key account experience: proven track record of interaction with buyers as well as decision

makers• Strong communication and presentation skills• Microsoft Office – Word, Power point & Excel

Interested candidates should apply online via http://www.converse.co.uk/jobs.

OPPORTUNITIES

The general economic situation in Spain continues in bad shape. There is some indication of a slight recovery such as recovery of the property market, but the main indicator indexes are not positive for the second term. This is really

worrying because it means tourism, a vital industry in Spain, has not yet recovered. Thus, we should expect a negative quarterly GDP reading for the third quarter of 2010. On the other hand, the board industry is not in such bad shape. Unlike with the housing sector, where the banks won’t even look at you, if your figures are in black and you can show a solid business plan of sorts, it’s possible to get the necessary credit to survive and expand. That said, it’s by no means certain, if the banks feel insecure because of reduced sales, or they don’t get the right impression from the managers, it can bring serious problems. This uncertainty can be tough for the shops. They’re walking a tightrope unable to make any slips during the winter season or their credit lines will be cut. This negative perception of the Spanish board industry from the finance sector doesn’t seem justly deserved, but there isn’t a serious association of board brands or shops to pay for objective research to counter this view with facts. What is crystal clear is that hardware is not suffering. The figures are practically the same as the previous year however clothing continues to drop. Skaters’ budgets are limited and for many, the idea of spending €100 on a sweater is just unthinkable. While the crisis is not going to stop them from skating, there has been an important change. Research has shown there has been a shift towards brands offering good quality for a low price. Thus, some expensive American brands have lost sales and some local brands like Nomad have increased their hardware sales considerably. Nomad forecast this trend shift, so got themselves a good credit deal to be able to satisfy the increased demand for their hardware.The Spanish snowboard sector is mainly terrified! Not only by traditional doubts about the weather, though these seem unfounded. In the last four years, two have had enough snow for lifts to open on time and the other two saw snow while the ski stations were still closed. They also fear the crisis. Shops have been ultra cautious with their purchasing forecasting, they’re buying little by little even though this will increase their overall costs. This is even tougher for softwear, which has even smaller sales but they prefer it to the risk of a backlog at the end of winter.

Dolce Vita, one of the best skateshops in Spain has clear ideas, “We’re focussing on our core customers and they demand good boards from reliable brands at a good price. We don’t pay attention to hype brands anymore. There’s no room for experiments. We also make sure we’re a newcomer friendly shop, being honest and selling them what they need. We hope they’ll value and repay that in the future with their continued custom. A shop has to be not just a sales point; it has be a place where the costumers get advice, especially the new ones. A place where you can hang out, read skate mags, see videos and find other skaters. Shops without this diversity and those with the atmosphere of a petrol station will close.

MARKET INTELLIGENCE

SPAiN By chus castejo


ONLINE MARKETING MANAGER (M/F)

Responsibilities:

[email protected]

ATOMICSNOW.COM

LOGOS DATE:

11 . 12 . 09

Die Lafuma Gruppe ist ein international aufgestelltes Unternehmen im Bereich Outdoor und Fashion und mit einem Gesamtumsatz von 260 Millionen Euro einer der größten Anbieter auf dem europäischen Markt. Ein Garant für eine weiterhin erfolgreiche Entwicklung ist dabei das Surf- und Snowboardlabel OXBOW.

Für den Vertrieb der Marke OXBOW suchen wir kurzfristig eine(n)

Reisende(n) oder Handelsvertreter(in) für Norddeutschland bzw. Nordrhein-Westfalen

und eine(n)

Reisende(n), Handelsvertreter(in) oder Agentur für Österreich

Sie haben bereits mehrere Jahre Berufserfahrung im Sport- und/oder Fashion-fachhandel und können sich und andere für unsere Produkte begeistern. Sie arbeiten selbstständig, ziel- und erfolgsorientiert.

Die Hauptaufgaben sind die Betreuung der bestehenden Kunden sowie Neukun-denakquisition, Verkauf und Umsetzung der Markenphilosophie. In Ihrer Freizeit surfen Sie aktiv und auch auf dem Snowboard machen Sie eine gute Figur.

Sollten wir Sie herausgefordert haben, senden Sie bitte Ihre aussagefähigen Bewerbungsunterlagen in schriftlicher Form an:

Lafuma Group GmbH, z.Hd. Herrn Haid Fabrikstr. 35 – 73266 Bissingen/Teck

Tel.07023/9511-0 / E-Mail: [email protected]

OPPORTUNITIESOPPORTUNITIES

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EVENTSOCtOBER/OCtOBRE/OKtOBER1 WAtERMAN’S BAll tBC fRANCE SURf WWW.EUROSiMA.COM1 -3 CAPSUlE - WOMENS PARiS fRANCE tRADE WWW.CAPSUlEShOW.COM7 – 18 RiP CURl PRO PENiChE PORtUGAl SURf WWW.ASPWORlDtOUR.COM20 - 24 SKi & SNOWBOARD ShOW lONDON UK tRADE WWW.MEtROSNOW.CO.UK23 ROCK thE CRADlE fOR JONNY RAMANO hOUSON USA SKAtE WWW.WCSK8.COM28 - 31 WOMEN iN BOARDSPORtS SAAS fEE SWitZERlAND tRADE WWW.WOMENiNBOARDSPORtS.BlOGSPOt.COM29 – 1 SKiPASS MODENA itAlY tRADE WWW.SKiPASS.it29 - 31 lONDON fREEZE lONDON UK SNOW WWW.lONDONfREEZE.COM29 - 01 StOMP it MODENA itAlY SNOW WWW.SKiPASS.it30 - 10 RiP CURl SEARCh PUERtO RiCO SURf WWW.RiPCURl.COM

NOVEMBER/NOVEMBRE/NOVEMBER12 - 14 hORSEfEAthERS PlEASURE JAM SChlADMiNG AUStRiA SNOW WWW.PlEASUREJAM.COM12 – 14 SNOW-ShOW BUDAPESt hUNGARY tRADE WWW.hOShOW.hU

DECEMBER/DECEMBRE/DECEMBER5 t-MOBilE EXtREME PlAYGROUNDS BERliN DEUtSChlAND SKAtE WWW.t-MOBilE-PlAYGROUNDS.DE8 - 20 BillABONG PiPE MAStERS hAWAii USA SURf WWW.BillABONG.COM19 WORlD SNOWBOARDiNG DAY WORlD WiDE SNOW WWW.WORlD-SNOWBOARD-DAY.COM

JANUARY/JANViER/JANUAR2- 8 O’NEill EVOltiON DAVOS SWitZERlAND SNOW WWW.ONEill.COM6 - 8 ROXY ChiCKEN JAM SAAlBACh AUStRiA SNOW WWW.ChiCKENJAM.COM8 - 15 BURtON EUROPEAN OPEN lAAX SWitZERlAND SNOW WWW.OPENSNOWBOARDiNG.COM15 SPiRit Of fAShiON BERliN DEUtSChlAND tRADE WWW.SPiRit-Of-fAShiON.COM16 - 18 SNOW AVANt PREMiER lA ClUSAZ fRANCE tRADE WWW.SNOWAVANtPREMiERE.COM17 - 18 ASAP ANNECY fRANCE tRADE WWW.SPORtAiR.fR19 - 21 BREAD & BUttER BERliN DEUtSChlAND tRADE WWW.BREADANDBUttER.COM20 - 22 BRiGht BERliN DEUtSChlAND tRADE WWW.BRiGhttRADEShOW.COM23 - 25 ShOPS fiRSt tRY VENEt AUStRiA SNOW WWW.ShOPS-fiRSt-tRY.COM23 - 26 SKi tESt tOUR MERiBEl fRANCE tRADE WWW.SPORtAiR.fR24 - 26 EDiNBURGh SNOWBAW EDiNBURGh UK tRADE tBC30 - 31 SNOW AVANt PREMiER PEYRAGUDES fRANCE tRADE WWW.SNOWAVANtPREMiERE.COM31 - 1 PRO ShOP tESt MONtA BONDONE itAlY tRADE WWW.PROShOPtESt.COM31 - 2 READiNG SNOW BAW ShOW READiNG UK tRADE tBC

fEBRUARY/fEVRiER/fEBRUAR 2 - 3 SKi tESt tOUR SERRE ChEVAliER fRANCE tRADE WWW.SPORtAiR.fR4 - 5 BillABONG AiR&StYlE iNNSBRUCK AUStRiA SNOW WWW.AiR-StYlE.COM6 - 9 iSPO MUNChEN DEUtSChlAND tRADE WWW.iSPO.COM8 - 13 NESCAfE ChAMPS lEYSiN SWitZERlAND SNOW WWW.ChAMPSOPEN.Ch14 - 19 tAC OSlO NORWAY SNOW WWW.t-A-C.NO21 - 23 SliDE tElfORD UK tRADE WWW.SliDEUK.CO.UK

MARCh/MARZ/MÄRZ7 - 13 BURtON US OPEN StRAttON USA SNOW WWW.OPENSNOWBOARDiNG.COM14 - 16 EUREXPO lYON fRANCE tRADE WWW.SPORtAiR.fR16 - 18 WiNtER X GAMES EUROPE tiGNES fRANCE SNOW WWW.tiGNES.NEt

SURFSKATESNOW TRADE

All thE lAtESt EVENtS CAN BE fOUND ON OUR WEBSitE - WWW.BOARDSPORtSOURCE.COM


Firewire - Myles Hutchins Gul - Jake Patterson Lightning Bolt - Brad Hart Nial Neeson, Wes Morgan (Rock Solid Distribution) and Bud (SS20)

Protest - Demelza Warner, Darryl Charles, unknown

TKC Sales - Tim Green WeSC - Mark Selvey and Peter Turvey Craig Smith (Dragon) and Anthony Hickey (Santa Cruz)

Kris Barber and Sam (both Dirtball) Matt Rumble (Hurley)

Mike (IAMWHY) Simon Tucker (Santa Cruz) and Leo Krajewski (Hydroflex)

Buffalo + Seb Marcq Caroline Tonin Helene Grolleau Volcom Marylene Baur

Dartenuc + Picolo Fred Ducez Bufallo Antoine Benetrix Seb Marcq Fab G Maillet

Hanalei Antoine Benetrix Fab G

Perrine Coudroy VZ Adrien Waller VZ Marco Zuchetti DaKine Tom VZ Emilie Chaminade Element

Philippe Vial Element Sophie Fall Element

ONE EYED MONStER

VONzIPPER 10 YEARS PIRATE PARTY (HOSSEGOR, FRANCE)

HUB, BRISTOL

EUROSIMA WATERMANS BALL 2010 © Stéphane Robin © Claude Etchelecou

HOTzONE INTERTUX

049Véronique Basse, Rémi Forsans (Outdoor Sports Valley)

Agnes Fontan (Surf Session) Chloé Delanoue (Surfeuses Magazine)

Amaury Lavernhe, Eloïse Bourroux Portugais (Rip Curl Europe), Christine Feuille (Rip Curl Europe), David Portugais (Cool Shoe)

Audrey Caulonque, Wilco Prins (Rip Curl Europe), Baptiste Caulonque (Rip Curl Europe)

Carl Weiser (Xcel), Cira Riedel (7sky magazine)

Clive Ripley (Boardsport Source Magazine), Rasmus Ostergaard (Method Mag)

Damien Catinaud (Hoff), Franck Goudou (Insight), Grégoire Puget (ASP Europe), Alex Maillet (DC Europe), Franck Corbery

Franck Corbery, Amandine Sanchez (O'Neill Europe)

Franck Laporte-Fauret (EuroSIMA), Eloïse Domenjus (Rock Food), Cédric Jourdein (Pukas-Viral Surf)

François Payot (Rip Curl), Harry Hodge

Jean-Louis Rodrigues (GSM Europe), Valérie Thevenot (Quiksilver)

Martin Potter, Harry Hodge, Reid Pinder (GSM Europe)

Quiksilver's cantine at the news campus

Rasmus Ostergaard (Method Magazine)

The Volcom team

Thomas Casamayou (Intellysurf), Bernard Crepel (Quiksilver)

TNT Tribute to ACDC

Anthony & Seppe Smits (Riders) Ines Kreutzer, Alex Rieger (both Oakley)

Lib Tech Crew Marco Smolla (Rider) Michi Kahl (Billabong)

Oefi (Pleasure Mag) Rudi Kroell (Aesthetiker) Sam R. Tapper, Adrian Schnerring, Christoph Gross & Crsten Kurmis (all Rhythm)

Stoffl Huber (Hotzone Pro Shop) Uli Koehler (Onboard Mag)

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