Dave Hollander told me today he is closing Becker Surfboards’ Corona del Mar store, possibly by the end of the week.
Becker has also closed its Huntington Beach location.
In Corona del Mar, Dave said he was closing the store because of “multiple factors, including the lease was up and the landlord was raising the rent dramatically, discounting in the area by competitors as well as manufacturers dumping with ‘friends and family’ company stores as well as constant warehouse sales.”
“I think that was the biggest part of my decision,” he said. “Did I want to sign a heavy 5-year lease when the manufacturers were using central OC as a dumping ground
“I think my quote here is ‘the manufacturers pooped in their playpen.’ That pretty much says it all. No bad feeling towards any of them, as they have all been very supportive of Becker. I just did not want to spend the next 5 years in a messy playpen.”
Becker continues to operate stores in Hermosa Beach, Malibu, Mission Viejo (two) and Encinitas, in addition to beckersurf.com.
Dave said he had planned to semi-retire and play more golf, but is now running all aspects of everyday business.
“My wife is not too happy, but I am super stoked,” he said. “And, my golf game was not getting any better anyway.”
