Any Surfers?

Question

Hey, for a project in my business class I'm making a business plan for a surf shop. Can you surfers out there please answer a couple questions?

What needs do you have that you feel surf shops are lacking?

What are some items that you think should be sold at a surf shop? (besides boards, wax, and wet suits)

THANK YOU!

Answer 1

i havent found any surf shops that are lacking.they all have everything you need

Answer 2

For the second question I think you should sell swim suites. Also surfer clothes that aren't made for the water would be good. It's amazing, and disappointing, to walk into a surf shop and only find wet suites.

Answer 3

Surf shop need to have a larger varitey of wetsuits for woman/girls. They should also offer a wider vareity of fins (I usually have to order certain fin online).

Answer 4

I am a surfer from SoCal, and I feel surf shops do not provide much  surf music (CDs) as well as durable girls bikinis (believe me, I've gotten those little Roxy string bikinis knocked off more than once while surfing) xD

I think surf music, more rashguards, a greater variety of surf magazines, and surf lessons/teachers should be avaliable, as well as surf movies and more high performance bodyboards.

Answer 5

I have always thought that you could do well be adding surf video rental, as well as the ability to rent board coffins for travel.  A nice feature I have seen is that if your shop were to shape it's own boards is to have the shaping area visible through a window.  Lets people see how its done and reassures them that you are actually selling hand shaped boards instead of Chinese c**p popouts.

Answer 6

Most surf shops seem to have everything related to surfing, like boards, wax, shirts, stickers, etc.  Most shops however forget to provide some really cool things that people need after a surf session like food.  I notice that after a long day of surfing that I'm starving.  I don't think I've seen any shops that sell sandwiches or some beverages in them, just surf themed restaurants.  At least some chips and some soda would be a good start.

Answer 7

I cant think of any thing surf shops are laking. sorry man

Answer 8

yeah i think that they basically have everything thay need.and surf shops supply almost everything for surfers(they don't need other things). that is my opinion

Answer 9

Sunscreen, bottled water and surfing clothes...for girls...shorts and shirts cause you get burned and the sun screen wears off. Disposable cameras and you could even offer to take pics and videos...for a charge, surfing lessons are nice too! My 2nd year surfing everyone wants to see pics of me surfing. Can't believe I'm doing it. Middle aged you see.danfan63@yahoo.

Answer 10

Most surf shop owners try to cover everything they can of that might sell.  I have noticed the many new shops are over commercialized to the point that they've lost their original (or maybe retro) charm.  These shops do a good volume of business, but not necessarily surfer business. In my personal opinion, the best shops for surfers are those that offer a lot of one-on-one personal attention.  My own shop is not on the main drag and therefore doesn't draw a lot of tourists.  

As for products, carry a few of just about everything you can think of.  Carry a good selection of the things you mention.  Also, besides those things, you might want to carry board racks, fins, T-shirts (a big item), trunks, Suncure, leashes, sunglasses, decals, and surf movies.

I've also included a link below to the business I wrote years back.  You need an angle to really be successful  I know a highly ranked surfer who lives in an area with a lot of other well known surfers but didn't have a good location or unique thing he could offer.  His shop folded after about a year.

Answer 11

i think they have everything i need when i go...what more do u need a board wet suit board shorts top

Answer 12

Unfortunately, most surf shops have too much to offer. They are too diversified. It's good to sell everything, I guess, but far too many have become bathing suit stores that sell some surfboards. I could (but won't) name two stores that are known as surf shops, and they dominate the market in the town they are located in, yet neither has a significant inventory of surfboards for sale. You can buy board shorts, jackets, Hawaiian shirts, dresses, sandals, sunglasses, watches and a million other things, but if you can't find aboard that suits you in the twenty or so they have to offer, i guarantee they will hard pressure sell you one that isn't right for you. I could take you to another shop, that has hundreds of surfboards in inventory, and sell them like crazy, because the staff knows surfing, and they have great products. You can buy a neat sweatshirt of pair of flip flops there also.

Okay, I know that surf shops live off the tourist economy, but they still can make great money catering to to the real surfing community.