Action sports retailer Jack’s has a lot of changes happening.
We caught up with co-owner Jamal Abdelmuti and talked to him about what’s new at the influential retailer, and why Jack’s is expanding at several of its locations, adding two stores and increasing its offering in kids, skate and more.
New Kids Store
Jack’s Kids in Huntington BeachIn May, Jack’s opened its first 1,000 square foot kids-only store, directly adjacent to its flagship store in Huntington Beach.
In the past, the location was a pizza joint, but Jack’s took it over and dedicated the space to boys, infants and toddlers’ clothes and accessories. Little girls items still remain at Jack’s Girls, located a few doors up the street.
Brands at the space include: Quiksilver, Billabong, Vans, Nike, Volcom, O’Neill, KR3W, Ambiguous, TOMS, Element, Stance, DC, Jack’s own brand, Reef, Sanuk, and Native.
“As our sales increased in kids clothing, we have been gradually expanding our kids selection in all our stores,” said Jamal. “Bursting at the seams in those departments, we decided to give it its own space,” he added.
While the store has only been open a little over a month, Jamal said so far sales have been “tremendous.”
Garage – Skate Boutique
A rendering of the new Jack’s Garage on Main Street in Huntington Beach.
Jack’s is also re-launching “Garage,” its skate concept, and opening a new space for skateboarding apparel and equipment.
Garage used to be a shop-in-shop inside Jack’s Main Street, Huntington Beach location, but Jamal said the area was getting “swallowed up by the surf stuff,” and becoming too cramped as surf continued to expand.
To dedicate an area specific to skate and create a better retail shopping experience, they took over the space where the Closet was on Main Street.
The 2,500 square foot store will feature brands like Volcom, Supra, Stussy, Vans, Nike, LRG, Obey, RVCA, KR3W, Comune and Element in a more boutique-like setting.
Jamal said they hired Displayit Inc. to design the space, and gave the store a facelift, with brands getting dedicated sections. The new location should open the first week in July, and will carry skate and street-lifestyle brands, as well as hardgoods from boards and trucks, to wheels, skate videos and more.
See Page 2 for plans for Dana Point, Hermosa Beach
Hardgoods expanding in Dana Point
Besides adding new stores in Huntington Beach, Jack’s is expanding in Dana Point. Jamal said since the opening of its Dana Point store, its customer base has been increasing.
“We felt the need to expand, and with the two spaces opening next door, the time was right,” he said.
The Dana Point Store is currently 7,400 feet, but they are adding about 4,200 feet to the location that should reopen towards the beginning of August.
Jamal Abdelmuti
About 2,000 square feet of the new space will be for the Garage, which will be a shop-in-shop dedicated to skateboarding with its own entrance. They’ll be taking their existing skate brands, adding a few more, and putting hardgoods and shoes in separate places.
At its main shop in Dana Point, Volcom, Billabong, RVCA, Quiksilver, and O’Neill will be expanding their current sections.
The rest of the new space will be used to expand Jack’s current surfboard and surf accessories hardgoods section, which Jamal said was doing well.
Expanding in Hermosa Beach
The last expansion for Jack’s is happening in Hermosa Beach. Since the opening of the store, Jack’s has been awaiting approval to utilize 1,200 square feet of space that it already owned, but that wasn’t dedicated for sales.
Now that the city has given approval, Jack’s is building a larger section strictly for surfboards, wetsuits and other surf hardgoods and accessories for its South Bay customers.
All the new changes at Jack’s seem like it would cost a lot of money. Jamal didn’t disclose a specific number, but said it’s definitely been a significant investment and well worth it.
“Opportunities arose, so we have just been taking advantage of it,” he said. While the Dana Point location became available out of the blue, the decision about the Garage had been brewing for a while since the skate area was getting too clustered.
With Kids, business for the category had been booming, so Jamal said it was a natural progression.
After all, action sports customers are growing up, and as they have kids, they need a place to shop as well. So far, Jamal said the store has received great feedback.
