English

ISSUE #079. DEZEMBER 2015/ JANUARY 2016. €5
NITRO CO-FOUNDER SEPP ARDELT
YOUR ON-SNOW DEMO GUIDE
RETAILER PROFILE: TIGNES SPIRIT
BRAND PROFILES, BUYER SCIENCE & MUCH MORE.
TREND REPORTS: SNOWBOARD BOOTS & BINDINGS, SNOW HELMETS & PROTECTION, CRUISERS,
STREETWEAR, SKATESHOES AND SURF APPAREL.
US
Editor Harry Mitchell Thompson
[email protected]
Surf & French Editor Iker Aguirre
[email protected]
Snowboard Editor Rémi Forsans
[email protected]
Skate Editor Dirk Vogel
[email protected]
German Editor Anna Langer
[email protected]
SUP Editor Robert Etienne
[email protected]
Graphic Design Séréna Lutton
[email protected]
Web Media Manager Denis Houillé
[email protected]
Proofreaders
Insa Muth, Marie-Laure Ducos, Sam Grant
Contributors
Jokin Arroyo, Benoît Brecq, Gordon Way,
Fabien Grisel, Franz Holler, Adam Rowlands,
Robert Etienne, Anna Langer, David Bianic,
Siana Ivanova, Gayle Hockin.
Advertising & Marketing
[email protected]
HELLO #79
Most of mainland Europe saw a fantastic
summer of sun, and unseasonably good waves
meant 2015’s summer produced the goods. As
we know with the winter season, November and
December is when the snow really matters and
things have started off according to plan. The West Coast of America finally saw some
solid snowfall after a dismal few winters, and
snowboard sales are up nearly double compared
to the same time last year. It’s a welcome relief
for snowboard retailers across the pond and
Snowsports Industries America (SIA) even
warned of product scarcity should El Niño
really take hold, thanks to specialty stores going
for lean product lines after a handful of tough
years.
Looking closer to home, at the time of writing,
the European Alps and Pyrenees have just been
battered by some major snowfall with more
looking likely for the coming weekend. But the
biggest current storm is the movement in the
exchange rates, with the rise of the dollar eating
into brands’ inventory margins throughout most
of Europe, whilst the rise of the sterling and
the Swiss Franc means online business is now
increasingly competitive.
However, there seems to be an air of quiet
optimism around, as brands are more prepared
than ever for whatever the winter storms will
dish out. And according to this issue’s market
intelligence, it would seem European retailers
(like their American counterparts) are managing
their cash flow better, slimming down on
product offerings for this winter and learning
from over-stocking issues of recent seasons.
Could it be possible that we look back on the
second half of 2015 as the beginning of a real
turning point for the boardsports industry?
Always Sideways
Harry Mitchell Thompson
Editor
CONTENT
11 Contents
54 Ride O’Meter
12 News
56 Skateshoes FW16/17 Trend Report
Accounts Manager
[email protected]
15 On-Snow Demo Previews
58 Buyer Science: Gianluca Tognoli, Italy
16 Trade Show Previews
60 Men’s Surf Apparel FW16/17 Trend Report
To Subscribe
www.boardsportsource.com
[email protected]
19 Retailer Profile – Tignes Spirit, France
63 Brand Profile: Mons Royale
21 Snowboard Boots FW16/17 Trend Report
65 Brand Profile: S-Wings
25 Snowboard Bindings FW16/17 Trend Report
66 Brand Profile: Big Balls Collective
Publisher
[email protected]
28 Boardsports Marketing
68 Brand Profile: FLVR
31 Cruisers 2016 Trend Report
70 Brand Profile: Cheapo
34 Big Wig: Nitro Co-Founder Sepp Ardelt
72 GreenRoomVoice
37 Men’s Streetwear FW16/17 Trend Report
74 New Products
Published by
ESB
22 Friars Street, Sudbury
Suffolk, CO10 2AA. UK
42 Women’s Streetwear FW16/17 Trend Report 77 Market Intelligence
45 Your On-Snow Demo Guide
86 Events
Boardsport SOURCE is published bi-monthly
© ESB. All Rights Reserved
49 Helmets & Protection FW16/17 Trend Report 89 One Eyed Monster
www.boardsportsource.com
On the cover: Dennis Dusseldorp, Director at Low Pressure Studio
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
11
INDUSTRY news
Halldor Helgason launches
outerwear brand under Stigma
Distribution
Halldor Helgason is launching his own outerwear label, named Atrip. After
Nike SB pulled out of snowboarding last year, Halldor was left without
an outerwear sponsor and he has joined forces with Stigma Distribution
(responsible for Horsefeathers) to create his own brand of snowboard
outerwear. Atrip will produce streetwear inspired snowboard apparel that
is suitable for Halldor’s three hobbies: snowboarding, skateboarding and
partying.
Zimtstern to open Munich store
Zimtstern have opened a store an 80 m2 store in the attractive Glockenbach
area of Munich.
PacSun given 180 days to turn things
round by NASDAQ
Pacific Sunwear of California (PacSun) has received a warning from the
NASDAQ Global Select Stock Market. The youth lifestyle apparel retailer
has failed to meet $15 million (market value) of publicly held shares for the
30 days leading to October 29, violating a NASDAQ listing rule. PacSun
has 180 days (until April 26, 2016) to ensure their publicly held shares
are $15 million or more for a minimum of 10 working days back to back to
regain compliance.
RIP CURL REPORT STRONG RESULTS
Rip Curl posted an increase in net profit before tax by 26.3%. Fuelled by
strong sales globally allowing the company to supply significant returns to
their shareholders. The company returned to profitability in Europe in this
financial period, and saw flat, yet stable sales. The company has reported
an overall growth of 3.7%.
Quiksilver to sell Ampla running shoe
brand to former employees
Quiksilver has asked the bankruptcy courts to allow the sale of its running
shoe brand Ampla to two former employees for $200,000. Ampla was
started by the company in 2013, but has since fallen out of favour with
Quiksilver as the company has looked to focus their attention on core
business. The former employees are Rob Colby who served as Quiksilver’s
President of the Americas regions from 2011 - February of this year, and
former Chief Legal Officer, Charles Exon.
Thierry Kunz Returns To Nidecker As CMO
Ex-professional snowboarder Thierry Kunz returns to Nidecker after
spending nine years serving in a number of positions at the Quiksilver
group including: Head of Global Winter Marketing (DC, Roxy, Quik), EMEA
Marketing Director for DC Shoes and Snow Business Manager for DC Shoes
in Europe. Kunz started Donuts snowboards before serving as Nidecker
Marketing Manager until 2006. Kunz now re-joins Nidecker in the role of
Chief Marketing Officer and he will also sit on the board. Theirry will be
focusing primarily on the Nidecker and Laird brands of the group. 12
#79
ANOMALY ACTION SPORTS PARTNER WITH
PLEIN NORD DISTRIBUTION partner
AAS has appointed Plein Nord Distribution as the sole distributor of
Shred Optics and Slytech Protection in France. Neff appoints Olivier Lemoine to run
European Operation
Neff has appointed industry vet Olivier Lemoine as the company’s General
Manager in Europe. Lemoine has held a number of positions at brands
including Adidas, Rip Curl and most recently Skullcandy where he worked
as EMEA Sales Director for all channels. Olivier will run the Neff European
operation from their new European HQ in Innsbruck. Surf Expo Launches New Preview
Event for June 2016
Surf Expo have announced the launch of a new preview event, ‘Preview
Days’ whereby retailers can preview and purchase product for the
following Spring period on the east coast of America. Preview Days
takes place from June 23-24, 2016 in Orlando, Florida and falls between
the show’s original two events in January and September and acts as
a platform for the East Coast to place last minute orders before July 4
weekend, and to also view product before ordering.
Black Diamond sells POC to Investcorp
for $65 Million
Black Dimaond has completed the sale of POC to Investcorp, a provider
and manager of alternative investment products for $65 million. POC, the
eyewear and protection company turned sales of $34.8 million in 2014.
Black Diamond started on a strategic review process earlier this year, and
this sale of POC allows the company to focus on their other brands Pieps
and Black Diamond. Black Diamond originally acquired POC for $44.9
million in July 2012.
Nikita & Bonfire Europe to be run from
Munich. Sessions to be reintroduced
into Europe.
Pretty Great LLC is officially operating out of its new European base
in Munich. The global Pretty Great team is comprised of new hires to
complement long-term employees to help them with the business transition
this past year from Amer Sports. Nikita are returning the company returns
to its roots, offering three snowboard models and focusing on providing
well-considered design with their streetwear and outerwear collections.
Pretty Great will also bring Sessions back to Europe, with a reintroduction
to select dealers at ISPO. All Pretty Great brands will be operating with
direct sales throughout selected territories
Triple Eight NYC Appoints TKC Sales As
UK Distributor
TKC Sales has been appointed the new exclusive distributor for Triple
Eight NYC products in the UK and Ireland. Triple Eight NYC are a USbased designer and manufacturer of protective gear for the action sports
industry. Ian Hendrie will lead the UK & Irish distribution for Triple Eight
NYC, and will be assisted by TKC’s Sales Director Matt Woodruffe and the
whole TKC team.
#79
INDUSTRY news
World Snowboard Day - Returns for
10th edition
Blue Tomato opens new stores in
Tyrol and Vorarlberg
World Snowboard Day returns for its 10th edition on December 20 this
year. This year sees more events than ever before.
Blue Tomato has expanded in Western Austria, with two news stows;
one in Bregenz and one in Wörgl. The company now has more than
450,000 products from 650 brands with a large online presence for the
snowboarding, freeski, skate and surf channels with 23 doors across
Austria and Germany. Blue Tomato now has 490 employees, including
220 in the logistics sector and 270 shop staff.
Mervin appoints Julia Mantler as
European PR & Marketing Manager
Mervin Manufacturing continues to up its European game with the
appointment of Julia Mantler to the newly created position of PR & Marketing
Manager for the region, where she will be based at the company’s European
HQ in Munich. Mantler most recently served as Head of PR at Millhaus
GmbH, where she was responsible for brands including BMW, Red Bull
and Specialized. She will report to Mervin’s General Manager for Europe,
Marian Kaeding.
Pally’Hi appoints Johannes Ritter as
Global Brand & Sales Manager
The brand, founded by snowboard pioneer and former snowboard World
Champion Peter Bauer, has brought Johannes Ritter into the fold to
accelerate its development and equip itself for the growing demand of its
lifestyle merino products.
Surftech continues restructuring
with changes to executive
management team
Surftech have appointed Ryan Guay to the position of VP of Sales, and
have added Monique Dabbs to the team as Director of Operations in the
latest wave of a restructuring initiative underway at the company. As
well as Surftech’s changes to management and operations, they have
been revamping their line-up in surf and Stand Up Paddling with the
introduction of new brands, new models and new technologies for 2016.
These include appointing NSP as their U.S. distributor for all products
and the re-launch of the Donald Takayama Surfboard line, an expansion in
the Channel Islands offering.
Bob Hurley steps down from CEO
position
Hurley Founder Bob Hurley is stepping down from his position of CEO
of the brand. He is transitioning to a new position within Hurley’s parent
company, Nike to “cultivate the community and extend Nike’s relationships
with elite athletes”.
Homeschool hires Fred Royle as
European Brand Manager
American snow outerwear brand Homeschool has appointed former
Westbeach CEO Fred Royle as their European Brand Manager. Royle will
help the company get up and running in Europe, where he has a wealth of
experience from his days at Westbeach.
Homeschool are launching into Europe this season with an exclusive
capsule collection at TSA in the UK. Homeschool manufacture high quality
outerwear garments, which implement 37.5 technology on each layer.
Laird Hamilton launches apparel
company
Big Wave surfer and all-round waterman celeb Laird Hamilton has
launched his own apparel label - Laird Apparel LLC. The line will include
garments for those who enjoy an active lifestyle and require functional,
technical apparel.
SUPERbrand Announces Joint
Venture With Xtrementerprise To
Expand In Europe
SUPERbrand have entered into a joint venture with Xtrementerprise that
will see the surf brand expand its European presence. This new alliance,
based in Biarritz will allow SUPERbrand to grow its presence in France,
Spain and Portugal, while countries where SUPERbrand is currently
distributed (UK, German, Austria, Denmark, Russia and Greece) will
remain with their current distributors. Xtrementerprise currently has
their products distributed in 3,800 shops in France, Spain and Portugal
and has 425 employees.
...Lost Moves To Licensing Model
…Lost have entered into a new business model, whereby they will
continue to design, merchandise, market and sell the brand from its
HQ in Irvine, California, while manufacturing, sourcing and financing
will come from an investment group led by manufacturer and inventory
logistics operator, Nick Agakanian in Chino, California.
Catch Surf Appoint Rollin’ Stoke SAS As
European Distributor
Rollin’ Stoke SAS, European distributors of Sector 9 have been
appointed the European distributors of Catch Surf, the San Clementebased performance foamie surfboard company. Rollin’ Stoke SAS are
based in Soorts Hossegor, and professional surfer Alain Riou has been
appointed European ambassador for Catch Surf.
TITUS CROWNED VANS SHOP RIOT
CHAMPIONS 2015
After a summer packed with regional qualifiers, Europe’s finest skate
shops gathered in Madrid for the Vans Shop Riot Finals 2015. It was
German shop Titus who were crowned 2015 Champions, even though
the withdrawal of a teammate early on in the contest looked set to
thwart their chances. But team manager Yannick Schall stepped in and
delivered the goods. Swedish based Coyote Grind Lounge picked up
second place while Titus skater Farid Ulrich also picked up the best
trick prize.
13
On Snow Demo Previews
SNOW AVANT-PREMIÈRE, LA CLUSAZ, FRANCE, JANUARY 10-12, 2016
French and European retailers meet at la Clusaz to test the whole
range of snowboard products from almost 50 brands on snow. Last
year Snow Avant-Première welcomed 328 shops, most of which from
France but also including retailers from England, Wales, Switzerland,
Belgium and Germany. Following the successful introduction of the
exhibition wall inside the 450m² showroom tent last year, the tent
will again return, allowing retailers to evaluate hardgoods, softgoods,
boots and accessories in a professional and relaxed atmosphere.
Brands who have already confirmed their attendance include: Amplid,
Arbor, Burton, Capita, Dakine, Drake, Gnu, Jones, K2, Lib-Tech, Never
Summer, Nidecker, Nitro, Northwave, Picture, Ride, Rome, Rossignol,
Salomon, Slash, Smith, Union, Völkl Snowboards and Yes.
After riding, there’s a ‘happy hour’ from 5pm every day inside the
showroom tent. This is the best time to debrief, speak with reps and
press to exchange views on the kit you have tested with retailers and
to look at the exhibition wall to choose which snowboard you’ll test the
following day. On Sunday evening Radio Meuh is organizing a Snow
Avant Première party at “Le Bachal” in downtown La Clusaz.
Two people per shop are invited to test the collection. The invitation
includes access badges, ski passes for the La Clusaz resort, breakfast
and lunch. If you are more than two people or if you want to extend
your journey, it costs 50 Euros extra per person and per day. For
people who come from far away, the organizers provide a shuttle
from Geneva Airport to La Clusaz for 45 Euros (return trip) and
accommodation with special prices.
As always Sportair’s ASAP takes place down the hill in Annecy, where
brands show their apparel lines through their own showrooms or
at the ASAP specific showroom. Shuttle bus services run between
showrooms, and on the Monday night don’t miss the Fashion Show
Party at Impérial Palace in Annecy. www.sportair.fr
SHOPS 1ST TRY, ALPBACHTAL, AUSTRIA JANUARY 17-19, 2016
Following last year’s successful event at the new Alpbachtal location
the event will take place in the same location this year. The location is
easily accessible from all directions, just 75 minutes from Munich, 45
minutes from Innsbruck and 1hour 45 minutes from Salzburg.
Sandbox, SevenNine13, Slash, Smith, SP Bindings, Switchback, Union,
Vans, Völkl Snowboards and YES. On Sunday night there will be the
highlight exhibition dinner in the congress centrum Alpbach, a mixture
of dinner and exhibition in a chilled atmosphere.
Brands confirmed this year include: 686, Adidas snowboarding, Amplid,
Amplifi, Anon, Arbor, Bataleon, Bent Metal, Bern, Burton, Capita, Dakine,
Deeluxe, Drake, Flow Snowboarding, Flux, Gnu, Goodboards, Head,
Icetools, Jones, K2 , Karakoram, L1, Lib Tech, Lobster, Marker PSE,
Never Summer, Nidecker, Nitro, Northwave, NOW, Pally’Hi, Picture,
POW, Ride Snowboards, Rome, Rossignol, Roxy, Salomon Snowboards,
For the first time Shops 1st Try will open its doors to selected retailers
from other European countries as well: retailers from Eastern Europe,
Scandinavia, Benelux countries Greece and the Baltic states. For those
who are interested, ask your local distributor for a limited registration
code. As ISPO is only four days later it might even be interesting for
retailers flying in to stay until ISPO. www.shops-1st-try.com
SNOW SHOP TEST, BARDONECCHIA, ITALY, JANUARY 31-FEBRUARY 2, 2016
Snow Shop Test, the number one B2B event in Italy for the ski and
snowboard market will underline its focus on winter sports equipment
with a new name for 2016 - Snow Shop Test. This is all part of an
expansion of the shop-testing concept under the name of Pro Shop
Test Tour into new markets by the organisers, Moon. Pro Shop Test
Tour consists of three events for winter sports, bike and outdoor
equipment with Snow Shop Test (Bardonecchia), Bike Shop Test
(Bologna and Rome) and Outdoor Shop Test (Reggio Emilia).
This year sees the Snow Shop Test return to Bardonecchia and the
event (for the first time) is to be held after ISPO following consultation
with last year’s visitors. As before approximately 100 shops will be
invited to the SST with free accommodation, food and lift tickets,
in order to try next season’s product in the middle of the selling
season. For its sixth edition the demo will see the upgrading of the
freeride exhibitor area and the launch of a new Ski-Alp section. Snow
Shop Test will announce the 2016 program soon but the main activities
are already confirmed: the Snow Shop Awards, B2B workshops with
market figures, welcome party and new on snow activities. www.snowshoptest.com.
FUTURE TRY, SWITZERLAND: DAVOS JANUARY, 10-11 AND LES CROSETS, FEBRUARY 1
Future Try is the on-snow B2B test events for Swiss snowboard
retail. Participating retailers have the opportunity to test next season’s
top boards and bindings on some of the most exciting trails and terrain
that Switzerland has to offer. And of course, the event would not be
complete without the chance to acquaint oneself with the products in
a more intimate, “hands-on” atmosphere with the brand professionals
themselves. After the on-snow testing, visitors can enjoy drinks with the Swiss
snowboard industry. Brands attending this year are: Amplid, Arbor,
Bataleon, Burton, Capita, Flow, Head, Jones, K2, Never Summer,
Nidecker, Nitro, Ride, Rome, Rossignol, Salomon, Völkl Snowboards
and guests. Retailers have a choice between Davos or Les Crosets.
www.snowboardbox.ch
15
TRADE SHOW pREVIEWs
FASHION WEEK, BERLIN, GERMANY, JANUARY 19-21, 2016
This winter’s Berlin Fashion Week will be the first since the demise
of BBB and the first ever which sees Bright under the ownership
of a group that also includes the SEEK and Premium shows. All the
shows are now working together to create a seamless experience for
all visitors to Berlin with the intention of maintaining Berlin Fashion
Week’s importance for European retailers. As part of this the joint
ticketing system is a one-for-all with SEEK, Premium, Fashiontech
Berlin, Bright, Show & Order, Ethical Fashion Show and Green
Showroom all accessed via a single registration from the start of
December. Free shuttle buses will run between Bright/SEEK and
Premium.
www.fashion-week-berlin.com
BRIGHT, BERLIN, JANUARY 19-21, 2016
For 2016 Bright is back at its new home next to SEEK for its first winter
show. The combination of the two shows in one location has made the
Berlin Arena one of the draws of Berlin fashion week. Bright now looks
and feels like a proper tradeshow with all exhibitors on a single floor
whilst the continuation of the de-industrial backdrop of previous venues
fits well with the variety of stand designs.
For this winter the big change is the opening up of a further 500 square
metres of space, to create a skateable area surrounded by standardized
booths. This will bring skate back into the heart of bright and cement
its position as the defacto home of skate and youth streetwear during
Berlin Fashion week. The street course will consist of two quarterpipes
and a number of other obstacles. This will give skate hardgoods
companies a real focus for the show and will provide opportunities
for brand skate teams to put on displays. Teams confirmed so far are
Element, Etnies and 24/7 and a program of events will be announced at
a later date.
Additionally the catering will be moving back inside and the number of
gangways has been reduced to help increase visitor flow in the middle
of the hall. Brands at the show include Altamont, Atticus, Black Eye,
Brixton, Carhartt, Cheapo Brand, Cleptomanicx, Converse, DC Shoes,
Diamond Supply, DVS, HUF, Element, Emerica, éS, Etnies, Globe, Irie
Daily, Levis Skateboarding, Makia, NEFF, Nixon, Obey, Reell, Shisha,
Turbokolor and Vans.
Bright will present its annual European Skate Awards Ceremony for
the fifth year on Tuesday, January 19. It will be the official main event
of the Bright Trade Show and will be held in a new location, the Lido
in Kreuzberg. The Lido is a legendary Berlin music venue where
skateboarders will feel right at home. More then 600 personalities from
the skateboard industry including the top European pro skaters and
industry leaders as well as the fashion industry and art/music crowd
are invited. The after-party will be held directly after the ceremony and
in the same location. Guests will see the winners pick up awards in the
following categories: media platform of the year, brand of the year, shop
of the year, photographer of the year, video of the year, video part of the
year, rookie of the year, skate charity of the year, the Red Bull Media
House videographer of the year and European skater of the year.
This is the first Bright since The Premium Group purchased the show
and it will be interesting to see how the synergies help the show
develop.
www.brighttradeshow.com
SEEK, BERLIN, GERMANY, JANUARY 19-21, 2016
Seek is located at the same venue as the summer show, right next to
Bright and for the winter edition the two shows will be connected by
a covered walkway so no need to exposure yourself to the elements
to get from one show to the other. SEEK is Berlin‘s most progressive
contemporary fashion trade show and presents more than 200 brands
from modern menswear, new classics, upper streetwear, selected
womenswear, authentic designer collections and lifestyle products.
Brands presenting include CLAE, Deus Ex Machina, Dickies, Element,
Happy Socks, Heimplanet, Herschel Supply Co, Iron & Resin, Komono,
Lightning Bolt, Native Shoes, Pointer Footwear, Poler Outdoor Stuff,
RVCA, Stance and Wemoto. The hall is all on one floor and all the
stands are of a standard size and build and minimalist design with
just the brand name and products on display. All other band marketing
is kept to a minimum inside the hall giving all brands an equal
opportunity to attract people walking the hall and giving the products a
chance to really shine.
www.seekexhibitions.com
Jacket Required, London, February 3-4, 2016
Jacket Required - the menswear tradeshow, showcases premium
menswear casuals over two floors at The Old Truman Brewery, in
London’s trendy East End. The show’s bare white walls, and the
provision of two simple hanger-rails per stall allows for buyers and
brands to get back to basics - the product. A slight overlap with ISPO
last winter saw the more technically orientated retailers chose Munich
over London. However, Jacket Required has no conflicting dates this
year, arriving two weeks after ISPO. Event organisers introduced a
new entrance and further space for the July edition of the show, and it
proved to be a big success.
16
With its convenient central London location, it’s easily reachable
by tube, rail, bus or foot. Shoreditch High Street Station, Liverpool
Street Station, Aldgate East Station and Old Street Station are all
within walking distance. The London-based premium menswear show
at The Old Truman Brewery returns for its ninth edition. The show’s
come a long way since its launch in August 2011 with just 30 brands;
four years on and it now offers a comprehensive selection of over
300 international premium brands from all aspects of menswear that
reflects the strength and creativity of the UK market.
www.jacket-required.com
retailer profile
tignes spirit, tignes, france
Owner and local legend Kieran “Kipper” Hicks opened Tignes Spirit in 2007 with a novel business concept – instead
of weary holidaymakers venturing out for rental gear on arrival in resort, Kipper took the gear to them.
Fast-forward eight years and Tignes Spirit is still providing tourists with that same service, but Kieran has also
transformed the business into a hub for the community, providing locals and seasonnaires with knowledgeable
sales staff, first rate snowboard technicians and accommodation; whether it be for week-long holiday lets or for
those lucky enough to spend a whole winter in town. Shop Manager Corinne Mayhew answers our questions.
Please give a brief history of your store.
Kieran started Tignes Spirit in 2007 as the only mobile rental
snowboard delivery company in Tignes and Val d’Isere. Spotting a
niche in the market for quality snowboard hire as well as a reliable
delivery and collection service, he worked in conjunction with local
businesses and the enterprise has now grown into a full size shop,
which rents out and sells a wide variety of equipment. Having started
out with independent Canadian brand Option, we now rent and sell
Endeavor, Signal, Burton and Ride snowboards. The shop doubled in
size a year ago, and now stocks outerwear, hardware, touring and
splitboarding equipment, and is the go-to shop for most services and
requirements in Tignes… even accommodation!
What are the benefits of having a physical shop over simply having an
online store?
All staff have been handpicked for their in-depth knowledge, cando attitude and friendly banter. They’re all amazing riders too, with
several national and international titles under their belts. The clients
really benefit from speaking to our technicians face to face, and it can
really make the difference between having the right gear specific to
their needs, and just buying gear that their friends have recommended.
Please talk us through some of your sales techniques.
We trust in the brands that we stock so it makes our jobs easier
when the products are able to speak for themselves directly. Our
knowledgeable and keeno staff are given the opportunity to demo and
experience hardgoods first hand on some of the best slopes, parks and
freeride terrain in Europe. Doing this enables them to add their own
feedback when reviewing or recommending a product. This authentic
experience is essential when matching a product to a customer’s
needs, and definitely gives us that extra-special edge when it comes to
customer service.
We also offer free demo days for those who would like to ‘try before
they buy’. This is a great way for the client to test a variety of boards
before settling on one and helps them to feel happy in their selection.
Tell us about the rental market.
There is a lot of competition from large chain rental stores in Tignes
and Val d’Isere, but we have built Tignes Spirit to be different and
offer angles of service that others haven’t considered. A-typical to the
French shops, we stay open all day (no need for long lunch breaks!)
and stay open until midnight on weekends so that those arriving late
don’t feel stressed that they won’t have their gear in time for lessons
the next morning. We believe that our range of quality accommodation,
friendly, knowledgeable staff and reliable delivery/collection service
gives us the edge over other rental shops in the area.
What kind of advice can you give other independent retailers who are
trying to compete against the big box megastores?
It’s good to be looking at the competition and ramping up your stock or
online store but stay true to what makes you quintessentially ‘you’. Big
box companies seem to lack community integration. Use the power and
freedom of being small to your advantage and get creative with events.
That’s the benefit of not having 20 different marketing heads or CEO
etc. fighting over what cat picture they should feature on Instagram.
Does your store sponsor athletes?
We sponsor up and coming athletes, who are training hard for the
British freestyle team, as well as older athletes who have been around
for a while. Freeride, Freestyle, Street, Boardercross…we’ve got a
team for every discipline! Based in such an amazing resort like Tignes,
it’s massively important to support grass-roots competitions and
events, and basically keep the stoke alive and remember why we all
love living in the mountains.
19
photos: Nitro
trend report
Snowboard Boots FW16/17 Trend Report
Snowboard boots are a big deal. They’re also such an important part of the sport - and of your buy - that getting the right ones
onto the shelf next year is utterly critical. What are the biggest names in snowboarding showing next winter? Let’s turn to the
future and look at what boots are coming up down the road. By Tom Wilson-North.
THE ABSOLUTE MUSTS
The R&D focus is still very much on freeride and big mountain models
next year. Luckily things are lightening up with some funky new sole
technologies. Rome’s Guide has a proprietary low-volume Vibram
outsole, which loses bags of weight and gets a more slimmed-down
overall footprint, and 32’s Jones MTB model - an industry first and
bestseller last year - drops sole weight without losing beefiness. The
existing 15/16 Jones outsole ends up on the a new model called the
TM-Two XLT, which will also inherit the full rubber toecap which is as
good at kicking steps into hard snow as it is prowling around soggy
resort backstreets after après-ski.
Moving down from the summits and turning an eye to the midmountain, we loved Deeluxe’s new Yusaku Horii pro model featuring
mixed materials and an eye-catching look, designed for a park and
freestyle rider looking for a supportive soft to mid-soft platform. It’s
good to see soft boots moving into the spotlight and makes me yearn
for my squidy old Forums. Another big development in park boots is
Northwave’s new premium Prophecy S freestyler, which features their
new Corset sock - a new way to fuse the liner together with the upper
of the boot for uninterrupted transfer of sensation.
Vimana concentrate their boot technology down to one model - the
Continental - which is a cow-free vegan boot (you heard it here
first) with a pretty unique neoprene construction. Also pushing
things forward at the top end are Burton, who are starting to build
boots using the woven style, which is big news in pretty much every
other footwear segment right now. Their way of doing it is called
Ultraweave, and you’ll see it on the Almighty (men’s) and Ritual
(women’s) models. This 3D weave allows them to reinforce parts to
add durability, and to eliminate a ton of waste by not having to stamp
out individual parts. Both these new models sit just below the SLX in
the line.
Over at Salomon, the mad scientists in their boot lab are still cranking
out success stories, and 16/17 is looking like a somewhat pivotal year
for them. The big news is Mutation, “which is a real turning point
for us; a revolutionary way of designing, developing, and producing
snowboard boots”. It’s showcased on the HiFi high-end freestyle
model, which sits at a reasonably palatable 429¤.
“The human foot and ankle are not symmetrical and neither should be
your boots,” explains DC Snowboarding Global Hardgoods Director
David Appel. The brand introduced Travis Rice’s asymmetrical boot
last year to great acclaim and continue this through to 16/17. Also for
this year, DC introduce Shredbot Torstein Horgmo’s first pro boot,
“Running shoes. Although we’ll take the advancements in cushioning & construction, you can
keep the snotty noses and headbands, thank-you very much”
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trend report
which David claims is the “first snowboard boot purposely developed
for today’s level of snowboarding.”
Vans’ customisable Infuse boot becomes responsibility of do-it-all
team rider Pat Moore, who lends his ride-anywhere vibe to the model
and gives it a special New Hampshire “Live Free or Die” colourway.
Flow’s boot line sees a full retool, with the new Hylite Heellock Focus
getting a new hybrid lacing system and positive forward lean shell,
whilst Rossignol’s Crank Boa H3 and Alley Boa H3 get a refit and
overall stiffness upgrade.
INNOVATIVE BOA SOLUTIONS
We’re seeing companies using Boa in some inventive ways next
year. Vans have been a big part of the Boa story since day one; Juss
Apivala, their Global Category Manager explains: “Hybrid Plus Boa
uses it as a new way to customize the flex of the boot. So your boot
delivers a wider range of flex. As a rider you expect your boots to
perform in any terrain, in any condition. It’s a bit like with phones back in the day you had your music player, camera, video camera and
phone as separate devices, but these days you expect them all to be on
one device and obviously be best in class. Same with our boot.”
We love the concept of being able to change the way a boot works at
the flick of a dial, and can’t wait to try it on the hill. K2, meanwhile,
upgrade their existing Maysis model to a Maysis+ with Tailored Zonal
Fit, using three levels of top to bottom Boa zone tension without the
need to turn two dials to get there.
AESTHETICS
Since clients often seek to link their boot colour with the rest of their
outerwear, boots seem to follow outerwear aesthetics pretty closely.
Next year is the same. There are mixed materials and dark tones from
Rome, animal prints and mesh materials from Head and natural, earthy
and structured finishes from Deeluxe.
Being one of the world’s leading footwear brands, it’s no surprise
Adidas are taking snowboard boot inspiration from other areas of
business; the Samba nodding to their football roots and the Superstar
shell toe screams classic Adidas. And 32, as always, have some very
bright 1990s pop colours, which will brighten up your boot wall nicely.
LINERS
Anyone buying boots likes to rip the thing apart and see what’s
going on under the hood. So liners are getting the attention that they
deserve. Adidas have fiddled with their boots to improve flex. The
brand with the three stripes and Nitro are also making their boots
heat mouldable top to bottom, making for a better fit straight out of
the box. Vans have an easily readable three-liner line with a ton of
customisation options, Salomon are using a new liner concept called
Shadowflex and Burton are selling liner upgrades called Toasters.
These guys sound impressive, with a very thin and lightweight
rechargeable Lithium Ion battery woven into the foam, which charges
via a micro USB cord. The three heat settings provide four to eight
hours of foot heat, and you can plug it into your USB charger just
like you do with your phone. Towards their high end Burton are
“Boots seem to follow outerwear aesthetics pretty closely...there are mixed materials and
dark tones from Rome, animal prints and mesh materials from Head and natural, earthy and
structured finishes from Deeluxe”
CLOSURE SYSTEMS
Despite this advancement, Boas will still be used as closure systems
of course, and Boa has seen continued strong growth by everyone
using it. Snowboarders like Boa. But there are some emerging
alternatives out there you need to know about; Northwave’s SPIN
system uses the gel-spun polyethylene cables you find on kites,
parachutes and, er, bulletproof jackets. The aim with SPIN is to keep
the cable kink-free and lighten everything up.
Nitro’s Co-Founder Tommy Delago has a high level of stoke for their
all new RE/LACE liner locker: “It provides easy adjustability of your
inner boot lacing when your boot shell is already tightened (tied), by
just pulling up on the lace handle. This allows you to (re)tighten your
liner and foothold throughout the day (on and off the chairlift) without
having to untie your boot.” Otherwise in lacing it’s what we know
already: trad, SpeedZone, FastLace and Boa everywhere.
THE INEVITABLE RUNNING SHOE CROSSOVER
Running remains super trendy and is seeing the R&D megabucks right
now, so there’s inevitable rub-off on our sport. And although we’ll
take the advancements in cushioning and construction, you can keep
the snotty noses and headbands, thank-you very much. Northwave use
the same thermowelding process as our tracky companions to reduce
volumes and drop weight, whilst Salomon use Sensifit lacing panels
nicked straight of their trail running shoes which increase footfeel and
durability. They’ve also got a combination of Springback spine and
premium Energy Cell+ outsole foam on the HiFi, which creates a lively,
damp-but-bouncy ride. Finally, Head have a great-looking runninginspired upper on their Five Boa with a power strap for extra support,
response and waterproofing.
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also showing two brand new premium liners called the Lifeliner and
Lifeplus, which replace the old injected Infinite Ride liners that were
on the Ion & Supreme. There’s a new Ultralon foam in these which is a
filler-free PE with better performance and significant weight gains.
CONCLUSION
So, what to make of all that? Well, the days of gigantic leaps forward
in technology every twelve months are obviously over, so FW16/17
looks like it’s going to be more of a refinement and consolidation
type of year, with brands jostling for position across price points in
the face of rising production costs, FX movement, inflation and the
downright sheer difficulty of selling anything full price anymore.
Luckily, however, it’s the more expensive boots that are doing the best
out there. “Our most sold models go from mid range to high end,” says
Deeluxe’s marketing manager Matthieu Perez. “Customers are willing
to pay for quality, and it’s all about finding the fine line between high
quality and good price”
highlights
Running shoe inspired
Colourways follow outerwear trends
Heated liners
BC inspired R&D
Customizable liners
photo: Switchback
trend report
BINDINGS FW16/17 TREND REPORT
Back in the day, buying bindings was a lot more difficult. Even ten years ago half of the bindings out there were uncomfortable
and unreliable; today’s offer, in comparison, is pretty damn good. And things are improving even more next year, with a major
new player in the game and some unique tweaks to the tried and tested product lines. Relax and read on as Tom Wilson-North
runs us through the best of next year’s foot clamps.
KEY NEW MODELS
The biggest news in bindings is the return of Mervin Manufacturing’s
Bent Metal brand. The ones to check out here are the Transfer and
Solution bindings. The Transfer’s Flex Control Drive Plate, hand
made at their Seattle factory, uses an aluminized fibre bio-polymer.
The stiffer Solution binding is the answer to more aggressive and
high performance riding conditions, and it features a full ultra-light
carbon highback and stiffer carbon infused base. Both have high back
handle holes for billygoating, a nifty CUBE FLAD and some pretty cool
baseplate tech that we’ll look at shortly.
Carbon abounds at Union too. Their Ultra FC gets a new MiniDisk
baseplate injected with a proprietary blend of nylon and carbon
called “X-Carb”. Their bestselling Travis Rice model, which is a shop
cornerstone worldwide, will be revamped with a forged carbon and
duraflex nylon highback and new ExoFrame straps for less weight,
but unchanged response. At Burton, the Genesis X replaces the
Diode, with a glass-infused nylon highback using the existing Genesis
mould. “It kind of puts the existing Genesis on steroids”, says Burton
hardgoods VP Chris Cunningham. Furthermore, their top line X-Base
gets all titanium hardware for riders who are fussy about having the
lightest gear out there.
That’s the big boys, then. But as Goliath found out the hard way, it’s
the little ones that you’ve got to watch, and often the most innovative
approaches are coming from smaller companies. Now have a line
expansion going on, of which the Brigade is a key part, featuring their
well-received SIEVA straps and new Hanger 2.0, and Rome trickle
down tech from their top end Katana onto the revamped Targa and allnew D.O.D binder.
If quick-entry bindings work at your shop, you’ll be stoked to hear
that K2 will be switching out all their 16/17 Cinch bases to the Tripod
chassis, and there are new asym anklestraps on the Völkl Fastec
Choice Alu. This also comes with a new canted EVA footpad for
increased shock absorption. And Flow have a new SKU called the
NX2-Redwood, which builds off the NX2 baseplate and is designed to
merch with their Rush board and Hylite boots.
Other stuff you’ll want to try at the on-snow demos are the new
Salomon Alibi freestyle model which uses Blaster tech and has a
memory foam strap, or Head’s NX THREE with new Softback for
maximum tweakability and a cushioned easy-riding baseplate. If
you prefer your connection stiffer, then Nidecker’s updated Carbon
model is worth a look, with new unibody baseplate and 100% carbon
highback.
trend report
“We are continuing to see colours toned down and the emergence of white as a particularly
popular shade especially with artwork models”
explains Flux’s Sales & Marketing Manager Ray Takahash.
LOW PRICEPOINTS SEEING IMPROVEMENTS
Whilst kryptonite highbacks, skyhooks and Louis Vuitton collabs are
very nice to look at, we were excited to read that binding mid-ranges
haven’t been forgotten. Burton’s Cartel & Cartel EST finally get the
delicious EVA Hammockstrap on trickledown, and Head’s bread & butter
NX1 get a facelift with translucent buckles, an all-new highback and
bad-ass matt and gloss finish.
STRAPPING STUFF
Clearly the EVA strap trend is continuing, which is great news
considering they are inexpensive, lightweight and if designed correctly,
exceptionally comfortable. They also eliminate a lot of the waste that’s
associated with traditional stitched straps. They’ve been at retail long
enough for early adopters and premium clients to have been convinced;
hopefully customers across the board can understand the benefits of
these puppies and not lament the absence of squidy handfeel.
Upfront in the toestap area, SP are working on a new super lightweight
toecap for their sLAB series which promises a great fit, and
Switchback’s all new Miller toestrap is really minimal, functional and
looks great. The minimal straps thing is also going on at Norwegian
brand Vimana; “Our straps are made to feel invisible. No pressure
points”, explains Vimana’s Trond-Eirik Husvaeg.
AESTHETICS
Whilst we’d love to announce a paradigm shift in public binding demand,
it’s black, black and more black everywhere next year, again. But to
avoid your binding wall looking like the inside of a Volkswagen exhaust,
there is thankfully some light at the end of the tunnel.
White, improbably, was mentioned as a bubbling trend by a few brands.
“We are continuing to see colours toned down and the emergence of
white as a particularly popular shade especially with artwork models”,
explains Flux’s Sales & Marketing Manager Ray Takahash. “But yeah,
black is always popular.” White also plays a significant role at Union,
alongside monochromatic colour schemes and dips.
Otherwise, outdoor colours and camo combinations are still important,
with olives, reds and mustards coming through. We saw some cool
matching sets from Salomon (the blue Holograms look pimp on their
Huck Knife deck) and the Bent Metal binders feature artwork by team
rider Jamie Lynn, naturally, while Nitro’s Zero binding goes to the beach
with the “new SHAKA, a surf inspired finish featuring real surf traction
pads,” froths Nitro’s Florian Lang.
In collaborations, look out for a Wildcats collab from Now in anticipation
of the crew’s new movie which is out this autumn, and there are collabs
abound at Flux, with NOFX art on the R2 and John Jackson art on the
Team model.
NEW TECHNOLOGIES
A few new technological refinements are sure to pique your interest
in 16/17 binding lines. Drake go 100% tool free on the Reload and
Supersport models, and Now are replacing their alumi-ring with a nylon
and carbon blended ring. They’ve also got a Hanger 2.0 with a wider
heelcup and drop-down medial wall that’s found on the top end of the
range and the Jeremy Jones pro model.
A key part of the Bent Metal offer is their Flex Control Drive Plates.
They are using - get this - the same materials that they use to control
the flex in their Lib Tech and Gnu branded snowboards. That means top
and bottom laminates, a maple wood core, UHMW full-wrap sidewalls
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and composite fibres that let them tweak each binding’s performance.
You heard it here first, wood core bindings. “Like mini-snowboards”, as
Mervin co-founder Pete Saari puts it. “The drive plates provide toe to
heel control just like a snowboard gives tip to tail control”.
Florian from Nitro is all about their air dampening technology, which
he says is “the lightest and most efficient shock absorption technology
on the planet. It saves your knees and ankles in cold temperatures
just as well as it does in spring riding conditions. Air doesn’t change
its properties with temperature while Gel pads and moist foam pads
become rock solid when it starts freezing.”
SPLITBOARD BINDINGS
If splitboard bindings aren’t part of your range, fair enough; but now that
splitboarding is here to stay, you need to remain filled in as to what the
big players are doing:
ROSSIGNOL: “We’re happy to announce a co-development between
Rossi Snb R&D, Xavier De Le Rue and Plum Splitboard Bindings to
come up with a product that meets up to everyone’s expectations... and
once you’ve seen Xav in the movie Degrees North, you can see why
expectations are high!” Arnaud Repa, Product Manager.
SPARK R&D “We are working with new glass filled nylon materials that
we are sourcing in the US, because we will be making our highbacks
in house for the first time. We’re also working intensely on some new
straps, hopefully they will be ready for tradeshows. And we were able
to remove the foam entirely from our highbacks which is great for
a number of reasons, EVA is pretty nasty stuff, it’s difficult to apply
consistently, and is often the failure point of a highback.” Will Ritter,
Founder.
KARAKORAM “Our focus is on quivvering this year- from snowsurf
shapes to big mountain chargers to playful freestyle boards, different
board shapes for every condition and style are coming alive. Our Prime
System gives you locked in performance, split or solid.” Tyler Kloster,
Founder.
CONCLUSION
So, there you go. There’s a solid range of binders out there next year,
with enough spice to keep clients coming in to see the latest and
greatest. Otherwise, binding evolution has definitely slowed down of
late - after all, these are things that can only be so good, and we’re not
far off the perfect snowboard binding already. The market knows what
it wants and the brands are all delivering a great range. Without a big
R&D push from somewhere - a new company, or a diversification by an
existing major - bindings are likely to remain as good as they need to be,
which is a far cry from the sketchy, anomalous and unreliable clamps of
the nineties and early 2000s. Even if they’re black.
highlights
Muted colours
Tech trickling down pricepoints
Minimalist toestraps
Wood core bindings?
Splitboard binding insight
trend report
trend report
The unfaltering power of boardsports marketing has always had something revolutionary about it that speaks
to our inner beings, to a true essence using passion as an extension of ourselves. It speaks with an intuitive force
that guides consumers, not to make them buy but to adopt a lifestyle, sometimes a life, that fulfils them.
We already knew what many others were still to learn
For almost 10 years I’ve listened to the great digital marketers
sermonise the full extent of their visionary souls. They are applauded
and cherished but to us their discourse is rather ordinary. You just
have to replace the term “Internet user” with “surfer”, “skater” or
“snowboarder” and it’s nothing new to the west.
But the boardsports industry doesn’t have such a big head start any
more. The steepest section of the Internet curve passed it by and
it’s struggling to catch up on the technical and cultural logjam built
up in this domain. At the same time, lots of little groups, especially
mainstream fashion in the mould of Abercrombie & Fitch with Hollister
have managed to copy every detail of our formula with great success.
The unique features of boardsports industry differentiation have been
democratised and we’ve lost our head start…in certain areas.
Boardsports Marketing:
twenty years’ head start and now?
Mark Zuckerberg was still playing tiddly winks and MySpace wasn’t even a glint in Tom Anderson’s eye when the boardsports industry
was already living in the world of community-based marketing. With such a head start where are we today? By Iker Aguirre.
For our markets, a “traditional” approach to branding and marketing
didn’t work; in fact it meant a guaranteed flop! To succeed in this
environment you had to be “like us” or get the hell out of Dodge.
That’s what fuelled such bubbling creativity.
Because we were establishing our own codes, setting our own
rules, we had to invent our own marketing. Only things from within
the boardsports world were used as references and sources of
inspiration. We had to reinvent the wheel…and we did it with global
success!
At the start of the 90s boardsports marketing could be summed up
by a head full of dreams and a heart full of passion. We were talking
about love. We spoke from our guts, enhancing every moment with
emotion. We were living life to the full and were telling others about it.
Fernando Aguerre, founder of the shoe brand Reef (and current owner
of the VF Corporation group), at the time an iconic, key brand, taught
me this boardsports marketing lesson in 1996: “Iker, we don’t sell
shoes, we don’t sell sandals: we are selling a dream”.
We were way ahead
The anti-conformist, rebellious approach of boardsports was
characterised by strict codes of differentiation and affiliation that
provided the framework for a very specific culture and lifestyle.
Narrative, lingo, look, attitude, music, art…were all different. In the mid
90s the press talked about “extreme sports tribes” and their “tribal
marketing”.
In 2004 Kevin Roberts, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi, published a best
seller that would become a benchmark in the marketing world:
Lovemarks, the future beyond brands, which was followed up by
another great classic of new generation marketing: The Lovemark
effect, winning the consumer revolution. The whole world discovered
a new “from-the-heart” approach. Roberts was 15 years behind
boardsports though…The Lovemark Effect was our day-to-day.
We said our marketing was “niche”, even though some of our brands
had already been listed on the stock market since the end of the
80s. Our greatest challenge was to bridge the gulf that separated the
endemic mainstream market from its Eldorado. Holding us back was
what Geoffrey A. Moore called in 1991 and in his revised editions of
1999 and 2004 (once we had already been in it for ages), the challenge
of “Crossing the Chasm” in a book of the same name, inspired by the
high-tech industry.
For retail commerce, it was all a question of “purchase experience”.
A shop wasn’t just a series of displays, it was another world. The
customer had to “live” surfing, skating and snowboarding when
they entered. Each corner, each wall, each square metre had to be
exploding with passion and dreams. The experience took priority over
the product. The smell of surfboard resin, the coconut scent of wax,
videos of Taylor Steele playing over and over, music from Pennywise,
Green Day or Offspring and sand on the floor: it all contributed to…
sensorial, experiential marketing. Of course, these terms didn’t exist
then either. Back then our more archaic tagline was: “customers
should feel something in the shop”. And we ramped up our originality
to make it happen.
The democratisation of the Internet dates from the 90s when “long-tail
effects” didn’t exist for us either. However, we were dealing with an
approach that combined various niche-marketing logics to feed our
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growth. We called this “crossover logic”.
We also have to relearn…
Sports are holding up better than ever so the industry has to reengage
with the creativity and optimism that characterises it! It hasn’t
created anything exciting in five years and it has only existed for
30! It’s not down to surf clothing’s hard times that things are going
bad! Surfing has never been more popular (+25% average annual
growth in technical surf equipment in the last five years), longboard
skateboarding is recording exponential growth (+50% in 2014) and
that’s not to mention SUP, etc. The dynamics are there but we’ve
forgotten how to look because it’s hidden behind a train of bad
news, terrible even, that only really effects certain major leaguers.
Boardsports are in demand. The public love them, people are getting
into them but the industry has forgotten how to make them dream…
because maybe the industry itself has forgotten how to dream!
So others are doing the work for us, Hollister being one of the saddest
examples. So the formula is exploited, not always in a successful way
and control of our image has been lost: a wake-up call that needs to
be heeded. The industry is tired because stock market dynamics have
robbed it of its meaning. In the name of profit, outsiders have trampled
on the fundamentals. Our values and raison d’être are struggling to
bounce back and yet it’s because this industry was asked ‘why’ it was
always able to provide the ‘hows’ over the last 30 years. That’s all we
have to do to reconnect with our customers. Remind ourselves who we
are and where we are from. And, if possible, together.
Marketing is just a method, a logic sometimes. When it works there is
always something much bigger hidden behind it: one heart speaking
to another. The big guns of marketing are starting to understand this.
The most twisted ones are pretending to apply this but love cannot
be imitated. The unfaltering power of boardsports marketing has
always had something revolutionary about it that speaks to our inner
beings, to a true essence using passion as an extension of ourselves.
It speaks with an intuitive force that guides consumers, not to make
them buy but to adopt a lifestyle, sometimes a life, that fulfils them.
The stock market made us choose cash riches. It transformed our
objectives, became the source of our pretences. It stripped us of our
dreams and revealed our deceptions. We pretended to love…and it left
us. Straight away we reminded ourselves that our wealth is in the
heart, not in the pocket and we once again aimed for the stars. We will
be rich in joy, rich in life and just plain rich. Success is not a goal to
be achieved but a collateral effect. So, many people will repeat the
words of a CEO of the great era, now retired, who said to me one day:
“Honestly, I am unable to say why it works. I only know one thing: we
were just doing what we loved and people followed”.
Whatever the marketing gurus say, passion is incalculable, doesn’t
adhere to models, cannot be described. Passion is lived.
The heart, love and life are human essences, just like our dreams.
The stock market, money for money’s sake and ‘having’ instead of
‘being’ all crumble when faced with the reawakening of a changing
world. Boardsports marketing is anchored in a new paradigm in which
the human is at the centre. Such is its big secret. It’s impossible to
pretend here. You “are” or you disappear, impossible to pretend.
So if you want to learn about boardsports marketing, about its
successes and failures, be real. Make it so that “being real” applies to
you, man and woman, not just a brand. Carry meaning, the message
will be your vehicle. If the ‘why’ of your raison d’être is aligned with
that of your business, your project and, ultimately, your target, you will
If the ‘why’ of your raison d’être is aligned with that of
your business, your project and, ultimately, your target, you
will be a steam roller and nothing will be able to stop you.
Then you will see success, great success.
be a steam roller and nothing will be able to stop you. Then you will
see success, great success.
On this note, if you are honest with yourself, you will know that genius
was never in your head but in your heart. This is where we find
boardsports marketing - in an inexplicable place where, when man is
aligned with his deeper being, opportunities present themselves and
success comes calling. It’s about making way for an ethereal space of
unfathomable potential to exist so that life can express itself and bring
us what we want, without necessarily prebuilding every compartment
for it. And it’s so much easier that way! Open your art up to the
greatest number; participate in a huge festival of life and exchange.
And after, yes, there will be consumption. Yes, there will be business.
Yes there will be all of that but in an upward spiral that will perpetuate
opportunity so it can be transformed into a lifestyle. A virtuous cycle
creating direction, meaning and wealth…that’s above all human. In
other words, a new economic paradigm.
New paradigm, boardsports market and corporate well being:
follow Iker Aguirre’s articles on ikeraguirre.com.
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photo: D-Street
trend report
CRUISERS 2016 trend report
After years of boundless growth in the skateboard cruiser segment, is the category finally cruising for a bruising?
Cruiser Skateboards Trend Report 2016 by Dirk Vogel.
No matter how you slice it, skateboarding needs trends. Sure, some
trends appear downright stupid in hindsight, like the extra baggy pants,
garish Vision Street Wear shirts, or super small wheels of bygone
eras. But when you talk to retailers, the only thing stupid was the
amount of money these trends brought in at the height of their fame
and glory.
Cruisers are no different. Over the past four years, the cruiser trend
has brought countless new riders on board – mostly outsiders aspiring
to partake in skateboard culture – together with extra revenues for
retailers all over Europe. But how much untapped market potential is
left at this point?
Depends on whom you ask. According to category starter Penny
Australia, “the typical Penny customer hasn’t bought a skateboard
before so we are always looking ahead at the next generation of
potential customers. In order to maintain our growth we have spent
a lot of time understanding why people are buying into the brand
and what their demands are,” said Dean Cracknell, Trade Marketing
Manager, Absolute Board Co. (Penny, Z-Flex). At Sector 9, Andreas
“Maui” Maurmeir says: “The market is developing and maturing. The
speed is slower at the moment, which is necessary and good. The
demand is still growing, and that is the good news.”
THE SITUATION IN EUROPE
But the bad news, as Maui continues, lies with supply levels in retail.
“Shops are overstocked on product that does not sell that good. This
is bad for everybody.” This sentiment is echoed by the majority of
brands questioned, and some say it’s a regional problem. “In Europe I
think it’s more about oversupply than anything else. When you’re not
going through decks on cruisers like you do with popsicle decks if
new customers aren’t keeping up with supply, you’ll see the situation
Europe is in now,” said Chris Brunstetter, Sales and Marketing
Director at GoldCoast.
On a positive note, Marc Ferullo, International Sales Manager at Arbor
said about Europe: “The region is one that places a high necessity
on quality, and they’re willing to spend a few extra dollars if they can
recognize the value.” Karl Martinez at D Street/Shiner Distribution in
the UK also notices a trend towards higher quality: “The market is now
flooded with sub-standard cheap versions that would put anybody off.
But D Street’s wooden cruiser business is up this year by a healthy
34%.”
SHAPES: SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
Judging by the wild variations in shapes and sizes – from pointed
noses to fish tails to super-wide chubby mid-riffs (Globe’s “Stubby”
model) – today’s ‘cruiser; has become a broad concept. “Diversity is
the word! From a trendy, hipster point of view, kids want a variety of
colours and graphics to match with their backpacks, shoes and so on.
On the core aspect, for the ones that are really charging out there, they
want a variety of shapes and constructions for a variety of terrains,”
said Dusters California creative director Nano Nobrega.
31
trend report
“The numbers of skaters are growing, more good parks are under construction, skateboard schools are
booming, and for the first time we also see good participation among young girls.”
Luca Basilico, Owner, BLAST! Distribution
Matt Wong, President of Globe’s Product Division confirmed: “Shapes
are trending toward more functional boards. Novelty shapes have
become less popular, as many people already own one type of board
and are no longer entry-level riders, they’re looking for a board that
they can do a bit more with.”
Notable shape trends for 2016 include ‘70s-style fish tails – as seen
in models by Globe, Flying Wheels, and OB Five – and wheel wells
for those deep carving turns, preferably paired with wider trucks
(see Accessories). The average cruiser seems to be getting longer,
with models like Globe’s “Big Blazer,” a trend also confirmed by
Dean at Penny: “We are seeing a more even split over the number of
consumers looking to purchase the larger boards – so 27” and 36” are
becoming more popular.” Ali Crichton at Mindless confirms the longer
board trend: “Our Hamu range is expanding from one board to three,
aimed towards dancing but also functioning as a larger cruiser we
expect to see this market sector grow in 2016 with more girls entering
the sport and finding their niche.”
FLAIR & STYLING: MINIMAL VS. COLOUR POP
Cruiser stylistics for 2016 are crystalizing on two polar opposites:
Understated, natural aesthetics on one end, and over-the-top graphic
colour pop on the other. About the subtle side of styling, Karl Martinez
at D Street said: “Customers are looking for a cruiser that is fit
for purpose, not just something with a pretty picture on it. In fact,
the more you strip a complete back, the bigger its appeal is at the
moment.” Natural wood grains, unpolished trucks, and wheels in
rugged black or translucent urethane are all staples of 2016’s strippeddown cruiser. “We see a big demand for wood stained veneers, single
colours, and burnishing for that all natural look and feel,” said Karl at D
Street. Benoit Brecq, Marketing Manager at Flying Wheels said: “Retro
Classic ‘70s ‘80s seems to be the leading trend.”
Keeping colours popping, Penny updates their signature candycoloured cruisers with “new graphics for SS16 to keep the range
fresh and in demand.” All across the board, floral patterns, camo,
psychedelic mushrooms, and palm trees add graphic flair, while
Dusters’ Creative Director Nano Nobrega noticed “demand for
female-driven designs is still very strong and our line for the ladies
will continue to grow.” OB FIVE ups the ante with top graphics like
pineapples and airbrushed skies printed on griptape, Globe features
amazing palm tree top graphics, and Sector 9 also offers graphic
griptape with the 9 Ball logo. For a hot trend, cruiser brands like
Z-Flex, Sector 9 and Arbor are offering pro model cruisers. Marc at
Arbor points out the James Kelly and Liam Morgan pro models, “both
shapes cater to the freeride and downhill skater.”
MATERIALS: THAT SPECIAL SOMETHING
In a market where many customers already have a cruiser, upscale
materials offer a reason to expand the quiver. “Our standard cruiser
shapes are still the strongest and our premium finish boards with
exotic timber veneers are still very popular,” says Kris O’Brien, Brand
Director at OB FIVE. But it’s a thin line for how exotic customers are
looking to go, says Marc at Arbor: “Arbor intends to focus on quality
craftsmanship with our various wood veneers. Super tech materials
are awesome for innovation, but they price themselves out of the
market and cater to a very small segment.”
Generally, almost all brands echoed the statement from Benoit at
32
Flying Wheels: “Plastic seems to be down but retro wood cruisers
are still moving. In terms of materials, 7ply wood seems to stay the
standard even if new construction like Bamboo seems to be well
accepted.” Chris at GoldCoast is sticking to a winning formula: “Youth
directed graphics, patterns and pop colours seem to be doing the
best for us. Though we’re still on the more mature end of the graphic
spectrum. Bamboo continues to be the material of choice.”
ACCESSORIES: SOME EXTRAS?
Full-size, wide trucks on narrower decks with wheel wells are a new
and functional approach, as seen in models by upstart brand Stewart,
the Dusters Shooter model and models equipped with OB FIVE’s 6.5
Surf Truck. Simulating the feeling of surfing on land, “the Surf Truck
cruiser has just landed in stores in Australia and has been very well
accepted. We feel that the new edition to our line really rounds off the
package that we offer as a surf/skate brand and our customers are
loving it.” Matt Wong at Globe pointed out the functional benefits of
trucks: “The Stubby is a wide-platform carver with reverse-kingpin
trucks on a short wheelbase. It can be pumped like a surf-style carver,
but has the added benefit of stability from initial push and at higher
speeds than novelty carve or dual pivot trucks.”
And for something not many customers own – but many will want
– California brand Mello LED Skateboards offers funky LEDilluminated wheels in a line of promising brand collabs. “We have
added to the original single-colour deck/wheels line in blueberry,
lime and cherry to create combos such as berry burst, watermelon
and spearmint. We have a new 27” all-Maple option in collaboration
with vintage US skate brand Bahne Skateboards. Mello LED wheel
sets are also available in green ice, blue ice and red jelly.”
OUTLOOK
Karl at D Street sees cruisers directly boosting the wider
skateboard scene: “Retailers are saying that traditional popsicle
complete business is on the up.” Secondly, Kris at OB FIVE is
expecting repeat cruiser purchases: “We feel that customers
are growing with us as a brand, expanding their board quiver for
different types of riding and sometimes collecting boards like
they are a fashion item.” Ali at Mindless wants to see, “retailers
investing in brand loyalty rather than jumping on a cheap ‘off
the shelf’ China product.” And finally, Nano at Dusters thinks the
current squeeze will bring the industry together: “The competition
is fiercer now than it was a couple years ago. I believe retailers and
companies need to work together more than ever.”
highlights
Pro model cruisers
Wheel wells and fish tails
Feminine graphics for growing girls demographic
Wide trucks, skinny boards = smooth ride
Grip tape graphics and candy-coloured LED Wheels
bigwig interview
bigwig interview
This adventure has led us to meet so many amazing people, see so many unique
places, and experience an industry full of passion and individuals who really love
what they do. Nitro Snowboarding has given back to us in so many ways.
SEPP ARDELT
NITRO CO-FOUNDER
Sepp Ardelt was working for a sailing and windsurf
company when he co-founded Nitro Snowboards
back in 1990. He and fellow Nitro founder Tommy
Delago started out small, first showing at ISPO 26
years ago, and later that year they penned a deal
to make 7,000 snowboards. And the rest, as they
say, is history; a history brimming full of great
relationships with brands, athletes, retailers and
consumers across the globe.
For this issue’s Big Wig Interview SOURCE asked
Sepp to regale us with the highlights of his career
with Nitro. Sepp has grown the brand into a global
snowboarding powerhouse, and has done so with
the help of an energetic team around him. Sepp’s
team is considerably bigger now than it was back
in 1990, but he still has a very hands on role
with the company and promotes the notion that
snowboarding is fun at all times.
Interview by Harry Mitchell Thompson.
Please tell us how you and Tommy came about founding Nitro.
Things happened kind of by accident. We met in Fall 1989 and together
with some other partners we put together a small product line. In
March of 1990 we went to ISPO for the first time not really expecting
too much. Tommy was involved in snowboarding, running a snowboard
school and testing and writing articles for a snowboard magazine. I
was working for a sailing and windsurfing company. In the first year
we got orders for 7,000 boards. This was basically the starting point
and we decided to totally concentrate on the new adventure called
Nitro Snowboards. This adventure has led us to meet so many amazing
people, see so many unique places, and experience an industry
full of passion and individuals who really love what they do. Nitro
Snowboarding has given back to us in so many ways.
How has managing a snowboard brand changed since you started the
brand 26 years ago?
Twenty six years ago things were totally different. Managing a
company during these days was more complicated, because we had no
foundation and limited experience. It was important to constantly visit
suppliers and factories, and to develop products from scratch. During
this time (the beginning) we learned a lot about how a snowboard
company should and could be run - there was a lot of trial and error,
but that is the best and only way to really learn - from marketing,
34
sales, and design. Today we have a foundation of over 26 years of
production, sales, marketing, design, and people. We are very well
equipped to tackle the hurdles and enjoy the good times when they
come. So it was a lot harder in the beginning, but that is also what
makes it fun and why you do it - because you want to see it succeed.
How do you keep Nitro relevant - what strategies do you have in
place for this?
The strategy is to stay true the roots of the company and to our
mission. We stay relevant because we are permanently in contact
with the scene, with the team and our distributors and dealers.
Snowboarding is a people business - the reason people snowboard
is because they want to have fun, and usually they want to have fun
with other people. The same is true about the business side - we all
do this because we love snowboarding and the people who are in
snowboarding, therefore it is very important to stay connected with
everyone: from the shop kids, consumers, team, magazines, to the big
time buyers and distributors. We have started a new slogan for Nitro
called Built For Good Times, because this is what we do - we build
products for people (no matter who you are) to have a good time using.
Building great products and staying connected with people keeps us
relevant.
Snowboarding is a people business - the reason people
snowboard is because they want to have fun, and
usually they want to have fun with other people.
If you were to start a snowboard brand from scratch today - which
demographic would you target?
The same demographic we target today. This means not only the
younger crowd, but also the riders who love to ride the whole
mountain, being stoked to be in contact with the elements. This is
the demographic that represents snowboarding and the future of
snowboarding - without them we would not have what we have today.
Who is the person in the snowboard business who has made the
biggest impression on you and why?
Mike Olsen from Mervin. It´s hard to find anybody in the business who
has not changed at all, and who is still the same motivated explorer
he was from the beginning of this sport and industry. Mike Olsen has
contributed a lot to snowboarding over the years and he continues to
do so today. His passion for everything snowboarding is an inspiration. What is the one major highlight that stands out for you from your
career in the snowboard industry?
That a rider like Eero Ettala is still riding on a very high level,
becoming the super star he is today, but is still the same friendly and
funny guy we met 15 years ago for the first time. Eero encompasses
the passion and attitude we have for snowboarding through his desire
to ride everyday, film, do flips, laugh, and push the sport. We are so
lucky and proud to have had Eero be a part of Nitro for over 15 years.
Eero has shown us how amazing snowboarders are - even the best in
the world still like to go out and just snowboard any day of the week.
How involved are you with picking the athlete team? What does a
rider have to do to grab your attention?
Not so much anymore. Andi Aurhammer (International Marketing
Manager) and Knut Eliassen, (Global Marketin Manager) are taking care
and doing a great job.
“Even though Sepp says he is not involved he knows a good rider/
person when he sees one. We always discuss new riders with Sepp
to get his valuable opinion and insight on how the rider will fit into
Nitro. We basically look for snowboarders who are either pushing the
sport (in general or in their own way), and snowboarders who are just
enthusiastic about life and the joys that snowboarding brings.” - Knut
Eliassen, Global Marketin Manager, Nitro.
What do you have to say to people who say snowboarding has lost its
cool?
I disagree. Snowboarding is still as exciting as it always was.
The posers are leaving or gone and those who like it will stay.
Snowboarding has and always will be cool. The reason it is cool
is not the image or the attitude, it is the feeling you get when you
snowboard. The excitement and the ‘in the now experience’ you
have with your friends navigating down the mountain together, or
just hanging out on the lift. There is nothing cooler than being in the
elements, strapped to a board, with endless opportunities in front of
you.
Snowboarding has weathered a storm since 2008 and it looks like
there are brighter days on the horizon. What lessons have you and
Nitro learned from the Global Financial Crisis?
We learned an important lesson - the lesson to stay grounded, to
evaluate the markets, the opportunities and to be very flexible. Over
the last quarter of a decade we have seen the trends in the snowboard
market go up and down, and have learned to be smart and flexible
during the good times and the low times. The financial market can
affect all industries, as learned in 2008, but it is easier to overcome
these down times when you know you started a business (Nitro
Snowboards) to be in it for the long haul, because you care about the
sport. We want snowboarding to continue to evolve and we want to be
a part of it for years to come. Where are you manufacturing your snowboards, and how can you see
this changing over the coming years?
Taiwan is home to some of the most high tech companies on this
planet like ACER or HTC. About 90% of all carbon bike frames
are produced in Taiwan as well. We are very satisfied with our
manufacturer. I don´t see any reasons for changes. We will continue to
evolve together with our manufacturers for years to come, because a
good partnership is priceless.
Snowboards have gone short, wide and funky nosed and tailed
recently - what will the next trend be?
There are several reasons why we are seeing these new shapes: After
a heavy focus on ‘core’ and ‘serious’ park and urban riding in the past
10 years, there’s now a strong resurgence of a riding style that’s fun,
covers the whole mountain and doesn’t take things too seriously. Also,
people want to be more unique again and are coming back to the surfinspired roots of snowboarding. Just take a look at the Alaia movement
in surfing. I believe the trend will be towards more simplicity, ease of
use and individualism.
How is the L1 brand helping to strengthen the Nitro brand?
L1 Premium Goods strengthens Nitro, as we have a broad offering for
our DB´s and dealers. Beside this it´s really exciting and fun to bring
L1 Premium Goods to the market, and we will continue to push the
limits of functional fashion snowboard outerwear season after season.
We are very well equipped to tackle the hurdles and enjoy the good times when
they come. So it was a lot harder in the beginning, but that is also what makes it
fun and why you do it - because you want to see it succeed.
35
photo: Burton
trend report
MEN’S STREETWEAR FW 16/17: trend report
For Fall/Winter 16/17 men’s streetwear collections, endemic boardsports brands are blending street-savvy looks with
weatherized performance to brave the elements in style.
Trend Report by Dirk Vogel.
A quick survey of today’s fashion landscape leaves no doubt:
“Streetwear” can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different
people right now. When Kanye West sends ensembles of anorexic
models down the runway in bulging, khaki-on-khaki rags reminiscent
of the post-apocalyptic Hunger Games movies, it’s called “streetwear.”
Rich kids in $1,200 distressed biker jeans and designer hoodies are
wearing “streetwear,” and so are urban skate rats hitting the streets in
high-water Dickies worn with tucked-in, plain white T-shirts.
Streetwear has become a broad church. So where do boardsports
apparel companies fit into the mix? The answer is actually quite
simple because for surf, skate, and snow enthusiasts, it’s always been
about more than just a “street” look – but about garments that can
actually handle their share of abuse. As Guillaume Dartenuc, Volcom’s
European Surf Marketing Manager sums up the FW16/17 ethos: “The
idea is to have a garment that fits the lifestyle of those who travel and
might endure the toughness of the diverse climates they might come
across, as well as the toughness of the streets, just as skateboarders
would as they skate out on the streets.”
At Burton, product manager Andrew Burke is on the same page: “It’s
all about lifestyle wear. Clothes that help you staying out, staying dry
and staying warm. A sports and mountain lifestyle for all seasons.”
And it’s not just snowboarders who rely on their clothes for the extra
mile. Skateboarders are getting extra support from brands such as
Element, one of the first in boardsports streetwear, as Rey Gautier, VP
Global Design explains: “The brand is almost 25 years old, therefore
we have established an identity we wish to progress and organically
evolve with. It was always about skateboarding, creativity and being as
much in the outdoors as possible – albeit urban or nature.”
PRICE POINTS: GRACE UNDER PRESSURE
Whether it’s hardgoods or softgoods, supply chains are under immense
pressure from increasing labour costs and currency fluctuations
right now. Ultimately, it was only a matter of time before price points
would feel the sting. “Prices have definitely come up, and we knew
it was coming,” said Patrick Hill, Creative Director at The Hundreds,
while pointing out: “A couple years ago we decided we were not
going to play a price game and focused on making the best product
we could, we have really strong relationships with our suppliers and
were able to keep it under control, but we are priced a little higher
than competitors. We believe our quality, fabrication, design and
construction will make the higher pricing justified.”
This sentiment – premium quality at justified price points – is echoed
by most brands in this report. “There are two races going on right now
in terms of pricing – a race to the bottom and a race to the top. Our
focus is really on building a premium brand,” says Andrew at Burton,
quoting ¤100–150 lifestyle rainwear as a hot category, together with
Gore-Tex above ¤200 and premium technical outerwear above ¤300.
Some product categories feel price pressures more than others, notes
Guillaume at Volcom: “The most impacted category is the jackets line.
Prices are higher than other categories, so the currency fluctuation is
more highlighted at the end of the day.”
Meanwhile, selling branded apparel with a value proposition is not
getting easier in our business. Robert Wright, owner of urban brand
Lifted Research Group (LRG) confirms: “The proliferation of factorydirect brands continues to put a huge amount of pressure on the
pricing of branded products and those retailers who carry branded
products. LRG focuses on doing highly detailed and branded product at
a great value to the end consumer, which is less prone to the pricing
pressures than the basic commodity type products. That all being said,
the modern customer is extremely value oriented and price conscious
when it comes to apparel in our market.”
37
trend report
“The idea is to have a garment that fits the lifestyle of those who travel and might endure
the toughness of the diverse climates they might come across, as well as the toughness of the
streets, just as skateboarders would as they skate out on the streets.”
Guillaume Dartenuc, Volcom’s European Surf Marketing Manager
THE 5 MAJOR FALL/WINTER 16/17 THEMES
Looking at the market, the good news is that boardsports customers
are not only getting great value for this upcoming season but also
on-trend, fashion-forward designs that crystalize around the following
five major themes:
1. Athletic and sporty. The “athleisure” trend of seasons past has
evolved into straight-up “athletics” territory, buoyed by microtrends such as the UK-phenomenon of “terrace wear” – the elevated
comfort wear of football stadiums – presented by style leaders
jackets in updated materials and fits! We offer a few different styles
for Fall/Winter 2016, from short sleeves for early fall to luxe Melton
wool for when the weather goes cold,” said Patrick Hill at The
Hundreds. Globe will release a cool outer shell that can handle the
elements in style, Matt Wong tells us: “Our Hikari Legacy Jacket is
a performance shell combined with an on-trend fish tail silhouette.
It’s functional and can act as a true all-weather layer, yet stylish
enough to wear on a daily basis throughout the winter months.” And
since elevated style is not just for coats, Rhythm has just the right
layering piece with the Studio Oxford long-sleeve shirt: “Our shirting
has always been a strong part of our collection focusing on premium
fabrics and attention to detail. This shirt is no different, the cotton
oxford fabrication offers a great texture and look.”
3. Sustainability and transparency. For a sure-fire way to feel
tremendously bad and guilty about the winter apparel industry, read
some reports about the animal cruelty involved in down production.
Yikes! And as a few more clicks will reveal, industrial wool and
suede are no better. But an increasing number of boardsports brands
are taking a stand, including Burton: “We push the needle a lot with
bluesign-approved garments and sustainable down in our Evergreen
series. We have done a lot to make our line more transparent and
sustainable,” said Andrew Burke. At Ragwear, sustainability pushes
into men’s apparel, said Julia Schmökel, Production Assistant: “Since
our organic women’s collection was quite successful last season,
we decided that this season we need to also develop a men’s organic
collection. It is a small range, adding to the regular collection and
completing the overall picture.”
photo: Burton
4. Grunge and flannels. Cold weather season is when flannel shirts
are in their natural element, and they’re coming out to play in FW16/17.
At Zimtstern, Senior Designer Marianne Schoch is stoked on, “a 1990s
Grunge-inspired padded shirt in a checked flannel fabric, called REZZ.
Stay tuned!” For California brand Matix, flannels run deep in their
DNA, as Mark Shin Director of Marketing informs: “We are known for
our flannels, so for Fall we are introducing lightweight short sleeve
flannels. They look and feel great and are good to have while we have
slightly warm weather during Fall.” At The Hundreds, flannels are
getting the tough treatment with, “heavy-heavy flannel fabrics, 2-3
times heavier than what’s in the market. Not only do they feel amazing
they will last forever, and only get better as they age.”
Palace Skateboards in their collab with Adidas. Athletic tracksuit
tops, jerseys, jogger pants with reflective detailing and technical
functionality usher in the new sporty look in streetwear. Andrew
Burke at Burton calls it, “the merging of technical function into
lifestyle. We see technical performance in terms of materials such as
running tech in casual gear. People have less time so they want more
adaptable, hybridized clothing.” Robert Wright at LRG says: “We have
multiple outerwear pieces that are performance-based in synthetic
fabrics that touch on athletic and technical styling. These are highly
detailed pieces utilizing a mix of performance fabrics in anorak and
windbreaker type silhouettes.”
2. Classic and classy. The active sports aesthetic finds its polar
opposite in classic, elaborate-looking garments such as pea coats and
anoraks, together with the big jacket trend of the season: “Coach’s
38
5. Weatherized performance. Much like in the skateboard footwear
segment (see Trend Report in this issue), “weatherized” versions
of proven designs are running the show next season. As Luciano
Mor, Global Merchandising and Design Director for Men’s Apparel
& Accessories at Vans explains: “Weatherised product is definitely
trending with the Vans ‘All Weather’ apparel product in Fall 2016 being
a range of streetwear styles made for the elements, with weatherized
features to provide better functionality in cold or wet conditions.
These styles have a minimum of 1K durable water repellent coating
applied, with varying degrees of insulation and select features such as
zip-out liners.” Across the board, brands are adding waxes, coatings,
and surface treatments to keep out the wet and cold, including Matix:
“We have water resistant fabrics in most of our jackets and we are
focused on using natural materials that are breathable and light, We
have also continued our partnership with 686 to include their weather
technologies (infiDRY) into Matix Jackets.”
trend report
“That all being said, the modern customer is extremely value oriented and price conscious
when it comes to apparel in our market.”
Robert Wright, owner of Lifted Research Group (LRG).
FABRICS: READY FOR COLD WEATHER
Following the weatherized trend, materials and fabric stories will
revolve around innovation next season. The Hundreds are enhancing
the “Wales” Anorak with, “a hydrophobic nano-coated corduroy
and waterproof nylon,” while the Vans Junipero MTE is a “straight
rainslicker jacket, made with a polyurethane face and longer length
with the sole purpose of keeping you completely dry in any rain.”
At Dickies, Kevin Penney points out that the workwear brand’s
anoraks, “have used a twill performance fabric this year which is very
interesting and fits well along side our twill pants.”
At Colour Wear, it’s all about offering technical protection with
a street-savvy look says Johan Ullbro, Co-Founder / Design &
Production Manager: “We are working with denim like polyester twill
and a cotton/polyester blend to enhance our streetwear inspiration
and to give the garment a wider range of usage.” At Burton, the fleece
product line receives an update with, “hollow core yarn in the fleece,
which is fashionable but also has the technical property of storing the
heat inside the yarn. We’ve always been big on fleece but really want
to light a fire this season,” said Andrew Burke.
SLEEPER TREND: DROPPING BOMBS
Classic-looking pea coats and anoraks are all very well, but one
jacket style is poised to score big in FW16/17, says Marianne at
Zimtstern: “Bomber jackets with a voluminous fit! In the Zimtstern
FW16/17 streetwear collection, the bomber jacket ZENAS comes in
photo: Matix
CUTS & SILHOUETTES: BAGGY VS STRETCH
The trouser segment is seeing major movement in terms of fits this
season. According to Rhythm, “the skinny jean is on its way out. The
vintage blue Levi’s jean is becoming a popular trend in our market
and it’s a great look if done right - it has a real classic surf feel.”
Robert Wright, LRG owner, also said: “Pants have definitely moved
away from skinny cuts. We are seeing a return to more comfortable
relaxed fits. Incorporating stretch and technical fabrics continues to
be important.” Across the board, brands are incorporating stretch and
flex technology into their jeans and chinos. And while straight and
relaxed cuts are trending on one side of the spectrum, “the skinny
pant is evolving to a more modern tapered pant where more room and
comfort is added at the waist and thigh, while keeping the leg skinny
at the ankle,” said Guillaume at Volcom. This evolution is summed up
by Marianne at Zimtstern as “cropped pants with slim fitted legs, as
well as peg trousers.” Meanwhile, Patrick at The Hundreds points out
that “high-water cuts continue to trend in the market.”
COLOURS & PRINTS: SUBTLE, MILITARY, CRAZY
This season’s colour palettes are neutral, classic and understated,
as summed up by Globe’s Matt Wong: “Monochromatic looks still play
a big part with a lot of black, grey and white, but we’ve begun to
incorporate more classic Army, Navy and stone items into the palette
through wovens, jersey and fleece.” Julia at Ragwear also adds: “In
terms of colours we stick with the timeless classics such as navy
or black and complete the colour range with some dark red, green
and blue shades.” Further standouts include earth tones and military
green, also in prints such as geometric patterns and camouflage.
According to almost all brands, prints will take the backseat to
textures and “fabrication” stories in FW16/17. But there will always
be exceptions, including Neff, where prints run deep: “Neff is known
for bright, colourful and wild apparel. This season, the brand is
focused on mixing both subtle and bright colours. We aim to keep it
interesting, but make sure it is wearable,” said Ken Olson, Creative
Director.
an oxford material with a rough surface and a DWR-Finish out of
48% Polyester and 52% recycled Polyester.” The Volcom design team
agrees: “Bombers jackets are still a big trend this season, in different
versions, without rib at the bottom, in long versions and quilted.”
And Colour Wear’s Johan Ullbro is hyped on the BOOM jacket, “a
classic bomber inspired rider jacket in cotton/polyester that works
equally well on the mountains as on the streets.” And there you have
it: Keeping it stylish from the slopes to the streets – and braving the
elements in style – is exactly what streetwear is all about in FW16/17.
highlights
Increased price points & quality
“Athleisure” evolved into athletics
Weatherized materials
Fleeces and flannels
Sustainable materials and transparency
Technical performance / stylized textures
Stretch & flex in denim / chinos
Straight, relaxed fits and evolved skinny pants
Classic-looking coats, anoraks, and coach jackets
Sleeper trend: Bomber jackets
trend report
trend report
“The Flannel shirt is a staple in any girls closet now, whether she is wearing it alone, as a
jacket, or tied around her waist,” Amelie Robert, Merchandising Manager Women’s & Kids
EMEA Apparel Accessories VANS
LONG, SHORT, WIDE, SLIM
Zimtstern also wait on the “the more sophisticated” customers with
“high waisted and cropped pants with slim fitted legs, as well as peg
trousers and a pair of culottes” says Marianne, and jumpsuits/rompers
are a favourite silhouette for Volcom and Roxy as well. Marie Lauga,
Head of Global Design at Roxy even mentions them as THE key piece
for 16/17: “In terms of silhouettes for this season, I’m loving jumpsuits
– short and long, sleeveless and long sleeve. These pieces are just so
easy to wear – from a Sunday morning espresso to a Friday night out.”
photo: Rhythm
They also work great for layering, so much so that almost all brands
continue to make it a focus; “the whole layering-theme is still alive,”
confirms Marianne from Zimtstern and Colour Wear’s Johan agrees:
“We are mixing volumes with slim silhouettes to create a diverse look.”
Rhythm add detail to their “simple, relaxed, easy, comfortable to wear
silhouettes and oversize shapes” and Roxy finish off “breezy, featherlight fabrication and fits” with embroidered detailing.
Women’s Streetwear Trend Report
No matter the land, the age or the decade, women will always need something to wear. And by “something” we obviously mean a
lot, especially in terms of style, variety and choice. So next Fall/Winter season shall be an especially splendid one going by all the new
trends and silhouettes on display for next winter. Our woman on the ground Anna Langer investigates.
Overall, Women’s Streetwear continues its sporty-feminine direction,
taking inspiration from all recent decades, from 70s (Volcom), to 80s
(Colour Wear), although the 90s are clearly dominant with their “pop
culture” influence (Vans), “grunge and hip hop” (Zimtstern), as well as
plaids (from Volcom, Vans and Nikita).
Texture plays an important role for Colour Wear, Bleed and Burton,
who aim to “blend lifestyle and action” as Andrew Burke, Vice
President of Softgoods states.
NATURE LOVER
Finding the right work-life-balance is ubiquitous for modern women
all over the world and obviously plays into apparel that is designed
to not only facilitate but also enhance this search. Visually just as
much as functionally. Hence there is just as much urban inspiration,
as natural. “We’ve been inspired by mountain-focused action sports
as well as by spending the day in the city among friends,” explains
Zimtstern Senior Designer Marianne Schoch. Bleed’s collection was
“inspired by the deep and wide forests, which surrounds us,” says
CEO and designer Michael Spitzbarth, as well as “allusions to roadand camping trips, little escape from everyday life.”
Naturally, floral prints are a great fit for these themes, which can
be found in the ranges from Volcom, Vans, and Rhythm. Ragwear
take their inspiration from nature as well, with “prints inspired by
landscape, forest and life in the woods,” Production Assistant Julia
Schmökel tells us. Nikita feature an “illustrated print of the coffee
tree,” in line with the overall theme of their collection, “something that
most women globally have a relationship with - coffee!” thinks US
Marketing Manager Vicki Vasil.
42
CITY GAL
Urban vibes make up the other end of the elusive balance, with photos
and “collage prints from the archives” at Burton, “Swedish artisan
and handicraft heritage” from Colour Wear, Tokyo’s “megawatt heart”
in Roxy’s collection as well as “Moroccan tile inspired patterns” from
Rhythm, tribal patterns from Ragwear, and an “ethereal, watercolour
print in pinks and browns that is also featured in our snowboard
outerwear collection,” from Nikita.
Stripes never go out of style and can be found at Roxy and Rhythm,
who feature “a jersey yarn dye stripe in retro colour combos including
natural, coco and indigo. Also on offer is a woven yarn dye stripe in
natural and chambray,” states Brand Manager for Girls, Daniella Ciano.
In keeping with the 90s revival, colour blocking has also become
fashionable again, as Roxy and Nikita show. Especially in combination
with the aforementioned icon of the grunge era, plaid, that sees
“fresh” interpretations “for an updated look,” according to Nikita’s
Vicki. Vans use “classic heritage plaids and military hues” as a
“perfect foundation to layer with feminine patterns and colour pops,”
says Amelie Robert, Merchandising Manager for Vans Women’s and
Kids.
Colour Wear channel their “sportswear legacy from the 80’s” says
Johan Ullbro, Co-Founder / Design & Production Manager, while
Volcom have a “70s throwback theme” woven throughout their
collection, paying “tribute to the era with billowy peasant dresses and
blouses, retro surf and desert t-shirt graphics, feminine high-necks
and touches of lace and ruffles.”
Vans reinvent timeless silhouettes “with novel fabrications and
unexpected details,” says Amelie, bringing a “fun and flirtatious
approach to classic tomboy style,” mixing “tomboy inspired classics
and delicate feminine shapes: the perfect complement to our footwear
icons.”
“Loose- and long-fitted tops with a boyish appearance” are also part
of the Zimtstern collection, and the legendary flannel shirt is gearing
up for a major appearance next winter as well. “The Flannel shirt is a
staple in any girl’s closet now, whether she is wearing it alone, as a
jacket, or tied around her waist,” explains Vans’ Amelie and Burton’s
Andrew adds, that flannel shirts are “warm and functional at the same
time”. Vans take it even further, “lengthening the silhouette to make
the perfect winter dress.” Volcom are big on dresses next year too,
long-sleeved of course. Megan LeBrasseur, Senior Designer Volcom
mentions “shift dresses with deep scooped backs in printed woven and
crochet patterned knit, long sleeved tee dresses in yarn dyed stripes”
and “kimono shaped sweaters” as “prominent silhouettes.”
If we had to pick just one trend here, it would have to be the bomber
jacket fit that all brands sport in their collection somewhere. “Wider
bombers, longer bombers” at Burton, “bomber jackets with fur details”
from Volcom, “classic bomber inspired rider jackets” from Colour Wear
and coach jackets from Vans, borrowed from the men’s collection and
made “shorter and ‘shrunker’. It is now a super cute item, perfect to
complement the street edge to our tomboy look.”
COLOR ME BADD
Colour pallets have a nostalgic 90s tint as well next year, with “rich
jewel tones” that are “reminiscent of the 90s” (Nikita), next to toned
down (Colour Wear), earthy (Burton) colours and “roses and reds and
greens” pulled from the coffee and cherry trees at Nikita. Volcom mix
“neutral black and tan with bright red yarns and a pale pink plaid with
muted grey and white plaids,” and Ragwear combine “pastel and earthy
tones,” while Colour Wear bring “memories from the 80’s” back with
“rich and happy brights and pastels”.
Toning it down a bit, Bleed mix blue and aubergine with “shades of
grey” and Rhythm play with “shades of grey marble, natural, chambray,
navy, coco, shell, rose and plum.” Black and white “has remained
indispensable” for Zimtstern and Roxy’s Marie names “optic black and
white” as “visual stimulus for this collection.”
TEXTURED FABRICS
With modern technology enabling textile innovations on a regular
basis, a garment’s look and function are no longer the single most
important factors, ‘feel’ has also become key. And since we all know
that there is simply nothing on this earth that beats your favourite
ancient t-shirt/sweater/jeans, “timeworn” and “lived in textures”
(Vans) are especially sought after. Colour Wear introduce a new
cotton/polyester blend that “will age beautifully and get nice patina
after use,” and Vans swear by their “basics elevated with slub fleece
and fuzzy French terry that only get better with age.”
Ragwear add “some new mélanges fabrics such as space dye melange,
as the customers usually perceive them very well,” thinks Production
Assistant Julia Schmökel. Volcom feature “dainty Viscose twill” next to
a “new patterned crochet which we’ve engineered linear fringe to run
horizontally throughout the pattern,” as Megan explains, and Roxy add
“crepe viscose and twill” to their signature pieces.
Vans also introduce “all–weather outerwear for women, where style
meets function,” ensuring “maximum protection from wind, rain and
snow” with a “1K durable water-repellent coating” on each piece.
Rooted in the sports of this season, Burton also have an emphasis on
translating function to stylish garments to ensure their girls can look
feminine and not overtly technical.
“In terms of silhouettes for this season, I’m loving
jumpsuits – short and long, sleeveless and long
sleeve. These pieces are just so easy to wear – from a
Sunday morning espresso to a Friday night out.”
Marie Lauga, Head of Global Design ROXY
Technical yet organic is the main motivation behind Bleed, who
“invented a huge diversity of structured materials, especially for
knitted and sweater styles”, setting out a “totally new course for
organic and sustainable structured fabrics.” These materials include
cork, TENCEL®, a special mix of linen and organic cotton, as well as
“animal free down-jackets” made up of PRIMALOFT®Eco, “a filling
that consists of recyclable and hollow polyester fibres” explains
Michael. For the second time, Ragwear offer a special organic
collection as well, “using organic materials such as organic cotton,
recycled polyester or bamboo viscose.”
highlights
Plaids
Bomber Jackets
Layering
Organic Fabrics
Texture
43
on snow demo tips
ON SNOW DEMO TIPS
On snow demos can be hard work with so much choice and so many products to test in such little time. It’s these on snow demos
that turn the theory into reality; you’ve heard the jargon from your sales rep, come the middle of January it’s time to strap in and test
some snowboards. If you’re reading this it means you’ve probably been to more board tests than you care to recall. In order to freshen
things up a little SOURCE has spoken with some of Europe’s finest snowboard shops, event organisers from all three European onsnow snowboard demos and SOURCE’s very own in-house snowboard testers to allow you to see how your practices shape up when
compared to theirs. By Harry Mitchell Thompson.
MAKE A PLAN
All panel members agreed that the most important thing is to make
a plan. This might seem like common sense, but entering an onsnow demo all guns blazing is a recipe for disaster.
If it’s dumped the night before a day of testing, all those around you
will be losing their head, but a good check of the weather forecast
before leaving home will mean you’re expecting it, and have planned
accordingly. However, as you’ll already know, you need to make
sure to get to the test centres early after snowfall. You’ll want to
take out something to keep your nose above sea level, but powspecific sleds disappear early and don’t often return until all the
fluffy white stuff has been rinsed.
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
Don’t just make use of your sales reps at the demo, they’ll be keen
as mustard to talk you through next year’s line before you get there.
Tom from Zero G in Chamonix likes to get dialled in early: “We see
a steady stream of pro riders passing through in early season, or
industry heads who are stopping by town for their sales meetings
in the autumn. We talk to these guys, we keep eyes on the blogs and
key Instagram accounts and by the time Avant Premiere rolls around
we have a pretty solid idea of what is exciting us and what we want
to check out.”
Chris Shannon from TSA in the UK is of the same mind: “We’ll have
already seen ranges prior to testing so you have a general idea of
what’s interesting and what you want to ride.” So, now you’ve done
your research it’s time to start playing the numbers game – how
much of your buy do you allocate to new shapes?
NEW SHAPES
You’re never going to know everything that will be at the show
before you go, so be prepared for some little gems that’ll catch your
eye at the demo.
Each retailer asked differs in the percentage of their snowboard
buy they allow for new shapes, with Tom at Zero G plumbing for
20%, Ridersheaven in Germany at 25% and Jean-Charles Beau at
Addicted in Lyon allowing 5-10% for new shapes.
Addicted’s Jean-Charles appreciates the importance of the on-snow
demos, but he also likes to look at what’s previously sold well. He
paws through previous sales figures before placing any orders to
ensure he’s got product that he knows is going to sell well. And JC
isn’t alone here, TSA’s Chris adds that, “just because something’s
new or has a new shape doesn’t guarantee it a spot on the rack.
It’s got to have a logical fit in our range.” But Chris is also quick to
admit that, “there have been a couple of occasions when we have
tested snowboards and we’ve been so stoked on how they ride that
they had to have a place in the range.”
Tom at Zero G recalls the time he took a punt on Jones six years
ago, and well, we all know how that’s turned out for him. This
winter he’s done the same with Korua, and I have a feeling that
could lead along the same lines…
MAKE USE OF REPS & PRO RIDERS
Sales reps are brimming full of product information, and the pro
team have already ridden the product for an entire season. Don’t
just bend their ear, twist their arm and get them on the chairlift
with you, shred with them and let them pitch their product to you.
No one knows the product better than these guys, and it makes for
quite the sales pitch when you’re flogging it next season: “Yeah,
I rode this puppy with JP Solberg at the on-snow, it goes pretty
good.”
45
on snow demo tips
THE ULTIMATE QUESTION
Which products to test? Each retailer is going to have their own
way of doing things here, but our experts have some tips that’ll
make your three days of testing pay dividends for the duration
of next season.
Looking at midline and beginner boards, Tom Wilson North
tries “to identify categories which have been underperforming
for us, and spend some time with those types of boards from
different manufacturers so we can get a better understanding
of where and how we need to optimise.”
SOURCE’s German Editor, Anna Langer representing the
only female on the panel is an on-snow demo veteran and
likes to let the reps do the talking: “I often give the brand the
opportunity to pick a board for me - either one that they want
to push marketing-wise, or if they know me, something they
think I might like.”
Jean-Charles from Addicted in Lyon makes sure the first
snowboards he tries are the new offerings from the brands
he carries in his store, and after this he makes his way onto
“other interesting brands”. Muck Müller from Shops 1st Try in
Austria advises that retailers need to know prior to the event
whether they are on the hunt for new brands, or if they want to
stick by the brands that are already working for them.
CORRELATING INFORMATION
Everyone has their own tried and tested methods for keeping
tabs on their testing notes; Tom at Zero G compiles an overall
summary on his phone, while Anna likes to talk about products
on the chairlift with fellow testers, etching it into her memory.
At Shops 1st Try, Muck tells us about their Candy system that
allows users to input information digitally each time they test a
new product, which is then emailed to the user in an organised
fashion. Mathieu Kurtz from Snow Avant Premiere in France
informs us about a new app they are working on: “We are
working on an IOS and Android application to help retailers
input info regarding a board, binding or anything else they
test at SAP, and then they can find them on a personal web
account.”
there’s powder you may not test as many as you would like
(there is far less switching up boards if there are freshies)
but on the flip side, if there is no fresh snow you can race
through them. I would normally like to test around three or four
boards a day.”Jean-Charles at Addicted tests between four to
five boards per day, while the Ridersheaven crew average out
at five to seven snowboards, each tested for four runs – now
there’s some German efficiency for you!
MAKE HAY WHILE THE SUN SHINES
Conditions, conditions, conditions. You’d be hard stretched
to find a retailer standing in line to test out something with a
wide nose and a swallow tail if it hasn’t snowed for a couple of
weeks. And likewise, you’d be pulling the short straw if you’re
stuck with something short and skinny while it’s dumping with
the white stuff.
So, what are we to do if the weather doesn’t play along? “If
it’s an unknown pow board that we think looks good,” Tom
at Zero G offers, “we’ll give it a run on the groomers to see
how horrible it is on hardpack. You can’t really understand a
board’s personality without riding the thing.” But, the bottom
line is that it needs to be ridden. All of our experts agree that
they will put a request in with the rep to demo a product at a
different time, should the conditions not play ball.
With the backcountry market still going in the right direction,
Snow Shop Test’s Marco reckons that if the conditions aren’t
great (heaven forbid), that we could see a fair bit of uphill
action this January: “If we don’t have decent snowfall in the
lead up to the demo it’s difficult to test freeride boards. If this
is the case you can focus on splitboards, which are the new
‘cool thing’ your costumers would like to see and buy.”
TALK TO OTHER RETAILERS
It’s always a good idea to have a proper game plan drawn out
listing the snowboards you definitely need to test. You can
play it canny at the demos, and hook up with other retailers.
Spread your workload; compare notes with other shops to see
what they’ve made of different snowboards to help save time
and effort. You’re not giving away trade secrets, just warning
a friend and fellow shredder away from a disaster stick, or
sharing some stoke on the next best thing.
HOW MANY BOARDS TO TEST?
Marco Sampoli from Snow Shop Try in Italy gives the average
number of snowboards per person, per day as six. And it would
seem that statistic is felt throughout our panel, but as we all
know, conditions have such a huge impact on what and how
many snowboards are tested. Shannon from TSA reckons: “If
46
READY, STEADY… SHRED!
Whether this year’s El Niño will have an effect on Europe’s
winter is still to be seen, but we have our fingers crossed for
solid snow and great testing conditions. See you in January.
photo: Giro
trend report
SNOW HELMETS & PROTECTION FW16/17
Trend Report
Wintertime on the slopes has become a lot more dangerous; especially since carving skis were invented and allow people to fly
downhill with more speed they can handle. More and more folks heading out to the backcountry where deadly rocks hide under
a pristine blanket of white gold doesn’t help safety either, of course. But that is neither secret nor surprise – for customers
seeking and brands offering products alike. Hence the choice on the shelves is greater than ever and
Anna Langer has sieved out the finer details.
HELMET TRENDS
“It might sound obvious, but safety is definitely a trend that is more
and more important in the helmet industry,” Mattia Berardi, Product
Manager at Giro explains that consumer habits and expectations have
changed: “They want to know how they are being protected, in which
particular situation, and against what types of impacts.” Smith’s
Helmet Category Manager Graham Sours agrees, seeing “an increased
awareness of helmet technologies by the consumer” and Ståle N.
Møller, Director of Design and Development at Sweet Protection adds
that customers also want “better protection and general performance
from their products.”
TECHNOLOGY & MATERIALS
This also includes the fit of the helmet, as its protective qualities are
highly dependent on that. Bern, Burton and Smith have implemented
a Boa Fit System for this, “the biggest upgrade to our line this year,
it carries over all models” as Bern’s Brand Manager Josh Walker
announces.
Improving both fit and protection is the MIPS Multi-Directional Impact
Protection System that Anon, Giro, Smith and Sweet Protection
collaborate with. “It allows the whole shell to adapt to the head-size,”
as Giro’s Mattia explains, and also “helps reduce rotational impacts”
according to Smith’s Graham. Sweet Protection offer the MIPS “either
as standard or optional on all helmets.”
Materials are also crucial for the safety of the wearer and “the use
and layering of alternative helmet materials is gaining momentum”
advises Anon Category Manager for Helmets, Andy, who proudly
announces their new Endure helmet “which combines Anon’s FlexShell construction with G-Form’s innovative Reactive Protection
Technology (RPT®) and HDPE foam for unmatched repeatable impact
performance.” Sweet work with an “advanced carbon composite
technology, either as a full shell or laminated with thermolastics” for
several of their models.
TSG combine “durable ABS with shock-absorbing EPS foam for super
strong protection” as well as a “thin layer of Polycarbonate over the
reinforced EPS” on their in-mould helmets, “for a very lightweight
protective helmet” as Head of Communication Nadja Herger explains.
Nutcase work with “durable ABS hard shells and EPS liners” as well,
Giro features EPS, EPP and Vinyl Nitrile in all liners, as well as PC and
different types of ABS plastic for the outer shell, and Smith combine
EPS and Koroyd®: “A revolutionary new material that absorbs 30%
more energy upon impact when compared to international standards,
while increasing airflow.”
49
trend report
On the liner inside they use “a Nanosilver performance material that
wicks away moisture and eliminates smell from repetitive use,” while
POC add “a brand new liner concept based on unique materials and
combinations that we have in our toolbox already, but we are tweaking
it to fit a different kind of impact situation,” E-Commerce & Digital
Marketing Manager Stine Schjött-Quist tells us.
Picture Organic Clothing patented their “COMPOSITE FUSION™
PLUS in-moulding technology with dual density foam and crumple
zone technology” that provides a “perfect shell/liner connection” and
“industry standard” according to Bern’s Josh, who designs all their
models to “interact with their wireless chips and wired chips.” Giro
and Smith work with them as well, since “music adds to the thrill
of your mountain experience, or maybe making the first powder day
of the year means taking a work call on the lift,” as Smith’s Graham
explains. K2 offer “integrated loudspeakers or pockets prepared for
Bluetooth loudspeakers” states Nikolaus Dietrich, Sales Manager
and Anon also have “earpads that are audio compatible” on all adult
models. Sweet Protection work with Koss to “provide a very good
sound, as well as compatibility with iPhones.”
Compatibility with goggles has already become a standard for all
brands. Naturally for those who do both, like Smith focus on “Ultimate
Integration,” and soon Bern, who are releasing their first goggle line.
But even then, choice is king. “We want to have our goggles fitting
perfectly with our helmets” says Mattia from Giro, “but we also want
our consumers to be free to choose whatever helmet or goggle brands
they want. So we test our products with competitors to make sure that
they fit with most of the products that can be found on the market.”
Sweet share this sentiments, confirms Ståle: “We make sure to keep
track of what leading goggle suppliers are doing to make sure you’ll
have a perfect fit. All our helmets have quite a deep and stable front
opening making sure that oversized goggles will fit perfectly without
gaps and nose press.” Goggle straps in the back (or side goggle clips
as K2 do them) help as well.
Other additional features include the “stealth and user friendly break
away POV camera mount” from Giro, that you can snap in and out of
a slot attached to the hard shell – even with your gloves on, or the
Nutcase Fidlock buckle, “a unique solution that enables one-handed
operation even with gloves on, and prevents skin pinching” as Philip
Mascher, Head of Marketing says.
photo: Picture
PRINTS, PATTERNS, COLOURS
K2 agree with Max’s sentiment from above, that protection is becoming
more of a “fashion article” and uses “modern, fresh colours” next year.
Nutcase add “expressive graphics” such as graffiti, comics, animal
and floral prints to their street line, as well as new colourways for
16/17, as do most other brands. Smith have a teamed up with Woolrich
and “dug by hand through the archives of wool to come up with this
year’s patterns: a traditional blanket pattern harkening back to pioneer
trappers and a geometric pattern out of the deadstock archive.”
reduce the weight of their helmets with “recycled Polystyrene from
care boards from the Japanese car industry”, says founder Julien
Durant. Bern addresses the weight issue with a ‘zipmold’ construction,
“which is essential PU foam” that allows for tapered, super-thin
constructions, as their new Junior Zipmold Helmet shows.
FEATURES
Max Thurner, International Marketing Manager for Snowboard &
Protection at Head points out that since “helmets have become a
regular player in the standard winter sport equipment”, most riders
already have one and are “now about to buy their second (third,
etc.). This means, next to the basic function of protecting your head,
fashion and features become more relevant for consumers.” As does
comfort, which they cater for with their new, super lightweight InMold V-Series “with urban aesthetics” and venturi-ventilation for a
comfortable helmet climate.” Smith are proud of their AEROCORE
construction, which gives improved “fit, ventilation and exceptional
protection”.
The integration of sound is a popular feature for many brands and
consumers alike and Outdoor Tech™ has become somewhat of an
50
And along those same lines, AJ Avrin from Shred Optics says their
helmets are seeing “darker and more neutral colours throughout the
line to offer the perfect accessory for styling. We have also worked
very hard on our Shred Femme line, which is our first female specific
offering that spans the collection and all categories.”
Bern on the other hand “move away from the bright skittle
colourways” to more muted, tonal and “understated” ones. Max from
Head also thinks that “the product needs to with the rest of their gear
colour-wise, plus suit their riding style in terms of look and features.”
Picture Organic match their helmets with their outerwear, combing
black and white or matt tones with fluro colours. Sweet add “multiple
layer of top coats offering depth and interest to matt colours” and
TSG also favour “a matt satin surface” next year, on its own or in
combination with tone-in-tone prints or gloss on matt.
Catering especially for the female shredders, Giro introduce “women’s
graphics, with women’s specific designed ear pads which include
features like satin on the fit system to prevent the hair getting caught,
and a more comfortable liner”, but all in all, “skate lineage and skatestyle helmets still rule the snowboard world, as it should be” sums up
Josh from Bern.
trend report
BODY PROTECTION
“As the need for impact protection penetrates the most core riders
as well as the casual riders, we offer options for everyone” says
Slytech’s CMO/CFO Federico Merle and Co-founder & Lead Product
Engineer Carlo Salmini, who are introducing a more cost-efficient
option with their SLYTECH ONE, a “derivative” of their SLYTECH 2ND
SKiN™ XT line.
very low friction coefficient”.
Evoc’s Jan agrees that “good soft protector concepts have the
same dampening properties, sometimes even better than hardshell
solutions” and mainly work with “EPS protectors for vitally important
areas” and “visco elastic foam concepts from SAS Tec for joint
protection like shoulders,” that can change its properties with
temperature changes though.
Unaffected by temperature, you could put on Amplifi’s MKII protectors
straight out of the boot of your car any crisp morning, as this “silicone
polymer can be used in the cold (fine to be left in the car overnight),”
explains CEO Jens Hartmann, who claims their product is “one of the,
if not THE most flexible protector”.
Forcefield have “pioneered soft armour for over 25 years” says
Matthew Dawson, Director of Sales and Marketing for Forcefield
Body Armour. G-Form are also moving “away from the Traditional
Hard Shell style pad” and use XRD foams as “just one of several
ingredients” in their protective technology.
photo: Slytech
INVISIBLE SHOW OFF
With protection becoming slimmer and slimmer, customers can
now pad up without having to worry about looking like the Michelin
Man. “Body protection is made to protect and perform; this should
be the main focus” states Nadja from TSG and Jens from Amplifi
agrees: “Wear it and forget about it but it will be there when you
need it.” G-Form protection is already so “low profile, it can often go
unnoticed,” says Alex Sardella, Brand & Sponsorship Coordinator.
Forcefield add that “the trend right now is closer fitting, slim and
subtle armour - as long as the armour performs, this is fine with us.”
Evoc on the other hand “combine protection technology with a stylish
piece of cloth” and “set trends in design, comfort and safety” using
their journeys as inspiration. “EVOC products are always a little more
than simply pieces of equipment. We believe that our customers like
our products for both reasons - functionality and looks.”
TSG also cater for “most winter sports riders” by offering “rather
slim and flexible protectors that offer a great wearing comfort without
restricting movements”; explains Nadja, with a special focus on the
little folks with two sizes of the Backbone Junior. Evoc also add a
“compact daypack with integrated back protector” for people with a
shorter back, as well as more sizes to their Kids Protector Vest, Head
of Marketing Jan Sallawitz states.
Women are specifically targeted in the new line from G-Form, who
have also teamed up with Burton Snowboards, offering a “Total Impact
Crash Short with protection at the hips and Tailbone directly targeting
snowboarders.” Forcefield Body Armour have new Slam Shorts too,
featuring BeCool 4 channel cross fibre thread technology, while
Amplifi have “reverse engineered” the Armourgel materials of their
MKII series and “integrated unique lateral stabilizers” for their new
MKII Knee Pro.
SOFT SKILLS
Most brands seem to opt for soft materials these days, as they’re more
comfortable to wear for most customers and are equipped with similar
shock absorption qualities. According to TSG’s Nadja, hard shells’
main advantage over soft protectors is being “pierce-proof when
falling on very sharp ground, which is a rather rare accident” in our
sports. D3O foam “features much better impact absorbing values.”
Slytech take this even further, pointing out risks through the wrong
kind of protection: “We have learned that the use of hard materials
is actually the cause of broken bones and more serious injuries as a
direct result of full compression of softer components upon impact,
where the impact force is then accelerated through the compressed
material, and a hard component directly to the body.” Hence they
“reject the use of hard materials” unless it is necessary “to have a
52
Slytech’s mission is “to make the safest and most comfortable impact
protection to wear under outerwear,” while “simultaneously allowing
our riders to continuously express their personal style.” Yet they are
“seeing more athletes wearing applicable gear outside of clothing
showing that another day on the mountain is more important than their
ultimate appearance,” according to Federico and Carlo.
OUTLOOK
Since “traditionally, most protection gear has been very heavy and/
or not comfortable,” Slytech see that “consumers are looking to
purchase high-tech and innovative gear that progress the quality of
the products, and the riding experience, not hinder it.” EVOC’s Jan
agrees that “the protection market is one of the strongest growing
markets. As helmets are common these days, people become aware
that it might makes sense to protect other parts of their body too.” So
it’s most likely that this will only continue. “Not only did sports gear
get much better in recent years, making higher speeds possible, but
also the access to more demanding terrain got easier. Plus media is
pushing the topic more and more,” Jan continues – we have a strong
feeling, he’ll be proved right.
highlights
Matt & Toned Down Helmet Colours
Rotational Impact Protection
Audio Integration
Soft (Gel) Protectors
Subtle, Understated, Low Profile
ride o’meter
ride o’meter
social / riders
MATCHUP
The clash between 2 different profiles; heroes of 2 generations of snowboarders, more than 10 years in age
difference, 2 different styles… And they both top the rankings but with 2 different approaches. To perform
nowadays in social media, it’s either you aim at the biggest fan base possible or at the highest engagement
ratios… McMorris has a bigger impact in numbers on the networks, no doubt; but even though Mark had 6x
more followers than Eero, we can notice a huge engagement from Ettala’s fans, especially on Facebook where
he had twice as many interactions as the young Canadian. Looking more closely, Eero’s Facebook ratio is
1.6, when Mark’s is at 0.2, meaning 8 times more interaction per fan per month for the Finnish rider.Eero’s
interactions are less driven through the community (brands, media, riders…) but generated for 82% through
his own posts.
eero
Ettala
Tracking action sports media content globally, through print, web, online videos and social networks, RIDE O’METER is
showcasing a selection of the 2014/2015 snowboard season highlights.
Presented by RIDE O’METER.COM
web / EVENT RANKING
top 5
RANKING
EVENT
1
X Games - Aspen 2015
109 354 ¤
243
2
Burton Us Open 2015
106 936 ¤
296
3
Air & Style Snow 2015
81 158 ¤
259
4
Red Bull Double Pipe 2015
73 277 ¤
188
5
Burton European Open 2015
62 084 ¤
289
EXPOSURE VALUE CLIPPINGS
Period analyzed: 1/08/2014 - 30/06/2015
This ranking shows the 5 events with the highest media
exposure of the 2014/2015 season in the international
snowboard web press.Freestyle events (Slopestyle & Halfpipe) are still by far topping the ranking with the first freeride
event sitting in 8th position. 4 out 5 of these events are
long lasting U.S. based and are highlights of the snowboard
calendar.Red Bull and its Double Pipe concept event finds
a spot, only 2 years after its birth, proving there is room
for innovative concepts and mind blowing media push.The
legendary Burton European Open is the only European event
in the rankings and its next edition in January will be run
without its historical naming sponsor; Burton, leaving Laax
resort with this unique spot.
videos / RIDER AUDIENCE TOP 5
TOP 5
RANKING
NAME
1
Travis Rice
56
5 554 521
179 077
4 555
2
Zak Hale
75
5 312 948
165 688
3 322
3
Torstein Horgmo
123
1 005 278
1 005 278
15 662
4
Mark McMorris
151
93 535
93 535
10 141
5
Ethan Deiss
30
828 060
828 060
9 720
NB VIDEO
TOTAL VIEWS
CUMULATED AUDIENCE (hrs.)
TOTAL PART (sec.)
Period analyzed: 1/08/2014 - 30/06/2015
This ranking shows the 5 riders with the highest cumulated number of views in snowboard videos over last season. Brand collaborations like the
ones GoPro have been pushing lately seem to boost exposure dramatically with viewership frequently surpassing 500k viewsThe most viewed
video of the season is a GoPro ‘best of’ reaching 3,744,368 views over the period, featuring the indisputable legend Travis Rice who takes the lead
in this ranking.Torstein Horgmo, Norwegian genius and one of the sensations of the past few seasons scored well with Horgasm, his own movie,
still gaining an audience 145 weeks later! For Zak Hale and Ethan Deiss, the buzz comes from a crazy backcountry escapade with Ken Block and
Raptortrax, mixing pure snowboard vibes with motorsports’ current excitement, and reaching a broader audience.
54
20 947 likes
56 958 shares
11 635 comments
mark
mc morris
JAN. - JUL. 15
Follower Fb/ Inst/ Tw
Mark MC MORRIS
828 019
143 290
(1.6)
Av. Monthly interactions
Facebook
Instagram
Tweeter
89 511
129 213
-
Ratio of own interactions*
82%
From 18-year-old Ayumu Hirano’s
World title to Billy Morgan’s quad
cork, here are the 3 top social posts
since January 2015.
Billy Morgan
VS
snowboard media analytics
Ride o’meter
TOP postS riders
46 698
468 618
15 101
(0.2)
56 975 likes
1 103 comments
68%
*Comparison between own rider posts interactions and interactions created by posts
when tagged (Brands, Medias, Contributors & Riders).
Ayumu hirano
print / cover RANKING
RANKING
BRAND
1
2
top 5
TOTAL EXPOSURE
NB OF COVERS
Capita
50 165 ¤
3
Oakley
41 690 ¤
5
3
Burton
41 250 ¤
2
4
Monster Energy
27 817 ¤
2
5
Nitro
26 581 ¤
3
Period analyzed: 1/08/2014 - 30/06/2015
2 885 likes
866 shares
This ranking shows the 5 brands that scored the most magazine cover visibility in
international snowboard magazines between August 2014 and April 2015.
Capita leads the pack with its impressive team, including Simon Gruber on the
cover of Sequence, and showing some great logo placement on its snowboards
bases.Oakley isn’t far behind with their impressive global team; Sven Thorgen
scored a cover for Transition with one of the first ever selfie covers. High time
for riders to handle and run their own exposure…Burton, 3rd in the rankings,
showcases a collaboration between Martin guitars and Danny Davis.Monster
Energy knows how to maximize brand visibility; not only counting on their riders,
but also placing the right promotional pieces on the right spot, at the right time, at
the best events.
Hungry for more ? Drop us a line at [email protected]
55
trend report
trend report
HOT TREND: WINTERIZATION
Snow on European city streets equals massive loads of salt and gravel
to keep traffic moving, and any skateboarder knows how stubbornly
these tiny stones lodge into the performance-grip soles of skate
shoes. The solution: Wearing rugged boots to the indoor park, thereby
keeping skate shoes pristine for the session. Catering to this trend,
footwear brands are helping skateboarders lace up in “winterized”
styles of established models as well as durable boots.
Julian Vergnes, Element Global Footwear Product Manager sees,
“increasing demand for adverse weather conditions footwear.”
Element serves this trend with, “more winterized features, warm
liners, gusset tongues, water resistant materials.”
photo: Globe
Almost all brands featured in this report cater to this trend, including
Vans: “Winterised is a huge category for Vans across footwear and
apparel in the lifestyle sector and the technologies and materials
come from what are developed in our snow boots. We can use all
we have learned to incorporate this into a cross-functional product
for the colder months in the European region,” said Darryl Charles,
Merchandise Manager of Action Sports & Energy at Vans. At Globe,
Matt Wong is stoked on the new YES Après boot with a rugged
vibram sole and zip entry as part of Globe’s “ongoing collab with
YES snowboards for those really wanting to get out in the snow.”
And speaking of boots, get ready for the sleeper trend of the season:
duck boots with all-rubber lower sections, as seen in Vans “Del Pato”
models, are not just for hunters anymore.
SKATE SHOES: HOW TO PUT THE “WIN” IN WINTER
In an age of cheap, disposable Internet clips, who still invests in full-length skate videos? Answer: Skateboard footwear
companies! After Vans raised the bar with Propeller, the highly anticipated Nike SB Chronicles Vol. 3 video will release
in December, and Adidas Skateboarding is poised to premiere their first full-length entry, Away Days, in May 2016. And
skateboard footwear companies are not only keeping the stoke alive in skateboard culture – they’re also keeping shop
sales moving when cold weather season hits Europe. By Dirk Vogel.
It’s all about going with seasons, says Doug Weston at Osiris: “Fall
and Winter means the days are getting shorter and colder and our
line stories incorporate darker tones with subtle accents. We love
to have the line truly reflect the season it was designed for. The
lighter cottons of summer get replaced by heavier canvas with flannel
linings.”
And while “winterization” of skate shoes emerges as the hottest trend
of FW16/17, it’s also a double-edged sword. Nick Pappas, Footwear
Product Manager at New Balance Numeric pointed out: “It’s a tricky
thing though, winterizing a shoe. While half the world is cold and rainy,
the other half is warm and sunny. So as soon as you winterize a shoe,
you’re losing at least half your audience because they’re in the middle
of summer.” With that said, how can retailers offer the right selection
and put the “win” in Winter? This trend report has the answers.
PRICING AND STRATEGY
Walk down any high street seven weeks before Christmas, and drown
in a sea of red marker prices and 50%, 60%, 70% rebate on absolutely
everything. Customers expect instant rebates even on the most current
56
product, but fortunately, skate customers also appreciate a well-made
shoe. “Lower prices seem to be the trend. Outside of that I believe
people will always look for a comfortable shoe that’s durable and made
with quality – something C1RCA has maintained with our footwear over
the last 17 years,” said footwear designer Ky Baker at C1RCA.
Retail price points currently crystalize around ¤55.00 for entrylevel skate shoes, ¤85.00 for winterized models and exclusive
material stories, and around ¤120.00 for technology-laden high-end
performance footwear.
For a bit of perspective on pricing strategies, go to Vans.com and
browse the Men’s Footwear section. What you will see is the latest,
season-specific styles next to the company’s proven classics. What
you won’t see is a SALE section. And no crossed-out prices and
special rebates in red, either. Just the regular assortment of shoes
at the regular, suggested retail price. It’s a textbook example of
how brands maintain the value perception of their products, and it’s
working: In Q3 2015, Vans reported a “high-teen percentage rate
increase” in direct-to-consumer sales – including online, where priceslashing is rampant.
MATERIAL STORIES
For the second major trend of FW16/17, brands are reliving the
glory days of court sneakers with chubby white rubber toe caps,
immortalized by 1935’s Jack Purcell sneaker (later marketed by
Converse). FW16/17 standouts include the Nike SB Cory Kennedy
Zoom All Court, HUF’s Classic Lo Skate model, and a range of Vans
“The collection has evolved over the years with
the market moving away from puffy shoes.
Thinner silhouettes, lower profiles, better insoles,
comfortable inner linings and midsoles are our main
inspiration.” Ky Baker, C1RCA
models. “With rubber toecaps being featured across a lot of brands,
the court look and feel is being seen a lot and showcased by all
brands,” confirms Darryl Charles at Vans. True to the cold season,
brands are drawing on outdoor-proven materials, summed up by Ky at
C1RCA: “Oiled suedes, waxed canvas and twill, wool and Sherpa inner
linings are used throughout the collection.”
At Fallen Footwear, mastermind Jamie Thomas points out: “The
weather resistant ‘wool pack’ is sure to be a standout as well as our
collection of waxed suedes shoes that are great for Fall holiday.”
Servant Footwear is building on the success of their synthetic 4SKIN
Microfiber suede: “Being man-made it gives us greater control in
quality consistency with all the benefits of being cruelty free as an
added bonus,” said Rasmus Åhrberg, Head of Design. For extra skate
performance, Filament is using, “a lot of skate friendly suedes and
canvas, with some welded panels,” co-founder and co-owner Tim
Gavin adds.
COLOURS AND STYLING
Seasons may change, skate footwear colour preferences, not so much,
according to Nick at New Balance Numeric: “Black will always rule
skateboarding. Our goal is to give skaters appealing options to the
traditional black and white skate shoe.” Nick’s choices include, “deep,
rich burgundies, seasonal browns, and athletic-inspired greys with
pops of sensible colours.” Julian at Element notes a trend towards
“Tonal combos, sober colours,” Tim Gavin at Filament sees “earth
tines with muted pops,” Jamie Thomas at Fallen banks on, “black,
midnight navy and interesting browns,” while DVS Product Line
Manager Mike Kubota sees FW16/17’s “colour story focused on the
darker side with blacks, browns and greys.” Trending shoes feature
“gum and coloured outsoles being relevant with a focus on Autumnal
colour pallets,” Darryl Charles at Vans confirms.
Printed graphics continue to bring colour diversity to skate footwear,
including skulls, camo, and tie-dye patterns in a number of collections.
For their collab with Parisian street artist HUIT, the Osiris crew
updated manufacturing capabilities: “We’ve been developing a
proprietary material technology and printing process for our graphic
print footwear,” said Brian Reid at Osiris. Reflective panels – like 3M
– also shine bright in FW16/17 collections, including Nike SB’s Flash
models.
CUTS AND SILHOUETTES
From season to season, skateboard footwear is becoming more
advanced in terms of contours and silhouettes. Ky Baker at C1RCA
noticed: “The collection has evolved over the years with the market
moving away from puffy shoes. Thinner silhouettes, lower profiles,
better insoles, comfortable inner linings and midsoles are our main
inspiration.” The two trending profiles for FW16/17 include: First, a
pointed-toe, low-cut vulc shoe with technology baked into the insole
and foot bed. Mike Kubota at DVS highlights, “the Ignition SC made for
jumping down stairs, rails, etc. with an injected Vaporcell foot bed for
maximum cushion and flexible outsole.” Second, a skate-performance
cupsole with new technologies like the Globe Eagle model for David
Gonzalez with a sculpted shogun cupsole and drop-in PU cushioning.
At Etnies, “STI Evolution Foam brings high performing technology to
both lightweight cupsole models and new fixtures into the vulcanized
ones. By expanding standard foam particles till their max density
Etnies manages to improve massively the high impact rebound and
durability without compromising comfort,” said Antonio Melero.
Slimmer profiles are supported by technologies like Vans’ Rapidweld,
“a breathable mesh and stitchless construction, allowing us to deliver
a more functional and technical skate shoe for today’s skater,”
said Darryl at Vans, pointing out the new AV Rapidweld Lite & Pro
models. New Balance is going big on tech with the 868 model, but
Nick reminds us: “I think we’ll see technology make even more of a
comeback, but it will be subtle. Finding ways to give a classically
styled shoe subtle but useful tech will be key.” The big trend towards
“jogger” shoes in the mould of Nike SB’s Roshe Run sneaker continues
and almost all brands offer their own versions, with some retailers
calling “joggers the longboards of skate footwear” as hot sellers to
mainstream customers. And speaking of customers, Tim Gavin at
Filament is confident: “I think a lot of customers are now looking for
core, skater-owned brands again.” Amen to that.
highlights
White rubber toecaps for classic look
Cupsole key in skate performance
Winterized models
Black still rules
Cozy: wool, oiled suede, waxed canvas
Joggers and rugged boots win mainstream customers
57
buyer science
buyer science
Gianluca Tognoli and his brother opened Frisco in Brescia,
Italy back in 2001 to cater for the city’s buzzing skate and
snowboard scene. In 2007, the second Frisco was opened in
the city, and Gianluca is responsible for the buying at both
stores and their online web shop. Gianluca has some very
interesting insight; explaining how Frisco were immune
from the poor snow conditions of recent winters.
During your time as a buyer, what have been some of the most
important lessons you have learned in how to cater for your
customers?
In almost 15 years in the business, I sure have learned a lot, but I
think the most important thing is that even if you have to keep your
ears and eyes open to your customers’ requests. Nowadays, you can’t
always just listen and comply with everything they say: there are a
lot of new customers, who are used to shoping in malls. They need to
be educated to understand that this market works in a different way,
and that the supply of goods is not unlimited like it is when you go
to places like Zara or Foot Locker. Everyone wants the same pair of
shoes, and the same sweatshirt, but if you sell thousands of it, that’s
exactly how you ruin a brand’s image within a year.
Do you find that you need different strategies for buying for online
and buying for the physical stores?
Of course, in the online business you have to face a totally different
kind of customer, which has completely different requests, due to the
fact that there is higher competition. You have to keep an eye on the
prices and make sure you offer limited editions or exclusive products
that are hard to find. We have been in the online business for five
years now and, as everyone knows, this kind of market is constantly
growing, especially in Italy where it came later than in the rest of
Europe. So my guess is that the difference between ecommerce and
the retail shop is that customers are going to decrease as online
shopping becomes more widespread.
Which brands are doing it right at the moment?
Luckily we have a good sell-through on almost every brand we buy,
but if I had to point at the best overall seller it would be Element. Vans
is doing great at the moment too, especially with apparel, but it can
be found almost everywhere, so in our kind of shop, it’s losing some
of the appeal. DC is also doing a great job. For the streetwear section
Obey is still at the top, and as for footwear Nike SB is taking over the
market.
Which tradeshows do you attend and how important are they for your
decision-making?
I usually attend ISPO in Munich to take care of snowboard business.
With the shops being in a city close to the Alps, ISPO has always been
important. I see it as an occasion to make new contacts and have an
overall view of the market, from the bigger brands to the emerging
core brands, which I prefer. For other products, we realized that the
demand in our city is different from the rest of Italy, so I usually do
not attend other tradeshows, also because the most important and
interesting ones are in critical periods of the year for the shop, like the
beginning of the summer sales. But the plans for the future are to be
able to find the time to go to other fairs.
The last couple of winters have been tough - how have you bought
differently this winter to combat any previous issues?
As I was telling you, our situation is atypical so luckily we weren’t
affected by the last few tough winters. The main reason is the fact
that snowboarding is not the main source of entrance to our shop so
we do not stock a huge amount of snowboarding material. But we
experienced some hard winters in the past and in order to solve the
problem, instead of drastically changing the buying strategy we set
up a collaboration with one of the best snowboard schools around,
The Garden. This partnership affected the buying strategy because
the school got snowboard and apparel sponsors, meaning we ordered
more from those brands. I personally think the only way to react to
a reducing market, is to work harder to improve the situation. Not
getting scared is very important.
sales team.
Everyone wants the same pair of shoes, and the same sweatshirt, but if you sell thousands of it,
that’s exactly how you ruin a brand’s image within a year.
58
trend report
trend report
At UK company Animal this is their first collection directly inspired by CWS, and Karl Reid
from their Design department says it takes inspiration from “surfing the local reefs near
Animal HQ and feeling the need for product that was functional without looking like the
typical outdoor brands that would usually make this product.”
photo: Urban Beach
The creatives at Rip Curl Europe, rather than having segmented colour
palettes as was the case before, “this season (we) have decided
to work with one general colour scheme across the whole range”
explains Brice Maumet, “the aim was to create a more versatile
crossover range with different themes and collections that come
together in shops.”
Lastly, products are receiving faded washes, as much for aesthetics as
for comfort. Furthermore, at Superbrand, each product even features
“its own faded wash and own printing technique depending on the look
you are going for,” specifies Juliana Dantas.
Men’s Surf Apparel FW16/17 Trend Report
Snowy landscapes, cold water and wild camping… Forget about palm trees, warm water and boardies, ‘Cold Water Surfing’ is rising
in popularity, much to the delight of Europeans who are not prepared to stop surfing or to make surf trips away - even in the coldest
four months of the year. It’s a period where everything belongs to them but it’s also one that requires quality garments more than any
other, pre and post surf! For FW16/17, silhouettes are enriched and more complex, guaranteeing those who want it a raw, timeless look
whether on top of a rocky point, huddled round a fire or perched at a local bar. Report by Denis Houillé.
THEMES AND INSPIRATION
The desire to travel has always been anchored in the character of
surfers but in recent years this uncontrollable ‘wanderlust’ has
turned towards more and more ‘out there’ destinations for which
accomplished, high-performance equipment is the order of the day.
Every manufacturer is now able to fit winter surfers out head to
toe as well as with little camping accessories (mugs, knives and ice
boxes). Designers have drawn on the diversity of European coastlines
for inspiration. At Superbrand, it’s specifically “the contrast between
the big towns and coastal towns, in other words, calm and chaos,” as
described by Juliana Dantas, Apparel M&D Director.
Even though the FW16/17 collections generally radiate simplicity
(neutral shades and rather all-purpose), it’s reassuring to see that
creativity has not been neglected. But it’s T-shirts that remain by
far the most creative pieces of the autumn/winter season as seen at
Billabong, among others, with an impressive number of collabs and
artist series; something our industry excels at.
Far away from organised boat trips and high-profile contests, winter
surfing in Europe pertains to the outdoors and to camping, which are
steadily becoming the hallmarks of surfing in Europe. Brands are now
addressing the consumers/surfers who are so in tune with “their”
environment and so connected that they are prepared to brave any
weather as soon as a swell is seen approaching on the weather maps.
Baltic? North Atlantic? North Sea? They’re all possible venues. “No
matter the conditions” is the mantra used by Brunotti with the four
letters NMTC.
COLOURS AND TREATMENTS
Neutral, organic and complex, the colour schemes used in the
FW16/17 season relate to the form of European coastlines, lush green
or limestone, sandy or rocky. The elements of nature are therefore
represented, like at Urban Beach for example, inspired by the dense
forests and chilly beaches of their winter environment. Strong
autumnal colours stand out, combined with dark tone fade washes.
At Lightning Bolt, the palette is full of energy with “red accents from
the uncontrollable Hawaiian volcano, Kïlauea, that burns and reduces
to restrained washed hues of ash and dusty greys and blacks onto
the natural transition that carries the verdant Sycamore and Antique
Greens, together with the pure Moon Indigo and deep Navy Blues,
inspired in the garden Isle of Kauai.”
At Reef, designs with warm tones (mustard, brown and prune)
accompany cold colours (indigo, light grey). At …Lost, the palette is
darker than ever and this is “not just to annoy their designers” as Jim
Zapala, artistic director puts it. Superbrand are gravitating toward
dark blues and military greens, combined with warm touches of red
and yellow. Meanwhile at Billabong, dark turquoise accents, washed
out orange, brick/rust and jade/pine and canteen are on the menu.
Finisterre are bringing navy blues added to textured charcoal tones
supported by touches of cobalt, ochre and clay red.
MATERIALS AND TEXTURES
Functionality, comfort and practicality become the primary criteria
in terms of clothing. “We’re continuing to see growth in consumers
who want more from their clothing, both in ethical sourcing and
functionality, without sacrificing style,” say Debbie Luffman –
Finisterre, Product Director.
Richer, higher-quality and more comfortable materials logically
belong to a new set of design requirements. Sherpa wool comes in to
thicken the lining of many pieces. Stretch cottons are employed on all
kinds of trousers. Flannels and fleeces are getting heavier for more
insulation. Recycled denim thickens up sweatshirts. Cotton is found
worked into its various different weaves (poplin, twill, mounted) to
bring interesting texture grades, both from a visual and handfeel point
of view.
Simplicity and durability are key features and as Iron & Resin cofounder and designer Jackson Chandler puts it “We have always tried
to take to a very classic and timeless approach to our product line. Our
aim is to have our products stand the test of time and trends.”
To face the coming season, Finisterre are combining “the comfort and
versatility of wool with modern treatments and reinforcements for
better durability.” Lightning Bolt are featuring juxtaposed textures and
contrasted hues.
describes. At Billabong, jackets also remain a strong category.
“Cotton/canvas back to school jackets with special big freeze parkas
in the “Adventure Division” range, all models were improved as much
in their materials and cuts as in their finish (impermeable, breathable
and lined by a thick layer of “Primaloft”” explains Nicolas Perceval
(Head Designer, Billabong Men).
COLLECTIONS STRIPPED BACK TO THE ESSENCE
Looking at each collection in its entirety, we can see that most brands
are refocusing on their essence and in doing so are reducing the
number of SKUs as is the case at Rip Curl for example where, “in
terms of SKUs, we decided to focus on what we do best, leading to
a smaller but more accurate range. Brice Maumet Rip Curl Product
Manager - Men Surfwear. In the design team at …Lost, they’ve decided
to simplify the spec to a maximum by concentrating on “everything
stretchy, comfortable and durable”.
The segmentation of each line will happen naturally in shops and on
time, sometimes following four distinct delivery periods for the coming
fall/winter 16/17 collection. This trend aims to target the flagships of
each category to use them as best as possible elsewhere. The result is
that collections are coherent, lookbooks are simplified and orders are
taken more easily…
“We have always tried to take to a very classic and
timeless approach to our product line. Our aim is to
have our products stand the test of time and trends.”
Jackson Chandler, Iron&Resin Co-Founder/Designer.
DETAILS FOR THE “TRAVEL-MINDED”
Pursuing swells into lost lands means having to camp or subsist on
site for a few days or hours depending on the quality and duration of
the swell…(emails can wait, autoreply is made for that). This is a frame
of mind that Reef and their ambassadors have had for a few seasons
now with the “Just Passing Through” mantra becoming a totally
separate marketing message, a hashtag that needs no others.
CONCLUSION
The harsh conditions braved by the action sports business don’t seem
to have quelled the motivation or creativity of those who live it. The
outdoors (as for streetwear) seems like a development avenue full of
hope with nothing to prove when it comes to boardsports’ legitimacy,
whether it’s in the mountains, in town centres or on the old continent’s
most isolated reefs.
Winter travellers, regular road-trippers or simple weekend-warriors;
these collections respond to their needs. “Stretch” pants (jog/track
suit or chino) combine comfort and practicality to carry essential
accessories and with a cord instead of a belt it won’t set off airport
metal detectors.
Bolstered by the growing resolve of the people who make up our
industry, the market is emerging from this transitional period
successfully - tenacity in the face of the elements, in life and in work,
which is bewildering to outsiders.
On the top floor, let’s focus on jackets, which has became a key
product in many manufacturers’ products lines ; from the trucker
jacket Levi’s type to the shorter down jacket Patagonia’s type, through
the lighter but nevertheless very stylish coach jacket. Expectation
weighs heavily on THE winter surf jacket’s specifications: Light and
warm, spacious yet space-saving (!), casual yet aesthetically new.
On the program for many brands such as Urban Beach is “multifunctional outerwear designed to be worn in all weather conditions”.
The example from Reef’s jackets combines “the functions of a piece of
outerwear with a lifestyle aesthetic to make a very versatile product,”
as Paulo Cortelazzi, EMEA Reef & SmartWool Marketing Coordinator
highlights
Outdoors vector of growth/opportunity in shops
Versatile pieces suited to all conditions
More costly casual and technical silhouettes
Jackets strong sector (trucker, down, coach jacket)
Collections stripped down to essentials
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brand profile
mons royale
New Zealand based brand Mons Royale aims at giving its customers the best of both worlds - tech and style, on and off
the slopes. The use of merino wool distinguishes the brand with its high functionality and at the same time, fine design.
Founder Hamish Acland talks us through his brand.
Please give an overview on how and why the
company began?
Mons Royale launched in 2009 when realizing
that there was a big gap in the market for
technical layering that had street style. Why
not create one piece that had all the benefits
of merino - warmth, breathability, anti-odour
etc., with technical, yet not looking like
thermal underwear, and had street style off
the mountain?
Where is the company based?
The headquarters is in Wanaka, New Zealand.
The great thing about this is it attracts likeminded people. The result is that we have
been able to double our staff by adding key
management and finding people who had
great skills and experience. We can also test
things quicker. Wanaka being a town in New
Zealand’s Southern Alps means we can be in
the mountains with new ideas as soon as we
have prototypes.
How are you operating in Europe?
Switzerland is our home market and we have
our sales reps there. This year we founded
Mons Royale Europe GMBH in Innsbruck
where we also have our 3PL partner. Our
General Manager, Roland Lichtensteiger, heads
the European operations.
Have you noticed an increased crossover into
activewear recently?
We have always been in activewear, especially
as we are designed in a mountain-town
lifestyle. A long sleeve merino top might be
bought in a snowboard store but the user
will also wear it to yoga, running or mountain
biking. You only have to see what our fans
share through Instagram to understand the
way that Mons Royale gets used transcends
the snow and outdoor categories.
What is it you find so amazing about merino?
Firstly, its warmth to weight ratio. It is light
and not bulky, yet highly insulating. Secondly,
it does not retain odour - this is a huge benefit
in comparison to synthetics and allows our
fans to wear Mons Royale from the mountain
to the street, or in other parts of their lifestyle.
You have a summer line - how does this work
with merino?
All of the benefits that make merino so
awesome in winter apply to summer - dries
quickly, remains warm when it gets wet etc.
The structure of the merino fibre also gives
it an inherent climate control capability that
actually helps the wearer stay cool when
they get hot, making it great for all kinds of
activities.
Where does the creative direction come
from?
Hannah Acland- our Creative Director and my
partner. She has been with the company from
the start. The direction for Mons always has
this fearlessness to it. There are plenty of
brands out there in the middle ground, but we
are cutting through because we are taking our
own path.
we suffer from lack of visibility because we
are usually covered by the rider’s outerwear.
To overcome this, our focus with athletes is
around social media, and hosting them in New
Zealand so we can produce our content around
them.
What events do you work with?
The Winter games NZ - the event gets global
eyeballs and is in our hometown, which makes
it easy for hosting and putting on parties. Our
key summer platform is Crankworx in Rotorua,
New Zealand, part of the global Cranxworx
series of mountain bike events. Our key winter
platform in the northern hemisphere is the
Freeride World Tour. We are the official base
layer and neckwear of the series.
Could you list your current product
categories, and how this has changed since
the outset?
We started out with merino underwear and
base layers. Then we added mid layers
including a merino terry-looking cotton. Our
outer layers include garments like our Mtn
Shirt, worn for riding or chopping wood.
Socks have become a category our retailers
love. The category getting the biggest growth
right now is our neck and headwear. Our
range has doubled in size for winter 2016 and
includes a variety of balaclavas and neckwear
(tubes). We have some interesting innovations
in this area, like merino mesh allowing easy
breathing whilst keeping the cold at bay.
What are you doing with athletes to raise the
awareness of you brand?
Louie Vito walked in the other day to get kitted
out, just because he likes the gear. However,
www.monsroyale.com
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brand profile
S-wings
S-Wings is a new surf fin company with a unique shape from the South West of France. Co-Founders Xabi Lafitte and
Philippe Lopez along with the input of their many industry friends are bringing a product to market that increases
speed and control when surfing.
Please tell us about the people behind
S-Wings.
S-Wings is a revolutionary new fin developed
by Xabi Lafitte (42) a surfer with exceptional
knowledge and skill from Guéthary, France,
and Philippe Lopez (51), a designer and shaper
from Marseille. The duo is assisted by friends
including free surfer Jérôme Sahyoun and
surf industry veteran Baptiste Caulonque to
help Xabi and Philippe bring their concept to a
product available in store.
It’s been an 18-month long project until now
and we have enlisted many people to help us
build a rock solid product. We are working with
people from many fields ; ESTIA - an institute
of technology to make models; SNOOTLAB an internet start up to measure performance
and COMPOSIT’ADOUR to develop efficient
material to deliver the proper flex. It is a thrilling
experience.
Please explain where you are based and how
your European operation works.
S-Wings is based out of Guéthary, France. This
ideal location enables the team to test the
product on all sorts of waves from powerful
beach breaks in Hossegor to long point breaks
in Lafitenia. In addition, we have been involving
many surfers from the start to use, try and
challenge our fins in many places across
the world. Every level of surfer (incl. world
champions) participated with, delivering equally
positive feedback. We organized many demo
days and sent fins to many locations in order to
reach the surf community, allowing them to test
the product and provide us with feedback. What’s new in fin technology?
For now, S-Wings’ exclusive feature lies in its
shape. At S-Wings, we looked at nature and
saw so many possibilities in diversity of fin
form, as used by fish for acceleration, cruising,
manoeuvrability etc. S-Wings surfing fins are
inspired by nature’s underwater evolution,
and developed and tested by surfers. In
parallel, we are working on new materials to
offer extra properties and an environmentally
friendly product. This however will be made
available later. Our current focus is to bring
as many surfers as possible (both short and
longboarders) on board with the project. What makes one fin brand different from
another?
At S-Wings, we started our design process
from a blank piece of paper with a clear goal;
increase speed and control to make any surfer’s
life easier - very similar to the contribution of
parabolic skis to the sport of skiing. Then we
looked at nature. We did not look at how its
been done for ever and start from there. Our
biomimetic approach (human-made processes,
substances, devices, or systems that imitate
nature) enabled us to come up with the unique
shape. We think that we have a unique product
and amazing features and this should enable
us to have some level of traction on a market
driven by two industry giants.
What are you doing at retail?
There is no sales activity yet. The product
is 99% finalized now so we are focusing
on preparing S-Wings’ distribution. We are
planning a limited product launch around
Christmas time available exclusively on our own
website. We’ll fully go to market come Spring
2016 working with a selection of retailers in
Europe and the USA in addition to our own
site. To start with our offer will include fins for
shortboards (compatible with FUTURE and
FCS1 set ups) and for longboards (compatible
with USbox).
Who’s on the athlete team?
We do not have a team of athletes. We are
blessed to rely on friends and famous riders
playful enough to try our products because they
are excited by our innovation. We are a group of
passionate surfers trying to make a contribution
to the sport of surfing and that appeals to fellow
surfers. They want to help in any way, shape or
form. We are blessed.
What content are you currently creating?
None. Our sole purpose and focus is to put a
reliable product on the market. Of course, we
are capturing images as we test, surf and enjoy
ourselves while doing our stuff, but these are
just raw material for now. We are building the
product. Its true marketing will come later. www.s-wings.surf
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brand profile
big balls collective
Big Balls Collective is a headwear brand born out of founder Annie Richmond’s love for hats. When Annie was a lifty in
Breckenridge, she used her beanie as the ultimate way to accessorise her uniform. After a spell of working for Formula 1,
Annie has now turned her attention back towards the mountains and is creating great looking products in a
category she says is normally an afterthought for most.
What is the story behind Big Balls
Collective?
After leaving uni I was fortunate to spend
three years living in Breckenridge Colorado,
where I worked as a lift attendant. As we all
wore the same uniform, the only way we could
express our own style was through our beanies
and accessories. One day, a good friend also
working on the lifts, crocheted me a baby pink
beanie and that was it, I was hooked! From that
day on my love of headwear was born.
Who is in the management team and what
are their backgrounds?
We’re a small team of three with completely
different backgrounds. Before I started BBCo
I worked in F1 and other motor sports, which
gave me exposure to super cool brands but also
taught me how to build a brand. I finally left the
sport as I wanted to get back to the mountains
and back on my board.
What marketing strategies are you running/
proud of?
As a brand we are socially conscious and focus
on producing ethical products from sustainable
sources. We donate 1% of our profits to the
Yvon Chouinard initiative, 1% For The Planet
, a charity helping environmental causes. We
also sponsored our first freeski movie called
Misconceptions, produced by Perspective
studios - a British based production company.
It was great to see that project come to life and
support local British talent.
How do you differentiate from the
competitors?
A lot of other brands on the market use
headwear as an item they can slap their logo on
and the garments become an additional form of
branding, an afterthought, and often the quality
isn’t there. None of our beanies are off the shelf
pre-made beanies from sites like Alibaba that
we just apply our logo to. Each piece starts
out as a concept which we sketch then match
with pantones and specific yarn, these are then
sent off for sampling and testing before any
are put into production. Headwear is our core
business, so we spend a lot of time designing
new pieces, looking at new colour combinations
and improving quality.
What do you see in the future for the
company? What are your ambitions?
We want to position ourselves as the ‘go-to
brand’ for outdoor headwear. We have many
new lines planned so we’re only at the tip of
the iceberg in terms of what we’re producing.
We’re keen to get our products into Europe
more and the U.S. When living in Breckenridge
I would buy a new beanie every payday from
the Breckenridge Hat Company, so I’d love to
go back there one day and see our beanies
stocked.
What would you define as the major focus of
the brand?
I was once given a very good piece of advice
from a retailer - ‘do one thing and do it well’.
Headwear will always be our passion and the
core focus of the business. Once the brand
is strong we will start building on that and
introduce further accessory categories. We
launched a clothing range in May. It was great
www.bigballscollective.com
66
to work with artists such as Rosalind Monks,
who did all of our designs. We’re certainly
not ending the clothing range but we want to
ensure that we are better positioned in order
to produce something that can really compete.
Watch this space...
Do you plan to expand your product line and
how?
We sure do. For FW16 we’re producing the new
Darwin range of beanies. In between this we’re
looking at a lighter SS16 range. Our beanies
are some of the warmest you can buy so it’s
great to work on a new product that’s lighter
and cooler but great for throwing on after a day
surfing or round the evening beach camp fire.
Why should retailers sell Big Balls Collective
products?
We’re an authentic brand; BBCo was born on
the snowy Rocky Mountains and produced by
snowboarders. We’re not a huge multinational
company, and it may sound cliché but there’s
definitely heart and soul in our products.
How do you see the development of the
apparel market in general?
I think consumers are becoming more
adventurous with how they accessorise.
Wearing a beanie is now less about the need
to just keep warm but a way to express your
style, on the mountains or in the city. There’s a
new generation of younger people wanting to
experience the love of adventure, which has led
to a larger variety of brighter and much bolder
clothing and accessories.
brand profile
flvr series
SOURCE noticed FLVR at alternative skate tradeshow Shitfoot Mongoland in Berlin Fashion Week. They are a skateboard
brand producing artist collaboration decks, forming a constantly evolving community of artists, skaters and likeminded
people thanks to the events they host in conjunction with each collaboration. Co-Founder Xavier Staal and
Youri Fernandez, Co-Founder & Art director explain their brand.
Tell us about the history of FLVR
FLVR was born out of a communal desire to
produce beautiful boards, to tell a story and
showcase artistic workmanship. Our initial idea
was to create board graphics that put aesthetics
at the forefront as opposed to logo boards. We
wanted to build bridges between the worlds of
skateboarding and art. We work on each series
with different artists to give us a fresh outlook
on the sport.
How do you collaborate with artists?
Each new board (or series) belongs to a
wider project and we put on cultural events
like exhibitions, concerts and performances
to coincide with them. Each new collaborator
that joins the FLVR collective is then brought
to work with the other members. Skaters,
musicians and artists, etc. make up FLVR, it’s a
project under constant development.
What makes you different from your
competitors?
We don’t have one fixed logo but many that
vary with each collaboration. Our identity is
interdependent with the series so it evolves
with each new collab; making us adaptable
with the ability to innovate and surprise. Even
though our boards are meant to be skated on
and we support a few riders, our primary aim
is to highlight the artists and communicate their
contribution.
How do you use local resources in your
products?
Our boards are made in Canada and printed in
Berlin. We put the source of the maple high on
the agenda and the control factory that makes
the boards follows an environmental charter. We
then get the boards printed in Berlin at a local
company, which allows us to have a handle
on production and control each of our series.
The work is of better quality when relations
are solidly forged between passionate people.
For the latest “Fougère” series we artisanally
produced a photo and illustration book. Each
little stage has to be taken into account - it’s
a lot of work but the results are all the more
rewarding.
How has the skateboarding scene and
industry developed throughout the years in
your view?
A few years ago you could see the European
scene growing and today it is well established
in the international community. It’s even given
some cause for concern to some U.S. brands
that were dominating the market until now.
Cliché was the first European brand in my
eyes but Polar got so many people motivated
to produce and develop internationally.
Also, Palace showed that it was possible to
create a global buzz and to transcend the
ordinary models by offering more than just
skateboarding. I’d say that we are celebrating
the New York vibe and the east coast spirit but
differently from the Zoo York and Love Park
years. Today Supreme, arty and fashion styles
dominate trends, as much in tricks as in the
way of dressing. Brands like Fucking Awesome
and Hockey are for me the new Chocolate and
Girl that we loved some much in the ‘90s and up
until recently.
With skate VHSs, I’d watch them over and over.
Now there are parts on the Internet coming out
www.flvrseries.com
68
every day and such immediate consumption is
a shame. On the other hand, the Internet has
certainly contributed to the fact that Europeans
are getting recognition. Their legitimacy
has brought a more creative new vision of
skateboarding, similarly for Japan!
What are your future ambitions?
We are currently presenting the new FLVR
series called “Fougère” on a tour around France
and Germany before becoming available in
shops at the end of November. In the future
we’d like to offer a wider range of products
from books to vinyl and clothes, all in the FLVR
spirit.
Do you support athletes?
Even though at the start we didn’t want to
create a team, we found ourselves giving
boards to certain people because they deserved
recognition and today we are thinking about
how to match up skaters with members of our
collective.
What other marketing are you running?
We communicate directly with retailers or on
Facebook and more recently on Instagram. We
are still wary of the rhythm dictated by these
social networks and we aren’t looking to make
loads of posts. We are anchored in the ‘80s-‘90s
which taught us to savour pictures and videos
and to marvel at newly released stuff in shops
because they were never really announced
beforehand.
brand profile
cheapo
Cheapo are an accessories brand with roots in Scandinavian skate and snowboard culture. Started in 2005, Cheapo was
founded by Johan Graffner and in 2013 former Quiksilver and WeSC employee Viktor Telégin joined the company. SOURCE
spoke with Viktor to find out just why the brand’s aesthetic has changed since he joined the company.
Please explain the people on the management
team at Cheapo.
Cheapo’s founder Johan Graffner started out
25 years ago by importing skateboards and
skateboard clothing and selling them out of his
dad’s garage. Cheapo as a brand was founded in
2005 in Stockholm, Sweden, and has since then
been a 100% skateboarder owned streetwear
and accessory brand. In 2013 I joined the
company as both partner and CEO. We both
share the skateboarding background. I worked
for WeSC for several years and later on joined
Quiksilver. Since I joined we have repositioned
the brand a bit, so everything you see today,
from the design of the products to the look of
the brand, has been created over the last couple
of years.
What does Cheapo mean?
We believe that it shouldn’t cost you a fortune
if you want to wear a good looking quality
watch or a pair of sunglasses. That’s why we
have built a brand that has all the values of
a premium streetwear accessory brand and
just as good quality, but at a lower price point
so everyone can afford it. As a brand we also
take a strong social stance for equality and
human rights, so if you hate homosexuals,
people of different colour or women, please
do this one favour for us. Don’t buy our gear.
Which product categories are you currently
working in?
We do watches and sunglasses, and they all
look good, and not just good. They look really
good! And what markets are you targeting?
All of Europe, and a couple of key markets in
Asia like Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong.
Our plan is to launch in the U.S. next summer. Tell us more about your Skateistan collab
- will there be more of this kind of thing to
come?
This fall we launched the collab together
with Skateistan. With our roots in the
Swedish skate scene, we are long time
supporters of Skateistan’s work helping atrisk youth. Skateistan uses skateboarding
as a tool to motivate and educate children in
Afghanistan, Cambodia and South Africa. For
the collaboration we designed a new watch
model named Nawroz, which means new day
in Dari, the Persian spoken in Afghanistan. The
watch features a minimalistic design true to our
Scandinavian design heritage, while the colour
palette is inspired by Afghanistan’s mountainous
landscape combined with Skateistan’s signature
green colour. 100% of the proceeds are donated
to Skateistan. The collab has been a great
success so far so our plan is to continue and
maybe expand it in the future. We do have a few other collabs in the
making, and one of them is with Loud
Headphones. Loud was formed by a group of
professional skateboarders, photographers,
and videographers who spend the majority of
their careers on the road and understand the
importance of a loud and comfy headphone. And
just like us, Loud was set-up to create quality
headphones that won’t break the bank. However,
their main objective above all else was to start
something that matters. They have integrated
a charitable business model and made it the
foundation of the company. They have partnered
with the Let Them Hear Foundation and for
every pair of Loud Headphones, they will donate
$1 to our Hear No Evil Project, benefitting the
deaf and hearing impaired.
Where are you currently manufacturing?
Our watches are assembled by hand in China
with Japanese movements, and the sunglasses
are made in China as well. We work with
small factories so we can make sure all of our
products are made under good conditions. How are you using athletes to promote your
product?
They are what we are. If you get to know them,
as a group or separately, you will know us as
a brand. That is why they are all picked first
and foremost - because of their personalities.
We want them not only to like our products,
which is crucial, but to really understand
what we stand for and therefore want to be
a part of and push us as a brand. Most of our
ambassadors are skaters and snowboarders,
but we also work with different type of artists
and musicians. Some of them are world famous,
while others are more or less unknown.
What are you doing in price points?
The watches retail at 55 to 70 Euros and the
sunglasses retail at 29 Euros.
www.cheapo.se
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green page
Recycling 2.0
Plastic waste from the oceans turned into jeans? Old fishing nets into socks? What are the prospects of
sourcing raw materials from waste? Until recently, recycled products carried the stigma of inferior quality,
but thanks to innovations and technological improvements they are now on the same level as new materials.
This article illustrates how far recycling technology has come, and where there’s still room to push the
boundaries. By Cira Ridel.
When consumer products reach the end of their usefulness, they still
contain materials and components that can be leveraged into new
products. But from an industry perspective, what are the requirements
for changing from linear sourcing processes to cyclical models? Will
yesterday’s landfills turn into tomorrow’s raw material reservoirs?
The first precondition for a successful recycling economy is a
willingness to actually recycle. This trend is currently buoyed by rising
costs of raw materials and skyrocketing amounts of waste materials.
When stars such as Kelly Slater introduce recycled materials into the
high-price luxury segment with brands like Outerknown, it’s a sure
sign that these kinds of options are compatible with lucrative business
models.
In the clothing segment there are two major techniques for
disintegrating fabrics into usable raw materials: the mechanical and
chemical approach.
Mechanical recycling has been around for centuries. Today, the
process has been advanced to a point where previous shortcomings
have been solved; fabric densities could be improved and these fabrics
now feel better on the skin. After 300 years of re-purposing wool,
there is no discernable difference to fresh wool anymore, as the
regenerated wool used in Outerknown’s collection will attest.
Chemical recycling started about ten years ago and is currently
approaching maturity. The industry is starting to get a handle on
this promising technology; large-scale fabric manufacturers such as
Teijin in Japan and Unify in the U.S. are producing polyester fibres
from recycled resources, which attests to the global demand and
functioning business model behind the technology. A large number
of brands have started using fibres generated through chemical
recycling.
About three years ago a teenager named Boyan Slat made headlines
with a filtration process aimed at ridding our oceans from plastic
waste. The new process is currently entering the first testing stage,
backed by an entire team of scientists, investors, and NGOs. A
company named Bionic is working on a method for processing the
miscellaneous mix of oceanic plastics that has been corroded by salt
water and UV-radiation. Bionic is supported by G-Star and Adidas,
while backing from entertainer Pharrell Williams has created widespread media attention for the process.
A major breakthrough comes from Italian company Aquafil. Their
successful recycling process for polyamide 6 (nylon) marks an
industry-first. The process relies on chemically reducing the polymers
to monomers, which are then re-assembled into polymer chains in the
next step. Ultimately, this unlocks the exact same material properties
for the new recycled product “Econyl” that are otherwise offered by
freshly produced polyamide (nylon) from crude oil.
Aside from the fact that these initiatives offer tremendous financial
and technological advantages, there is also an emotional component;
salvaged fishing nets, which are largely composed of polyamide 6
can thereby receive a second life. They are now starting to be traded
as valuable raw materials instead of being dumped into the oceans
as “ghost nets.” A growing number of brands, including Outerknown,
Vaude, and Teko Socks are starting to use Econyl yarns in their
collections.
As a region, Northern Italy has been releasing a great number of new
innovations thanks to its time-honoured craftsmanship in the textile
business. Initially, the main driver was finding processes for re-using
waste materials from textile manufacturing to maximize efficiency.
For this reason, most of the recycling plants were directly connected
to yarn and fabric mills. Today, there is also a focus on collecting
discarded clothing directly from consumers, although this presents a
much more complex scenario.
Fast-fashion retailer H&M recently began collecting old clothing
in cooperation with I:CO at SOEX. In Europe, SOEX is leading the
Resyntex project aimed at finding a recycling solution for poly-cotton
mixtures that are part of a large number of garments. The only
problem is that recycling such a mixture of fabrics into a reusable
material so far has not been translated into an economically viable
process. Ultimately, it’s all about finding economical and scalable
models that would allow standardized implementation in markets
across Europe.
So there you have it: The technologies for driving a true recycling
economy are here. Now it’s up to us to understand and implement
them.
www.greenroomvoice.com
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new product
01-Urban Beach - Men’s Blue Drava
Micro Puffer Jacket
Reflecting their crossover in all adventure
sports, the Drava Micro Puffer Jacket is built to
be lightweight, warm and waterproof (5K/5K),
with polyester pearl fill for a featherweight and
compressible construction. Technical outerwear
with a multi-functional streetwear inspired style.
www.urbanbeach-surf.co.uk
02
01
02-Aluminati - Anyway Freestyle
Cruiser
Following the release of three initial cruiser
offerings, Aluminati Skateboards presents the
“Anyway” freestyle cruiser. With a longer deck
featuring a uniforme nose and tail and available
in two builds to suit riding style, the Anyway is
the perfect excuse to pick up a new board. www.
aluminatiboards.com
03-Airhole - Airhood
New for Airhole is the Airhood balaclava. Built
from weather resistant polar outer and a drytech
inner mask with direct injected silicone Airhole’s
the Airhood is the perfect addition to your kit.
Fitting comfortably over a helmet, this piece will
keep you warm, protected, and stylish. www.
airholefacemasks.com
03
04-Rusty girls Rocker long sleeve T
Long sleeve t shirt with tie dye and Rusty print.
Product inspiration from California consisting of
a softer more feminine sun bleached winter look.
Long Sleeve Jersey Tees is a silhouette to keep
an eye out for, not only are they great to layer in
the cooler months but they are a huge trend next
season.
05-Lousy Livin - Palm Boxer Short
Simple and focused, Lousy Livin is a dedicated
brand with a single, creative and affordable
product supported by brand ambassadors.
Lousy Livin is already synonymous with highly
graphical outlets and high synergy collaborations
with selected brands from diverse backgrounds.
Bringing all these elements under one roof brings
a clear vision of the brand and translates easily
into the world.
www.lousylivin.com
06-686 - The 686 GLCR Gore-Tex Smarty
The 686 GLCR Gore-Tex Smarty Weapon Jacket
and Pants are possibly the most innovative
686 Smarty products yet. A Gore-Tex 2-layer
shell combines with an integrated removal
Thermagraph liner that combines breathable
fleece and Primaloft insulation strategically around
your core. www.686.com
05
06
04
market intelligence
UK
By Gordon Way
france
germany
At Ultra Sport we’ve had the same insurance broker the more than
30 years. The same solicitor for 30 years. Our graphics provider has
worked with us for around 20 years and our printer for 15 years. We
feel comfortable with the people that know our business and know
how we like to work and, at the same time, we feel a real sense of
loyalty to them.
This was tested recently when a new print supplier arrived on the
scene. NewCo.co.uk was promising super pricing, fast delivery, and
an easy-to-use website. I gave my normal supplier the opportunity
to compete – “No idea how they can do it at that price.” So the move
was made - I was sad to leave my local supplier but the saving was
significant.
It seems that nobody is safe from the price war. None more so than
the Winter sports market where early season discounts in attempts
to capture market share appear more aggressive than ever. I’ve
received more phone calls from retailers complaining about other
retailers than ever. And of course there is nothing I can do. Retail
Price Maintenance is illegal!At the same time the strong pound
only encourages our Euro brethren to target the UK and the typical
response from UK retailers is to try and compete on price, burning
the margin. And talk of burning there was even one retailer who had
a Bonfire Night special with 20% off!
There has to be a better way? At the same time as this sh*t storm,
I received an email about an Independent Biker Dealer summit
in California. The keynote speaker was Sam Dantzle, a ‘leading
consultant in the motorcycle industry’. His presentation was entitled
”Discounts suck. Loyalty rocks”. It seems that someone somewhere
does believe there is an alternative solution. I’ll find out.It was with a
heavy heart that I decided to call Jeremy from TSA. Of all the people
I know in this industry Jeremy will give you a good ear bashing if
things need straightening out.
”Board sales are way up!” What? “Yep board sales are way up –
really happy. Boots are not so good but we can’t have everything.
Overall I’m really happy with the way the season has started. If we
get an early dump of snow in December, unlike last year’s washout,
then we could be in for a blinding end to the year.”
I was a bit taken aback by this but one thing I know is that Jeremy
does not bullsh*t and says it how it is. “I know a lot of retailers are
struggling but you know what, I always put that down the bad buying.
They don’t really have anyone else to blame.” He went on to tell me
that growth appears to be back: “Our growth cycle is back to the
days when snowboarding was growing. I’m feeling really confident
about this season.” Where’s the growth coming from? “Sadly I doubt
it’s from a growth in the actual sport. I think it is simply that we are
taking a bigger market share”.
I pushed my luck and plucked up enough courage to ask about
the Euro invaders: “It’s all bollocks. So the currency is strong but
consumers are not stupid and the headline price is not necessarily
what you are going to end up paying. Plus they are loyal and they
want service and will buy based on a retailer’s reputation. To be
honest it’s less of an issue this year than ever.” Now this nicely
backs up the… Discounts Suck. Loyalty Rocks.
This all sounds like I lined Jeremy up for a quote. I didn’t.
My luck was out however when I moved north to Edinburgh. Brian
from Boardwise was thoroughly dismayed by the increase in
‘Showrooming’. “I’m fed up to the back teeth of people coming in,
switzerland
italy
trying on, touching, feeling, taking up our time and then, bold as
brass, tell you that they are going to order online. What a nerve!”
Showrooming is on the increase and it’s really hard to handle this
effectively and still maintain goodwill with the customer, or potential
customer.
“We try everything we know to close the customer down but it’s
almost like they see us as the ‘big bad salesman’ and the guys selling
online as less pushy. It means nothing that we are snowboarders,
running a snowboard shop, selling snowboards to snowboarders.
They don’t realise that the online guy may be a suit and tie. It’s really
frustrating”
So where is Brian in terms of comparisons to last year? “We’re
down. But there is loads of talk about the investments that have
been made in the Scottish resorts for this season so there’s a lot of
excitement. All we need is some snow.”
Heading down South I caught up with Angelo from S2AS who had
just finished the London Ski & Snowboard Show, so I started by
asking him how that had gone? “Good. Not terrific but good enough.
The show didn’t get the attendance we hoped for but it was an
amazing start considering it’s in a new home.”
The show has moved to Battersea Park. Angelo really does think that
it’s off to a good start particularly as things conspired against it this
year – weather being a major washout. “I’m confident that it is going
to improve significantly and S2AS will return next year when the
show is hopefully being held during the half-term week which will
help the footfall.”
As for sales at the show: “Hardware was tough – almost impossible
but sales of outerwear were really good and kept us on track. Overall
takings were down on last year but talking to customers it’s clear
that people are planning on spending more time away this year which
is a great sign for the long term.”
Now all this sounds very positive but there was a word of caution: “I
think that this year hardware is going to be one of the toughest we’ve
experienced since we started. Whilst we will always price match it’s
often too late and people have gone ahead and ordered online. The
current warm weather is also not helping although today [Nov 11] we
sold a complete wakeboard setup so we can’t complain at that.”
As you can see it’s a pretty mixed bag of feelings – but it is still early
days.
Back to this loyalty thing. So I switched my print supplier to another
UK Company. The quality was good, the goods arrived promptly and
everything was fine and dandy. Then a little penny clunked when the
invoice arrived and I noted that there was no VAT. I had purchased
my stuff from an Italian Company.
Now I love the Italians – we import Northwave from Italy, and the
Smith Optics Euro HQ is in Italy. And I love Pizza. So nothing wrong
with Italy. It just made my loyalty to the UK take a kicking… and
makes me realise how easy it is to think you are dealing with Joe
when you are really dealing with Gio. Does it really matter? For our
UK retailers and suppliers it really matters but it’s like me moaning
about all this online stuff, about Amazon and the like and then going
online shopping like a hungry man in a Pizzaria.
Finally then there is a small issue here in the UK about IN or OUT of
the EU? Oh goody another couple of years of instability – that always
helps!!
77
market intelligence
UK
france
By Benoit Brecq
germany
The economic climate in France has improved since the start of the
year. It got even better in July as well. Is this a signal that the upturn
has arrived? These figures are rather good but do not confirm that
an economic upturn is here as such. They confirm that growth is
accelerating, which is not quite the same thing. We can only talk about
an upturn when growth starts to create employment. For Eric Heyer,
economist at the French Observatory of Economic Conjuncture (OFCE),
we are in more of a ‘rebound’ phase. This has to last long enough to
change the behavioural expectations of businesses so that they start
to hire people again. Businesses also have to start to invest again.
However, the situation seems to be heading in the right direction.
Indeed, indications of a turnaround are multiplying. As Acoss noted in
July, employment has increased even more in the second quarter.
At the end of June, the number of unemployed people was practically
unchanged from a month before. In Metropolitan France, the
unemployment rate itself diminished by 0.1% to 10% in the first quarter
of 2015. The economic climate has also improved further still at the
start of this summer. According to INSEE (national institute of statistics
studies), the morale of bosses has gone up one point on June when it
had already stabilised itself. This is one of the elements that shows that
activity is on the up and that an upturn is quietly building.
Although it remains slow and steady, the pick up in growth - carried by
low oil prices, the Euro and interest rates - is allowing businesses to
finally pep up a bit after years of stagnating activity. As Insee confirm,
“Indications of a comeback for the economy as a whole are found
within areas showing favourable economic conditions”. It is within this
favourable economic context that the summer season, crucial to our
market in France, has taken place..
While the start of this season was pretty calm, “sales in the months of
June and July are up on last year,” confides Gontrand Marchal from
the OGM Bodyboard Shop in Capbreton. This trend is confirmed by all
the coastal shops. While the month of June is only slightly up on last
year, it’s clear that July is much better than last year” says Fred Tisné,
manager of TAO surf shop in Hossegor.
The exceptional weather at the start of this 2015 season seems to be
one of the reasons behind our industry’s situation. Indeed “exceptional
temperatures in June and July combined with really nice waves
encouraged tourists to come and consume” according to Didier Poupon
from BUD Surf Shop in Longeville sur mer.
Fred from TAO confirms, “the arrival of lots of tourists at the start of
the season along with nice little waves and good weather helped us sell
well throughout all our range of boards, Malibus, Mini Malibus as well as
foam boards.”
The same thing happened down on the Mediterranean coast where
“the nice weather and little waves favoured sales of entry-level boards
for beginners” according to Patrick Colin from the shop ALOHA in Six
Fours. Patrick continued: “We have indeed seen a rise in the number of
foam boards sold this season. The boards can be used by children as
well as by their parents. With short, playful shapes, these boards are
no longer reserved for beginners and are now being adopted by surfers
78
switzerland
italy
of a good standard as an alternative to PU or classic epoxy boards for
summer and its crowded waves.”
Brands like Catch Surf, Softech and Softjoy have cottoned on and are
offering a large range that seems to have had some success in shops.
The same rings true in town. In Lyon, David from the shop ABS has
noticed a “good rate of sale in summer wear, especially in shorts and
caps.” However, other “products seem to be slightly down on last year
like Bobs and skateshoes” for Florian Bathaud at Okla in Toulouse. But
for David, the skateboard aisle seems to have “benefitted the most from
this great weather”, confirming a trend that has clearly established itself
recently: “cruisers are still selling well and this phenomenon is showing
no sign of slowing down at the start of the season, quite the opposite
actually.” Brands like “Globe, Penny and Prohibition have relaunched
skateboard fashion by transposing the Californian skate spirit into
Europe.”
Florian from Okla confirms: “Skateboarding is exploding this year. The
weather is suitable and the development of modern concrete skateparks
is encouraging the activity’s growth.”
“Street skateboarding seems to be making a real comeback amongst the
younger ones” adds Florian.
The same goes for the coastal shops like at Tao in Hossegor where Fred
confirms that: “the skateboard market has been growing for two years
and this summer season seems to confirm that.”
In SUP, the weather has also played a big part for the market, especially
when it comes to “Inflatable touring Stand Ups and beginner SUPs
which make up most of the sales,” according to Patrick from Aloha.
Didier from Bud Surf Shop notes for his part “a slight slow down in the
growth of the SUP market,” but everyone agrees in saying that most of
the demand is for good quality inflatable SUPs. This product is what the
vast majority of shop customers are seeking and sells the most with
brands like Red Paddle, Fanatic and Ari’i Nui.
One thing is for sure, and all shops agree once again: buyers are in
search of a deal. Even though in France the economic lights are on
green and upturn seems to be on the horizon, household and therefore
tourist buying power, remains limited for the moment. The Euro/Dollar
balance has caused a slight rise in shop prices this year but because it
was so generalised the final consumer didn’t really have any alternative
but to suck up the increase.
The summer clientele is comprised of tourists and beginners by the vast
majority, and for them, price and brand image are the two major factors
leading to an in-shop purchase. For more regular surfers, quality and
especially quality/price ratio becomes a major factor in deciding to buy,
but they tend to spend more towards the end of the season. Let’s hope
that the end of season skies are as blue as in June and July so that
this encouraging trend is reinforced and we can draw up a completely
positive report of the 2015 season, which seems to be starting off in the
right direction.
market intelligence
UK
france
germany
By Anna Langer
After the undoubtedly by very far best summer in decades, Germany
was blessed with an equally beautiful Autumn, brimming full of
colourful leaves and golden sunshine that drew big and small, old
and young outside their houses and into the streets, the skateparks,
the outdoors and the mountains. And if you believe the infamous
Bavarian weather man, who had predicted the climate pretty
precisely for some years now (even if that included rainy summers
and snow-free winters), or the U.S. scientists watching the El Niño
phenomenon, this season could see a truly epic winter, a Winter of
the Century even.
Basti, owner and founder of the Edge2Edge snow/skate/surf shop in
Garmisch-Partenkirchen way down south, at the foot of Germany’s
highest mountain, the Zugspitze, shares their beliefs: “We strongly
believe in and will do our very best to make sure that we ourselves
and everyone who shops at our store will have a splendid winter.
We’re looking forward with a positive attitude.” And they have reason
to do so, as 2015 has been a pretty good year for them overall, in
all three areas. Even though waves are known to be rather scarce
in the Southern parts of the country, there are a lot of nice lakes
that accounted for “rather nice sales when it comes to boardshorts
and bikinis.” Although the price is absolutely crucial with the latter
and rather sensitive, “from ¤65 upwards, the air is getting pretty
thin”, Basti knows from experience. Contrary to many other fellow
business owners all across the country, he’s keeping women’s gear
in store as well. “We’ve always stuck to it: girls are and will continue
to buy more boardsports gear again” he tells us. Apart from that, he’s
had a lot of positive experience with smaller labels, especially those
from home: “We are very happy with our German brands like SHISHA
and Iriedaily. I get the feeling that there is a lot more thought put
into what is being bought and where it comes from” Basti figures.
“Brixton is taking big steps for us”, he continues, “and Volcom, Levi´s
and Carhartt are a great success with pants. Other brands, at the
moment mainly those in surfing, are becoming a bit weaker in turn...”
he sums up, assuming that this is to do with a certain impatience.
“This might sound pretty harsh but there are brands that want too
much, sometimes way too much, in too little time, and bump their
supporters down to the end of the line, until their product is available
on every corner.”
At the same time, they again, “as every year”, sold their “one or two
snowboards during summertime” and skate is working well too.
“We try to push this with small events in Spring and Autumn, which
seems to work. On top of that we’re convinced that in future this will
motivate more people to transfer from longboards to skateboards
– that has always been way cooler!” Martin from Pivot Distribution
noticed a similar development this year: “Fortunately skateboard
sales are coming up again. At the moment there is an increased
demand for complete boards,” but also decks, wheels, trucks, etc. are
ordered more again. On top of that, a couple of their retailers notice
“that part of their clients, who bought a longboard a while back, are
now (additionally) buying a skateboard, as they notice that they can
do a lot more tricks with a skateboard.” He names “complete and
decks from Jart” as bestsellers, as well as “affordable beginner
completes with good quality from Tricks.”
80
switzerland
italy
So it looks like everything’s gonna come full circle and the longboard
boom will fulfil what many hoped: A long-term resurrection of the
skate scene through the simple joy of rolling. And after the hype
of previous years, longboard sales are slowly evening out again.
“After a strong first half of the year, longboard sales have gone back
noticeably,” Martin notes and explains it with the amount of product
in the market at the moment. “There’s a market cleansing happening
at the moment, retailers are concentrating on a few main brands
that they know work well. Less relevant brands that were ordered
to satisfy the huge demand are not re-ordered anymore now.” He
goes even further: “It looks as if the big longboard boom is over.”
He does expect longboarding to “become a fixed segment of shop
turnover”. For the shops that Cologne-based Pivot Distribution works
with, “European made longboards (especially drop-through-models)
equipped with Caliber Trucks from Long Island” are sought after, as
“they became a lot more affordable this November, as a result of the
strong dollar”. But also “high quality, inexpensive longboards from
Aloiki” deserve a positive mention. Only question that remains is at
what level this segment will establish itself?
Shorter cruiser boards with big wheels that mark a golden midline
between long- and skateboards continue their popularity, says
Martin. “In Summer the demand for skateable wood cruisers and
especially for colourful vinyl cruisers was very high. Customers who
need a board mainly for transportation, often buy a wooden cruiser
(sometimes even on top of their skate- or longboard), that enables
fast movement even on rough surfaces with its bigger wheels.” No
wonder that “wooden cruisers from Long Island and Aloiki” as well
as “vinyl cruisers (uni-coloured, with prints, sometimes even with
grip) from Long Island” were amongst his favourites this year, also
due to their “very strong price-performance ratio.”
Some of the big brands that “raised prices markedly” have lost
“considerably in sales”, Martin continues. Just like those that sell
their goods online directly – especially via Amazon: “As soon as a
brand directly sells through Amazon (a bunch do, unfortunately), the
core retailers are selling next to nothing anymore, because Amazon
highly promotes the directly sold products and even discounts them
radically and early sometimes.” Which does not seem to be the best
long-term strategy, as Basti already noticed in Bavaria. And Martin
agrees: “Online sales are an important part of sales in general.
But luckily, skateboard/longboard goods are still mainly bought in
stationary shops.” He hopes for another successful business time
before Christmas here. “Until the start of Christmas season, things
will be naturally calm in this sector, which is a given for skate- and
longboards. Hopefully Christmas sales will be good and loads of
skateboards/longboards/cruiser will be given as presents.” This is
also Basti’s wish, who closes with words that we’ve heard often, but
that need to be said way more often, apparently: “Our boardsports
should come back to where it belongs and out of the big multisport
retailers and online platforms. Support your LOCAL Dealer...”
market intelligence
UK
france
germany
In these turbulent times our little country, once so prosperous, has to
keep constantly adapting. Although we possess some of the greatest
spending power on the continent, change is unremitting and the
competition now comes in many guises.
The skateboard market, which took the bull by the horns a couple of
years ago, now constitutes an interesting market for shops that are
open in the summer and you mustn’t forget that a large majority of
shops are located in resorts and are closed for several months of the
year, if not all summer. This season we can see stable development
even though at Manly in Morges and Escape in Lausanne it would
seem that the time of the plastic cruisers that proved so popular in
recent years has come to an abrupt end. For them the skateboard
market remains important but it’s hard to make the right margins in it.
With a wonderful summer sunfest behind us, here we are approaching
serious matters with the impending arrival of winter. The first big
challenge is at a delivery level and indeed once again it looks as if it’s
getting harder and harder for suppliers to deliver on time. The most
problematic is still textiles, also due to the fact that they need to be
completed a bit earlier than the rest. So this year, lots of delays for a
large number of brands and in November some were still waiting for
items that were supposed to arrive in September. It seems to have
gone a bit better for hardgoods but without being exactly on time.
Secondly, there are obvious price adjustments going on. As I’ve
explained in previous articles, Switzerland has drastically had to drop
prices after the appreciation of the Swiss Franc against the Euro.
With suppliers having made an effort, retailers have to in turn drop
their sales prices in order to remain competitive with our European
UK
france
82
italy
friends. This adjustment is somewhere between a 10%-15% reduction,
which constitutes, all things considered, a drop in the anticipated
turnover by the same amount. Beyond these adjusted prices, some
are reducing their margins further still to position themselves truly
on the neighbouring online market, a good example of this comes
from Gerald Zimmerman from Break Point in Visp who has decided
to offer an additional 10% off and has even put a touch screen tablet
at your disposal where you can compare his prices with that of his
web competitors. By doing this he hopes to re-accustom people with
coming down and checking out local retailers’ prices before going
straight to other countries, and it seems to be working for now.
In a more general way, these price adjustments seem to be bearing
fruit to some extent. October 2015 proved pretty stable compared
to the previous year, some are talking about a 4% drop in turnover,
which is a lesser evil and one that actually points to an increase in
quantity given that prices have dropped by a higher proportion. The
month of October, however, is normally a stable month and this is
due to it being the period when customers kick into winter mode,
when the keenos come as soon as possible to buy their new gear
and when the weather does not yet influence purchases. Indeed,
we rarely expect the cold and snow in October and even if there is
an Indian summer we prophesy a harsh winter. This premise does
not apply in November and December when the weather starts to
influence consumers’ purchasing habits and so, more than ever,
concerns about the weather at the end of this year are general and
many wished they had hundreds of fingers to cross.
germany
Here in Italy we finally have something to shout about with regards to
our economy. We haven’t seen growth in quite some time, but now we are
seeing some - even if it is relatively modest. Despite a lot of criticism for
our Prime minister Matteo Renzi, he managed to bring back growth and
keep his promise. The government is also putting together a stabilization
package with different regulations to gain further growth. This includes
allowing companies to deduct expenses on a higher level than in previous
years from their company taxes, so buying machinery, cars and other
investments should be something every company will be aiming for. This
is all very positive as it will help our economy overall and will bring some
much needed positivity in the way of GDP for 2016.
So, good news for the economy overall which should also spell good
news for boardsports as well. This winter season hasn’t really started
yet for Italy as temperatures don’t seem to drop as early as they used
to. Stores are packed with new gear but only a few stores carry the full
range of brands and products anymore. Most stores only select certain
brands as they cannot take the risk of carrying too much inventory any
more. Overall, stores are quite conservative and don´t expect too much
from this upcoming winter season. Early sale offers from old 2014 stock
is still an issue for many retailers and products constantly flagged as ‘on
sale’ make it hard to sell good quantities of new gear. Low margins on
hardgoods is also something small stores suffer a lot from.
Reps and distributors are noticing that we are in a period of transition
where only the best survive and keep on doing their thing. When things
get tough some decide to quit but the truly passionate few keep on
fighting for their dream, which is positive in a way as it regulates the
business.
switzerland
By Fabien Grisel / David Lambert
switzerland
italy
By Franz Josef Holler
On the snowboard hardgood side of things beside the two big players
Burton and Nitro, CAPiTA and Lib-Tech are making their way into stores
with good success. Bindings are ruled by Burton and Union; while on
the boot side, Burton, Thirty-two and the return of Vans after their
one-year hiatus, will be the ones to own the most retail space as we say
arrivederci to Nike.
Outerwear is much more balanced and every store tries to offer a
combination of big names and some smaller more exclusive labels to
stand out from the big box stores. Many shop owners have suggested to
me that the snowboard industry has been due for a downsizing with too
much product sitting on shelves, meaning discounted product ruins the
opportunity for full price sales. With that in mind, shop owners are way
more cautious with the quantities they are buying and the brands they
introduce. Some stores have even stopped selling hardgoods this winter,
which is creating an opportunity for others to grow.
Streetwear and skate shoes/sneakers are doing well and keep shop
owners happy. Skate hardgoods are also selling well with longboarding
becoming an important part of business and a must have category for
every boardsport store.
Online business is still growing fast in Italy overall and stores are excited
about the ability to grow their business outside of their physical store.
The opportunities online are endless and hard work pays off, that´s the
deal.
Finally, in the last week of October the Skipass event kicked off the
winter season with a big rail contest in Modena. F-tech snowparks made
a great setup and I´m sure you will see some clips on the web from this
amazing contest.
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19/12/2014
16:58
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one eyed monster
#79
CAPiTA MOTHERSHIP FACTORY OPENING, AUSTRIA
Vans Shop Riot Finals 2015
Neil Hendrix & Greg Poissonnier
Titus’ Farid Ulrich
Weasel
CAPiTA’s Mark and the team and DC’S Bobby
Meaks
Chief Pilot and CEO of the Mothership Michael
Kollman
Darren (Subvert, Manchester), Will Lenton
(Riders Lounge), Lorriane (Subvert, Manchester)
and Rich Wilder from the Riders Lounge, UK
Capita distributor
James T Kirk AKA Blue.
Prost - Amplid’s Conrad and Peter
Transworld’s Nick Hamilton, with SIA’s Nick
Sargent and CAPiTA’s president Bob Gundram
Union’s Martino gets it on down..with his wife
Marta and Paolo from Onda wetsuits
Fanatic’s Karin, Sven, Gregor and Dani
Winners - Titus, Germany
STUBAI Opening TEST Area
Smith Opening & Demo Team Steffen Barho and
Ferdi Grekosch
CAPiTA Art Director, Ephraim Chui
Paddle Expo 2015, Nurnburg
Rome SDS with intern Lukas Stadler, Eddie
Villmow from Customer Service, Demo Chief
Chris and Marketing Manager Phil Kämmerer
Picture Clothing International Sales Manager
Gerald Matter on the left with his demo crew &
team riders
Nitro Snowboards
Team Starboard plus one
Red Paddle’s Matteo, Marcus and Sarah
Hotzone Hintertux Park Opening
Mervin MfG’s Demo Chief Tobi Leyendecker,
new PR & Marketing Manger Julia Mantler &
Sales Rep Germany Tobias Hammer
Dragon & Nike Vision Sales Manager Austria
Matti Puster
Deeluxe Marketing Manager Matthieu Perez
Burton - Anon Optics Demo Coordinator Carli
Stehmer
Rome SDS Crew with notable support from
the US
Ride Snowboards Event & Marketing team
Florian Hässler & Christof
Mervin MfG sales rep for Austria, Mr. Didi
Feichtner
Matthieu Perez & Peter Rossner holding up
camp for Deeluxe Boots, Union Bindings & CAPiTA Snowboards
Didi Feichtner & Tobi Leyendecker at the Mervin
MfG booth with Lib Tech, Roxy & Gnu Boards
Despite the late night DJing, 686’s Stephane &
Innsbruck based team rider Alex Fischer are
back up the mountain bright and early
Avantgarde’s Uli Köhler, Playboard’s ed-in-chief
Jochen Bauer & Muck Müller
686’s Marketing Manager Stephane Gerenet
spinning some tunes before Peter Sandner took
over to get the party crowd stoked on the movie
premiere of ‘A Bunch of Friends Snowboarding’
ELMAR SHOP LES SABLES D’OLONNE
CALIFORNIA CONCEPT STORE (NANTES)
Quik Pro France & Surf Summit
Zapik’s Pierre-Jean, Electric’s Alex and Stokehouse’s Adrien
Reef’s Nathan and Shea
Maurice Cole and Tom Curren at Ripcurl
SUPERbrand’s Remi
RHYTHM - The Mysterious North
Quiksilver’s Nicolas Foulet
88
Quiksilver’s Garry and friends from California
Eurosima Awards... And the winners are
Wavegarden
Eurosima Awards European surfer of the year
- Benjamin Sanchis receives his award from
Greg Long
Pete Leakey live at BLACK SHEEP - BORDEAUX
- ©JulienBinchBinet
MEL X CHRIS ANDERNOS