Month: September 2012

Getting the Word Out

iPhone

Getting the Word Out

As I was stopping by my local convenience store for coffee this morning, the amount of people purchasing newspapers really got me thinking. We STILL wait in a line of people to pay money for the day’s news in print. Don’t get me wrong…..I’m A-OK with this, as for most people it is a daily habit. Grabbing a coffee and the paper is a great way to get your day started here by the Atlantic Ocean. But for some of us, we’ve moved on to other methods for getting our news and general information.

I know people that still wait until the 5 o clock news to find out what the weather is going to be like in the next 3 days. Again, if this is your normal routine, then so be it. But with all of the modern technology at our finger tips, it was never easier to open up the weather app on your smart phone to check the forecast. I do this every morning on my iPad! I also use it to read stocks, world news, sports scores, and read everything else that someone looking to buy a newspaper would be looking for. It updates itself at midnight every night, giving me fresh material to thumb through while I’m doing my morning routines. This technological advancement has done wonders for the surf industry, and modern society alike.

This week I will be looking into placing ads for our upcoming winter and Christmas sales. It is never too early to get these ads started, as October and November are right around the corner. The surf companies that I deal with make it easy for me to advertise the sales that I am running on their products, so that we both win in the end. Recently, I “went halves” on an ad with UGG Australia that will be running in print and online in the Atlantic City Press. Every week, you can read the Press (either in print or on your digital device) and you will see a professionally made graphic telling you which are the newest styles and the best deals at Kona Sports on UGG Australia products. I plan on taking advantage of the same opportunities with high profile companies like Nixon and Oakley. Ideas like this are what drive the surf retail market, and global retail in general.

I feel that buying advertisement space on a local radio station, or local newspaper is slowly turning to a more global approach to marketing. With a website like ours, its easy to project our online retail site into the public eye, on sites like Pandora, The Huffington Post, and Surfline. These are the “new local radio stations and local newspapers,” for members of a more digitally driven generation. Sites like this make it easier than ever to get exactly what you want, with much less effort. With that being said, we are also working on an iPhone/iPad theme here for our site. This will make it a snap to shop and purchase everything that Konasports.com has to offer all from your mobile device! Be sure to sign up for our mailing list, enabling you to get the jump on special deals that we will be running before everybody else!

UGG Australia 10+ Years

UGG Australia Boots

As we head into the cooler autumn months, our foot traffic business begins to slow here at Kona Sports. We all take a collective sigh of relaxation, knowing that the busy season is now behind us. The sounds of summer here by the boardwalk in NJ begin to fade, and we start to get used to the silence that is winter-time in a mid Atlantic beach town. From a selling perspective, the majority of our footwear sales changes dramatically from sandals to close-toed shoes like sneakers and boots.

As I’m sitting at my desk at the shop, I can hear some of my sales associates unpacking one of our most recent Ugg Australia footwear orders. This is a familiar sound, being that we have been selling Uggs for well over 10 years now, and the brand is a staple part of our winter footwear sales. I am happy to report that we have a loyal customer base when it comes to Uggs, and people know that we carry all the newest colors, styles and trends that the company has to offer. We’re also not afraid to go DEEP into ladies and youth sizes, making sure that each and every customer gets the size that they need, no matter what month of the year it is.

The Ugg company got their start on the sandy beaches ofAustralia. The designers brought a product to the market that was completely new at the time. A hand-stitched sheepskin suede boot with a thick fleece lining that retained heat better than any other footwear available at the time. The style became instantly popular with the Australian surfers, who could put these on strait out of the water and stay warm and comfortable on some of those chilly mornings.

Over time, the Ugg Classic Short Boot became a recognized style, and grew a fan base that has now swept all over the globe. You now see everyone from surfers to celebrities wearing their UGG boots with pride. But as we know, this style does come with a price. Recently, the company made the decision to lower their prices back to the fall 2011-2012 threshold. This means that popular styles dropped ten to fifteen American dollars in price, while still offering the same durability and design that we have all come to know and love.

All told, I see this winter being another strong season for Ugg Australiaand Kona Sports. We’ve got shipments coming in every 2 weeks from now until Christmas. We will be stocking your favorites and old stand-byes, while also offering some of the newer more fashion forward styles like the Classic Short Sparkle, the Classic Mini, and the Opaline.

Check out the site every week to see what’s new in the world of Ugg Australia, and to see all of the new surf, snow and skate gear that Kona Sports has to offer!

Surf Expo 2012

Surf Expo 2012

Recovering from the Surf Expo

September came too quickly again this year and ended the most exciting time of year at the Jersey Shore. As usual all the “Shoobies” reluctantly packed up their boards and the kids left for school, the Kona Sports Team didn’t let the end of summer blues get them down. Recharged for the upcoming fall season, Kona packed up their bags and headed to the Orlando, Florida for the September 2012 SURF EXPO at the Orlando Convention Center.

Although the humidity was thick as usual in the Orlando air, the mood was light and fun for the Kona Crew who were all pumped for a few days of real SURF TALK and nights of SURF parties. We hit the ground running with a lot of new products and people to see.

Since only the surf industry can attend the SURF EXPO bi-annually, we are stoked to report some of the HOT styles and trends that we were privileged to see and what we are excited to bring back as new arrivals with us! As for the highlights of what and who we go to see, we are happy to sum it up for you!

Our Quiksilver appointment was both educational and eye opening. We discussed the direction in which the surf industry is heading, which surprisingly is gearing more towards the technological aspects, and less about keeping up with the current fashion trends.

Freestyle let us take a sneak peak at their spring 2013 line, combining cutting edge technology, and timeless durability with up to the minute bright colors and styles. Freestyle is taking the initiative here and putting a free custom tide watch on every surfer competing in the Hurley Pro which is underway in California right now!

What did Arnette have to say at the Expo? Arnette is trending back to the sunglass styles that were popular 20 years ago and re-releasing old styles for a new generation of groms that are stoked on surfing and its roots.

What new brands are we pursuing? You might see House of Marley, Lifeproof electronics cases and G-Shock just to name a few brands coming to KONAsports.com soon!

We ran into a lot of people at the EXPO, but some names you may know, such as Laird Hamilton, Corey Lopez, CJ Hobgood, and the RVCA V.P. of Sales, Eric Thomas!

Laird promoted his new Stand-up PaddleBoard line and YES…we loved it and one of the Kona team leaders was so impressed, he is buying his own to bring home to Wildwood soon too!

We also scoped out some cool moves too at the show. A great ping pong tournament, lots of Paddle Boards along with some girls showing off some insane Yoga moves on their boards, and some cool skateboarding tricks too!

Where did we go after the EXPO? Well most of the Surf Industry will tell you, “What happens in Orlando stays in Orlando.” We can leek a little of the behind the scenes fun though or else it just wouldn’t be fair! Friday night, September 7th, the Surf Expo sponsored the Industry Party with Sanuk at Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon which was an awesome party with tons of surfers (which weren’t sore on the eyes in the water or out) and vendors that we all mingled with throughout the night.

Although not all good parties are worth playing hard at, this after party had a great cause and raised almost $13,000 for the Stokes Me Fundraiser, which campaign is the official fundraising event for the SIMA Humanitarian Fund which raises money for surf-related and non-profit organizations that improve quality of life, health and welfare of people. It was definitely a party worth joining the crowd to toast “Cheers” with and to cheer on all those who were surfing or sponsoring good will!

Overall, the trip, expo and after parties were all worth hitting and we will do it all again in January 2013! Overall we supported some great causes, made some new friends, and brought home some new knowledge and new products to share with our team and all of our loyal customers! We wish you all could have enjoyed our biannual Surf Expo trip, but we are happy to report all our highlights with you as usual! As for know, all the Kona Team members that went are still recovering from a great trip where we all worked hard and played hard!

Yoga Paddle Surf

Surf Expo

Surf Expo

Surf Expo

Surf Expo

Surf Expo