Quik land, Neff rising, messy Macy's, Billabong retail

I spent time with a lot of different people in Hawaii, went to a lot of stores, and learned all sorts of interesting information.

 

Here is a compilation of some nuggets I gleaned.

 

Quiksilver, landowner

While we were driving through the North Shore, Quiksilver CEO Bob McKnight pointed out a piece of land that Quiksilver owns on the Kamehameha Highway, the two-lane main road.

 

The site is where Kammie’s Market used to be. The plan, which is working its way through the permitting process, is to open a Boardriders Club there that will be run by Leslee Kanaiaupuni. She and her family operate the Boardriders Club in nearby Haleiwa.

 

The store on Kamehameha Highway will be smaller and tailored to the rural North Shore setting, Bob said. A restaurant with healthy foods will be attached.

 

The Macy’s factor

Important core retailers in Hawaii brought up the competition from Macy’s as a real problem for them, much more so than I hear from retailers in other parts of the U.S.

 

In Hawaii, locals shop in the malls, and a lot of core retailers – T&C, HIC, Local Motion, Shapers (owned by Hi-Tech in Maui), Blue Hawaii – have stores in shopping centers. So does Macy’s, which carries a ton of brands, and frequently discounts them.

 

Some retailers specifically told me about cutting back buys of brands that are carried at Macy’s because they want their store to stock something different, and they can’t compete with Macy’s promotional discounts.

 

I went into several Macy’s in Hawaii, and was surprised how large their selection of brands was and how messy the stores were even on weekdays. Each time I went in, there was an action sports promotion going on. One time it was two Ts for $34, another it was 25% off fleece.

 

In the young men’s section in a Macy’s on Oahu, brands I saw included Volcom, Quiksilver, Hurley, Stussy, Rip Curl, O’Neill, DC, Famous Stars and Straps, and more.

 

At a Macy’s in Maui, Volcom was absent from young men’s, but in addition to the brands above, I saw a huge Metal Mulisha buildout and some Skullcandy Ts and fleece (see photo above in slideshow).

 

Some of the retailers I spoke to noted favorably that Billabong is not in Macy’s. However, they also noted that Billabong owns quite a bit of its own retail on the Islands, mostly in tourist areas.

 

Billabong retail

Speaking of Billabong, I went into a lot of Billabong-owned stores in Hawaii, and could really see the company’s larger strategy in play. The stores say Honolua or Billabong out front, but many of the company brands are represented in every store, giving shoppers a lot to choose from and Billabong a vertical margin on most of the goods.

 

In a Honolua store on Maui, for instance, there were goods from Honolua, Billabong men and women, RVCA men and women, Element men and women, Nixon watches, Kustom shoes, lots of DaKine bags and Von Zipper sunglasses. Some outside brands are also carried, including Reef sandals.

 

In its financial documents, Billabong does not break down its retail by region. Here are the approximate numbers of Billabong-owned stores on the Islands based on brand websites and stores I saw: 21 Honolua stores, four Billabong stores, two DaKine stores, an Element store and four Xcel stores.

 

See Page 2 for more about Sector 9, Neff in play, Reef’s dominance, more

 

 

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Billabong and Marley

Speaking more of Billabong, the company’s Marley product was everywhere in Hawaii in both company-owned stores and independent retailers. It was interesting to see how the Marley product spread across a range of Billabong-owned brands including Billabong, Sector 9 and Von Zipper.

 

Dominant Sector 9

Speaking of Sector 9 – wow. The brand is huge in Hawaii and in tons of stores, completely dominating the longboard category. I saw it everywhere from independent stores like T&C and even at Quiksilver stores.

 

Neff in play

The Neff rep in Hawaii appears to be doing a great job. The brand was in a lot of different places, including in tiny Haleiwa on the North Shore, in the surf-oriented Surf ‘n Sea store. Some retailers told me they brought in Neff because they are anxious to find fresh brands that have gained a following.

 

The Neff display at Zumiez in Waikiki was stunning for the amount of Neff product included, and the goods went way beyond beanies. I saw quite a bit of apparel, including several different hoodies and a ton of Ts. See a photo in our slide show, above.

 

Reef rules

Reef dominates in Hawaii.  I think nearly every store I went into carried Reef, and most carried a big selection.

 

Sanuk had a fairly good penetration, and I saw two Sanuk stores – one on the main strip in downtown Waikiki, and another in Lahaina on Maui. See store photos above. I saw some Olukai sandals, but not as much as I expected.

 

I also have a photo of an amazing attempt by Crocs to copy Sidewalk Surfers.

 

Surfer, The Bar

I wasn’t sure what to expect with the newly remodeled bar at the Turtle Bay Resort that is now Surfer, The Bar in a partnership with Surfer Magazine.

 

It turned out very cool with lots of Surfer Magazine references and is very high tech with the ability to broadcast live events from the site (see photos above). The bar hosted several events, including the Billabong Pipeline Masters press conference and several Talk Story gatherings, where surf luminaries are interviewed.

 

Turtle Bay is really reaching out to the surf community in a new way, and the bar is great venue for both surf executives, brand events and for the locals.

 

Surfers’ speeches

The Surfer Poll Awards were well attended, and nearly every surfer who won thanked Surfer for putting on the event.

 

After listening to about 15 or so speeches by the most popular surfers, I wondered if there was a missed opportunity – are brands giving their team surfers any media training? A few were okay or funny, but several didn’t have much to say. Hearing the acceptance speeches back-to-back highlighted the pattern.

 

With a live webcast and live broadcast on cable TV in a few markets, it seems like a good opportunity to raise the performance a bit. There must be a way to have more pro surfers still come across as authentic and real and yet be somewhat insightful at the same time.

 

Mahalo

A big thank you to everyone in Hawaii who made me feel so welcome. I learned a lot, including watching the incredible (and scary) power of the waves at Pipeline, seeing the man against nature element of the sport firsthand, and experiencing the importance of the North Shore and Hawaii to the industry.

 

It was also fun to watch top executives like Bob McKnight, Bob Hurley and others be so into the contest,  watching every wave. It has to be a competitive advantage that the people running the companies are still so passionate about the life, right? Hard to imagine Mike Jeffries of Ambercrombie and Hollister doing the same.