Euro Surf News - April
Portugal Pums up the Volume
A spate of upcoming store openings, retail expansions and huge growth in the girls’ sector is turning knowing surf industry eyes to Portugal’s rapidly escalating surf market potential.
O’Neill has opened in Portugal’s largest shopping centre, Colombo in Lisbon, with Hurley and VF Corp (Reef, Vans and North Face) to follow in the coming months. Local Portuguese retailer Ericeira Surf Shop continues from strength to strength and will begin rolling out retail outlets nationwide with the help of Billabong.
In Peniche, the man behind the area’s destination store, 58 Surf, says board sales have been steadily increasing – thanks in no small part to a huge boom in the girls market. “There was a girls surf day held here not long ago, and 300 girls turned out,” says Ivo Nisa. “It is a huge market when compared to the growth of mens (in Portugal).”
ispo’s Moscow Moves
It may have been Moscow’s coldest winter in 20 years, but it appears nothing could take away from the quiet heat exuded by ISPO Russia’s first winter show in the capital.
More than 200 brands from 21 countries exhibited at Moscow’s Crocus Centre, with visitors hailing from 69 Russian regions (the largest from Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Belarus) and 23 countries.
Granted, the 6,821 visitors recorded walking through the doors was a trifling audience as compared to Munich’s 60,000-strong crowd, but it’s no secret that ispo’s forays in to China and Russia are founded on strategies emphasising long-term market impregnation. Big investment now equals big returns a few years on.
But it appears that, for now, strong presence and successful implementation is enough. Says Messe München GmbH Chairman, Manfred Wutzlhofer: “The trade show very selectively targeted high quality national and international brands, and offered retailers a wide range of products to help them position themselves among the international competition for a long time.”
The ispo Russia summer 06 will be held in Moscow from September 20-23, 2006.
Cold is Cool
Derek Hynd took surfing to Scotland’s Outer Hebrides in 2001, the Malloy brothers have since brought fame to the roiling black waves of Ireland, and, this month, WQS surfers will be battling it out in Scotland’s northern waters in the nation’s first 5-star WQS event.
The ‘cold is cool’ movement is gaining ground.
Sponsored by O’Neill Europe, Thurso’s Highland Pro hopes to showcase the untapped potential of a country more famous for bagpipes than barrels. At 59 degrees north, the wave is one of the most consistent spots in the British Isles and likened by some to Nias – though without the pleasure of tropical water warmth (the temp hovers under 10 degrees).
Perhaps the US$100,000 in prize money will help ease the pain of the cold.
And if that isn’t inspiration enough, there’s always the lure of a special kind of record – renowned for dishing up right-hand tubes, the wave will be the northern-most spot to ever host a WQS event. The event takes place from April 25-May 2.
Faking it in England
But if sealed 5/3s aren’t your thing, then perhaps an indoor surf is in order…
Leisure company, Surfdome, has secured UK licensing rights to build Europe’s first indoor surf centre. The ₤10 million (AUS$25 million) venue would include a 75-metre surfing wave pool, training pools and extreme sport attractions (think waterface rock climbing and flowriders), accommodating up to 100 surfers at a time.
The complex promises everything from one foot to eight foot waves released every 10 seconds, with the company stating the pool’s Verareef floor will be programmed to replicate numerous natural sea reefs to provide a variety of wave shapes.
Surfdome’s managing director Justin Stone has said that the Stratford City development being constructed next to the 2012 Olympic Park is a serious contender for the new venture.
Watch this space, or check out www.surf-dome.com.
Bringing the Arctic to Oslo
March saw the gathering of the world’s hottest snowboarders at the Arctic Challenge in Oslo, Norway.
The penultimate event of the Ticket To Ride (TTR) series, the invitation only event was taken out by relative Norwegian unknown, Henning Marthinsen, beating TTR World Tour Leader, Risto Mattilla, along with all former winners of The Arctic Challenge quarter-pipe.
Previously held in Trompso, the decision by event creator (and Godfather of European snowboarding) Terje Haakonsen to bring the event to Oslo proved fortuitous, as Norway was hit by its biggest winter storm in 50 years just days before the event.
From Oslo to Stockholm
Australian surf brands continue to have an impact in northern European markets. Amongst other expansions, Swedish boardsport retailer, T12, has opened a new flagship store in Norlandsgatan, Stockholm, bringing Rip Curl, Roxy, Quik and Billabong to the capital of world cool.
T12’s northern European expansion mirrors that of O’Neill, who also appear to have identified the emerging market for surf brands in a region more famous for vodka bars and metrosexuals.
Openings… and Closings
Oakley opened its first Paris flagship store in March on the Rue de Rivoli, while in Barcelona the hunt is underway for a new Oakley store location in Los Ramblas after the current site was closed in La Illa shopping centre.
Meanwhile, Quik has decided to shut its 130-square-metre Roxy store in Paris’ Les Halles district. The company is searching for a new location in the French capital.
Billabong opens its first Italian store in April in central Cagliari, capital of the island of Sardinia. The opening follows establishment of the company’s first German shop corner, unveiled inside Munich’s Titus store last month.