I routinely get e-mails from all over the world from skate shops and small-company owners (and even, the occasional big-company owner), asking for advice on something or another. Usually, these e-mails are precipitated by one [or more] of the many essays that I've written about the skateboard industry over the last few years. I'm still pretty amazed that people actually want my opinion on stuff... I mean, it's not like I'm all that bright or anything... but, I always make a solid point of replying in pretty short order, and helping out as much as I possibly can. Here's a recent example, from a thoughtful young man that we'll call "K." (to protect the innocent).
-----Original Message-----
From:
To: budstratford@aol.com
Sent: Fri, Feb 19, 2010 8:45 pm
Subject: getting on skateshops' shelves
Hi Bud,
I was reading a bunch of the articles you wrote on About.com/skateboarding, and the MSRP article was of particular interest. My brother & I just started a skateboard company & now with our 2nd deck almost released, we want to start going to skateshops personally in hopes of having them carry our decks & misc merchandise like shirts. With only small statewide acknowledgment of our company and even more close to home local following, we feel tempted to sell ourselves for cheap to make up for our lack of reputation that a bigger independent company might have, even though we only deal with deck manufacturers that use 100% north American maple as opposed to the cheap imported stuff.
So, we know we have a high quality product, we even had our team riders skate the hell out of the samples & get a unanimous thumbs up before proceeding with deck production. The problem is that as a small company, we can't order in the kind of bulk that will result in higher profit margins.
So in wrapping up, I guess my question is, do we approach stores with stone faces & all the confidence in the world & sell for what we're worth quality-wise? .....or, do we have to kind of sell our souls to shops in the beginning until kids create a demand for our stuff?
By the way, I agree with Zumiez sucking & we have no intentions of selling to any such stores or even seeking distribution which could result in our merch ending up on their shelves, which is why we're doing the footwork ourselves to start. We're 100% by skaters for skaters!
Any help you can give with my question would be greatly appreciated & might even be a good topic for another article.
Sincerely,
- K.
----- Original Message -----
From: budstratford@aol.com
To:
Sent: Saturday, February 20, 2010 6:04 AM
Subject: Re: getting on skatehops' shelves
K., I am on my way out the door to go snowboarding. I will reply properly tomorrow (Sunday) evening.
In the meantime, does your company have a website I can check out? I like to know as much as possible about your company before I give in-depth advice. -B.
-----Original Message-----
From:
To: budstratford@aol.com
Sent: Sat, Feb 20, 2010 11:27 am
Subject: Re: getting on skatehops' shelves
Sure, it's www.[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx].com
Have fun snowboarding & thanks a lot dude!
- K.
Two days Later, Bud Finally Answers:
Good morning, K.! First of all: Yes, snowboarding was awesome! Always is. I rode for about five hours, then I spent the rest of the day teaching an army of cute college chicks how to board. So yeah, it was a pretty good day all in all! Maybe what I'm sayin' here is, "Put down the skateboard, and become a snowboard instructor!" Naw, I'm just playin'! I have sense of humour. Chill out! Laugh a little! Life's short. Live it up.
Secondly: Thanks a bunch for a well-written and thoughtful letter! How rare those are these days...
Okay, onto the actual subject. Getting into skate shops. This can be kinda easy (If you have a huge, disposable wad of cash to blow on slick marketing), or kinda difficult (If you don't). How's that for an in-a-nutshell answer...!?
I'm obviously assuming that you don't have the Grand Ol' Wad O' Dough hanging around, but let's see how The Doughboys get into shops, just for easy-and-simple comparison. They go out, make shitloads of a completely lackluster, generic product for as cheaply as possible... with kick-ass graphics, though (Because, graphics totally sell!). Then, they sign about a dozen or so big-name pro skaters at about $20,000 a piece, and commit to a years' worth of two-page spreads in TransWorld, Thrasher, or The Skateboard Mag (Depending on which "image" you're going for, right?!)... and then, wait for the phone to start ringing!!! Which only happens SOME of the time... thus, all those long-lost skate-brands that only lasted a year or two (Deca? Rasa Libre? Bootleg? Just to name a few....).
Then, we have the Little Guys. You guys. And, a zillion more "little" companies that are springing out of the woodwork. Character? One? Funhouse? Volume? Ban? Keystone? Ebbie? I could go on for hours... there's about ten thousand of them out there right now... but regardless, the key questions are always the same:
1. What are you doing, that the other guys aren't? And,
2. How are you promoting whatever that is...?
It's tough, because here in 2010, most of the angles have been played already. It was hella easier in 1991, when I started my company... there wasn't all the precedents yet, y'know? There was still some new ground left to be broken, and a few new ideas still coming up. But nowadays, everyone has pretty much tried everything, and we have a pretty good idea of what sells and what doesn't. Retailers, especially. They've already seen a billion small companies come and so, and they know they're gonna see a billion more on the horizon. So, they tend to be sort of "big deal" on most small companies. Like, "Oh, you too? What the hell do you got, huh...?!" Yeah, it can be reeeeaaaaaal tough out there. Even for the "big dudes", as I noted above.
Shops are basically looking for two stone-cold realities. One: Will this product fly off my shelf? Because, a product just sitting ON a shelf, is costing that shop money. Or, tying up money. Or, warping and collecting dust. You get the picture.
And, secondly: Will this product make me money? Are they making one dollar on that item? Five dollars? Ten dollars? Forty points? Keystone? Obviously: The faster it sells, and the more they make per unit, the more appealing it is for them to carry it. That last sentence is basically The Retailers Holy Grail, right there. Read it a few more times, and really get what I'm sayin' here, bros. It's a cold world out there, and cold truths can feel awfully blunt sometimes. Get used to it.
Now, I checked out your website, and it looks pretty dapper. You shit looks pretty good, and you've clearly done your homework. And, you guys do write a damn good letter. So, I get the impression that you're pretty smart cookies over there. Which is a great start. You're probably way more on top of shit than 99% of our dumbass fucking "industry leaders". So clearly, not all is lost. Thank God!
So, here's my advice: Really give a good, hard second-thought to exactly what you want to do, and where you want to go. Company-wise. What do you stand for? What's good in skateboarding? What sucks? What would you change, and how would you do it? If you have some actual "principles" that you like to stand upon, even better... "principles" being in awfully short supply these days, I'm thinking that "having principles" might just be The Next Big Thing. Then: Once you have a platform going on... sell it! Get everyone hyped on it. Talk it up. Do interviews. Blog your ass off. Get passionate about your shit, maybe even cuss a little here and there (For some weird reason, it works for me?!). Note: Being genuinely interested in the future, and the better interests of skateboarding goes a pretty long way. Passion breeds passion, and bright ideas and good vibes are self-perpetuating paradigms.
The most important thing I could ever tell you about small-company ownership... having owned one, myself... is that, it's hella hard work. But, it's also the most fun you'll ever have in your whole life. There is something liberating and life-affirming about standing on your own two tired feet, and putting something positive back into this world. Even if it's a financial failure of the highest order... and, many small companies are... still: If you truly enjoy the ride while it lasts, and live in the moment at all times, really soaking in all of that fun and adventure... then, you'll always and forever be a success. The simple fact is this: When the time comes for you to kick the bucket, you will not be allowed to take a single red cent with you to your afterlife. But, experiences and adventures...? Ahhhhhhhhhh! Those, my friend, are truly priceless.
I hope my little bit of advice helps you out, and I wish you guys all the best (as I do all smaller companies). Holla back if you need anything else. I'm pretty accessible, so it's no worries. Laters- B.
As I was editing this blog entry, I totally realized that... like the dumbass that I am... I totally forgot to actually answer K's question. Which was basically, "Is My Stuff Worth A High Retail Price, or A Low One?!"
Well, again, the answer is quite simple: "Price Is Driven By Supply And Demand". Just like anything else in this world. In my letter, I addressed the "demand" issue, because that is usually the key consideration for retailers, when they're thinking of bringing in a new product, brand, or whatever. After all: They can easily control supply, merely by stocking more or less of something. Right?!
But, ultimately: Cultivating a demand is the job of the brand. Not, the shop.
So: If K. takes my advice (in the letter), and cultivates a strong and consistent demand for his products...? Then yes: That will naturally justify higher prices. Popular shit almost always sells for a much higher price, than un-popular shit...
However: If demand for K's product is weak? Then, that product will naturally have to be sold for less, to make up for the lack of demand. In this case, the lower price will fill the "demand" vacuum (as lower priced stuff is always more likely to sell well, when everything else fails). Which is usually a pretty good deal for the consumers (who ultimately get a great product at a dirt-cheap price)... but, isn't usually so good for the brands or the shops that are ultimately losing their shirts in the equation.
That's my answer, and I'm stickin' to it. -B.
