Loyal amateurs and professionals craving the latest board designs and technologies — the way Apple devotees flock to the newest iPhone — have helped manufacturer Firewire Surfboards LLC achieve double-digit sales growth over the past three years.
“Southern California is our biggest market, and we have also done very well recently in Japan, Europe and Australia,” said Mike Milliken, the Carlsbad company’s national sales manager. “For all of the problems you hear about Europe’s economy, we’ve even seen double-digit growth in that market.”
U.S. companies tied to the surf and skate industries rode a generally improving economy to more than $6 billion in retail sales in 2012, according to a recent report by the trade group Surf Industry Manufacturers Association, which represents more than 300 suppliers and sellers.
The Lifestyle
While the group did not have trending data comparing 2012 to prior years or its prior reports — partly due to a change in methodology by third-party researchers — experts said sales are being driven by dedicated, passionate surfers and skaters who continue to spend at specialty retailers.
That’s in spite of an economic climate that remains tough for the primarily youth-oriented demographic, in terms of growth in jobs and disposable income.
“The desire to be part of the surf lifestyle continues to help drive sales,” said Doug Palladini, the association’s president, who is also vice president and general manager for the Americas division of sport footwear maker Vans Inc.
The Local Scene
Sales for specific providers are not included in the industry report, but experts have estimated that San Diego County has approximately 30 locally based businesses involved in the surf and skate lifestyle sectors. They include clothing and accessories makers like Reef and Nixon, skateboard maker Sector 9, retail store operators such as Sun Diego and South Coast, and several surfboard manufacturers.
Firewire CEO Mark Price said the privately held company, which does not disclose financial data, has approximately 140 global employees, including 120 at its wholly owned factory in Thailand.
Controlling Inventory
Milliken said advances in computer assisted design and related technologies have helped Firewire craft a large variety of board models, including some made with eco-friendly materials, in an efficient manner that limits inventory surpluses. Production is kept closely in line with customer orders made online and in retail stores.
Sean Smith, executive director of the Aliso Viejo-based manufacturers association, noted that in addition to loyalty among consumers, sales are also being driven by improving technology being developed in items like wetsuits.
“A wetsuit is not cheap, but surfers very much appreciate these suits that are becoming warmer, lighter and more flexible,” Smith said.
Product innovations are coming out of vibrant clusters of like-minded companies, in places like Oceanside, Carlsbad, Mission Beach and Ocean Beach. North County surf board makers, for instance, are using digital manufacturing technologies and incorporating sustainable materials and practices.
“It allows them to develop boards with different materials and even different shapes and sizes,” Smith said.
Weather Matters
He said the surf products industry is heavily weather-dependent and seasonal, and both the East and West Coasts have generally had conditions in the past two years that sustained strong sales. A crucial exception, which impacted the industry nationwide, was last fall’s Hurricane Sandy.
“Sandy was a devastating thing for our industry, but especially for those locally owned shops in the Mid-Atlantic that had to somehow rebuild and reopen,” Smith said.
The industry group’s retail study, based on research by consulting firm Leisure Trends Group, said sales in 2012 were led by surf and skate equipment sales, contributing $439 million nationwide.
That category was followed by surf and skate footwear, including men’s and women’s shoes and sandals ($225 million); and men’s apparel including boardshorts ($202.5 million).
The surf manufacturers group data generally tracked with wider industry trends in a newly released report by the Illinois-based National Sporting Goods Association, showing 2012 sales of all sporting goods up nearly 19 percent from 2008, at $29.6 billion.
“According to our research, the sporting goods industry saw slight declines in sales in 2008 and 2009, but since then, sales have been increasing steadily,” Dustin Dobrin, director of research and information for the sporting-goods trade group, said in an email.