Photo courtesy of VEIA
John John Florence is launching a new surf accessories brand called VEIA in partnership with the Pyzels and Dan McNamara, the CEO of Pyzel Surfboards.
The initial products, which recently shipped to retailers, include board bags, traction pads, and leashes.
Before launching this new brand, Dakine sponsored John John in those categories.
Dan answered a few questions for us about the new surf accessories brand.
Why is VEIA launching this new surf accessories category with John John?
VEIA CEO Dan McNamara: We have had a long relationship with John John and wanted to build upon that by providing him with best-in-class product to continue to take his surfing to the next level while bringing something fresh to retailers.
Developing products with one of the best surfers of all time is a unique opportunity and we are excited to build this brand into a solid performer for our retailers worldwide. John John is particular about the products that he uses, he tests them harder than anyone else in the harshest conditions imaginable, and he travels a ton. All of his insights and feedback really help us make quality products. If they work for him, they’ll work for anyone.
Who owns VEIA?
Dan McNamara: VEIA is 100% surfer owned by a group consisting of the Pyzels, myself, and John John.
What will be the point of difference compared to other established brands in the market?
Dan McNamara: VEIA has exclusive features developed after years of travel. Multi-board bags are rockered so boards properly fit, and some of our larger bags also include purpose-built places for tie downs, extra padding, and carabiners.
VEIA has added color to its board bags – Photo courtesy of VEIA
No one travels with boards more often than John John and since we at Pyzel have supplied his boards for the past 25 years, we are in a unique position to build to that need. We also develop our leashes and traction to the standards of high performance surfers in the most extreme conditions to make sure we are giving them what they need and what they can depend on.
Another key difference is that we are infusing more color into the board bag category. We all love black bags, but we want to offer a little more design and differentiation both on the wall and at the baggage claim.
Where does the expertise in this area come from?
Dan McNamara: We have been working with the world’s best surfers for over 25 years and with that comes tons of feedback on all equipment, not just surfboards.
We have offered a collection of pads and leashes that have been successful in our Pyzel retail stores in California and on the North Shore as well as on our website. During the pandemic, we saw an opportunity to build that category as a standalone brand.
We have great existing relationships with retailers and great distribution in place worldwide through our surfboard business. We are really happy with our first VEIA collection that is in stores now – we think we are bringing new excitement into that surf accessories category.
Is it a global launch? What is the DTC component?
A VEIA leash – Photo courtesy of VEIA
Dan McNamara: We are really excited to be working with some of the best surf retailers out there globally.
We also have our VEIA site (veiasupplies.com) that we feel will ultimately help build the brand and drive demand at retail by getting more people out in the water with VEIA products.
We are launching VEIA in the U.S., Australia, Europe and Japan to start, and will be going into other markets from there in the coming year.
How many SKUs are you launching with?
Dan McNamara: We are launching with four pads, three leashes and five bags. We live by the mantra “More isn’t better. Better is better,” so we are keeping things tight.
We will be adding more products in each category as well as a few new categories through the coming months as we build into Spring ‘23 and beyond.
