I’m really beginning to get skeptical about where this thing is going. Sure, there will always be some guys with day jobs that will make boards, but how much longer will guys be able to make a living doing it in the U.S.A.?
I heard a rumor yesterday that a principal for one of the “Big 3” is in China right now making arraignments to have the bulk of their line produced there. Not spin offs, or a different logo, but their core line of boards. (Something that they swore they’d never do) They’ll, of course, continue to do R&D on the West Coast, but as soon as they decide to make it into a model, they’ll send it off to China for reproduction.
Meanwhile, many of the smaller guys that, in the past, have sold boards out of various shops, seem to be selling fewer and fewer boards. They question the shop owners, and more often than not, the shop owners suggest to them that if they want more rack space, they need to make their boards offshore. On the imports the shops can make a 100% markup, something that they can’t even begin to approach with domestic boards. So what do they push? Of course they push the stuff with the highest markup. The only way they will try and move a guy into a domestic board is if they feel they are going to lose the sale unless they do.
And the kids coming up, by and large, they don’t care. Surfboards ARE just like toasters for them. Most of them have never owned a board that wasn’t some kind of an off-the-rack model. They want to walk in, say, ‘Sick dude! That’s what Taj rides!’ throw down mommy’s credit card and walk out with it. They won't even notice the fact that eveyrthing is a Chinese popout.
So how does this thing progress… I don’t know if “progress” is the right word… how does this thing degenerate from here? The domestic board makers relying on shops for the bulk of their sales will sell less and less (for the above stated reasons). Less rack space, fewer boards in the water, fewer dollars for advertisement, fewer dollars for team boards. They’re going to be like lobsters going into a pot of comfy cold water with the heat set on low. It will be slow, but before they know it, it will be over. Their logo/label will be dead. Ignored. The old guys will peel off and quit surfing or get hurt or die, the kids will buy their popouts. And a lot of domestic builders won’t go direct to the surfer (bypassing the shops) because the shops threaten them if they do that. And they still think maybe the shop sales will turn around, so they hang back. And wait for the turnaround that will never come
Doing nothing, doing the same thing you always did, is as good as helping it happen. The path is set. The “impossible dream” would be for domestic surfboard manufactures to unionize. If ALL of them refused to sell surfboards to shops that push popouts, they might have some power. Pool resources and open shops that actively market the fact that all the boards inside are made in the USA, and you might have something. The sad thing is I think that’s an impossible scenario. Some shop owner would dangle a few hundred bucks in front of a desperate shaper and bingo, he’d buckle.
And the little guys going to China (by little guys, I mean non Big Three affiliated people) how much money are you making? Are you going to be able to make enough in the next couple of years to coast for the rest of your life? I hope so. Because by the time you are done, there won’t be anything left here. You didn’t think the Chinese were going to continue to pay you, did you? If so, you better wake up and smell the coffee. The Chinese have a LONG history of getting what they need out of the round-eye, the knowledge, know how and equipment, and then kicking the round eye to the curb. Over and over again. You guys will be no different. So, I hope you’re at least making enough to retire on. Because by the time they are done with you, the domestic industry will be in a shambles, so you won’t be making money over here. You’ll be a 40 to 50 year old something, broke ex-surfboard maker with no place to go. Not a pretty picture.
Although, you could always sell cars. Or maybe do phone sales. Maybe even phone sex. I mean, since you whored yourself out to the Chinese, you should be getting good at it.
Yeah. That’s the ticket.
I heard a rumor yesterday that a principal for one of the “Big 3” is in China right now making arraignments to have the bulk of their line produced there. Not spin offs, or a different logo, but their core line of boards. (Something that they swore they’d never do) They’ll, of course, continue to do R&D on the West Coast, but as soon as they decide to make it into a model, they’ll send it off to China for reproduction.
Meanwhile, many of the smaller guys that, in the past, have sold boards out of various shops, seem to be selling fewer and fewer boards. They question the shop owners, and more often than not, the shop owners suggest to them that if they want more rack space, they need to make their boards offshore. On the imports the shops can make a 100% markup, something that they can’t even begin to approach with domestic boards. So what do they push? Of course they push the stuff with the highest markup. The only way they will try and move a guy into a domestic board is if they feel they are going to lose the sale unless they do.
And the kids coming up, by and large, they don’t care. Surfboards ARE just like toasters for them. Most of them have never owned a board that wasn’t some kind of an off-the-rack model. They want to walk in, say, ‘Sick dude! That’s what Taj rides!’ throw down mommy’s credit card and walk out with it. They won't even notice the fact that eveyrthing is a Chinese popout.
So how does this thing progress… I don’t know if “progress” is the right word… how does this thing degenerate from here? The domestic board makers relying on shops for the bulk of their sales will sell less and less (for the above stated reasons). Less rack space, fewer boards in the water, fewer dollars for advertisement, fewer dollars for team boards. They’re going to be like lobsters going into a pot of comfy cold water with the heat set on low. It will be slow, but before they know it, it will be over. Their logo/label will be dead. Ignored. The old guys will peel off and quit surfing or get hurt or die, the kids will buy their popouts. And a lot of domestic builders won’t go direct to the surfer (bypassing the shops) because the shops threaten them if they do that. And they still think maybe the shop sales will turn around, so they hang back. And wait for the turnaround that will never come
Doing nothing, doing the same thing you always did, is as good as helping it happen. The path is set. The “impossible dream” would be for domestic surfboard manufactures to unionize. If ALL of them refused to sell surfboards to shops that push popouts, they might have some power. Pool resources and open shops that actively market the fact that all the boards inside are made in the USA, and you might have something. The sad thing is I think that’s an impossible scenario. Some shop owner would dangle a few hundred bucks in front of a desperate shaper and bingo, he’d buckle.
And the little guys going to China (by little guys, I mean non Big Three affiliated people) how much money are you making? Are you going to be able to make enough in the next couple of years to coast for the rest of your life? I hope so. Because by the time you are done, there won’t be anything left here. You didn’t think the Chinese were going to continue to pay you, did you? If so, you better wake up and smell the coffee. The Chinese have a LONG history of getting what they need out of the round-eye, the knowledge, know how and equipment, and then kicking the round eye to the curb. Over and over again. You guys will be no different. So, I hope you’re at least making enough to retire on. Because by the time they are done with you, the domestic industry will be in a shambles, so you won’t be making money over here. You’ll be a 40 to 50 year old something, broke ex-surfboard maker with no place to go. Not a pretty picture.
Although, you could always sell cars. Or maybe do phone sales. Maybe even phone sex. I mean, since you whored yourself out to the Chinese, you should be getting good at it.
Yeah. That’s the ticket.
