French Market Insight June/July 2018
The French economy seems to be well and truly in good health in spring 2018. According to the Bank of France, GDP in France should increase by 0.4% in the second quarter of 2018, which is the same rate as in the first quarter. For the entire year of 2018, current predictions are calling for a 2% increase of GDP due to the good results recorded from the year past. By Benoit Brecq.
The somewhat slower rate may be the result of the school vacations and exceptionally large number of bank holidays in May: 1 May, 8 May, Ascension Day and Whit Monday… This year, the month of May looks like a slice of Swiss cheese with all of the holes in the calendar left by all of the bank holidays. Let’s see how this many bank holidays has affected boardsports business.
As far as in-store traffic is concerned, the observation is easy: the exceptional calendar for the month of May 2018 largely contributed to French families going on holiday. So, it’s only natural that stores in urban locations suffered from lower levels of traffic due to city dwellers leaving town for bank holidays and other days off work, while shops on the coast on the other hand really felt a true increase thanks to the long weekends in the month of May.
As Cyril from Tamarindo on the Ile d’Oléron confirms: “As it does every year, the season really kicked off at Easter when we had really great foot traffic in the store, with a large number of foreign visitors.” He adds: “In spite of the unpredictable weather, lacking many signs of the arrival of spring, the long weekends in May were rather beneficial in terms of foot traffic and sales numbers this year.” For Alban who just opened his brand new Unclezaz store in Mimizan, it’s the same conclusion: “Sales figures have been positive and pretty good. The store opening has probably added to the favourable calendar, but compared to when I was in my old location across the street, foot traffic and sales figures have generally been higher than for the same period last year.” Julien from Au Spot in Paris has noticed the same trend as his colleagues on the coast: “Spring started strong this year, as much in terms of foot traffic as in terms of sales figures. It’s always comforting to start the season early and get ahead of things. We like strong sales early and not having to chase things.” He adds: “This winter was long and hard, but since mid-April we’ve had warm days and people are looking forward to summer. Riders are starting to get ready for the season and are coming into the shop to pick up the gear they need. The start of the season is promising for the rest of the year.”
More street oriented stores like Nozbone in Paris are more or less on the same wavelength: “The springtime is still an ideal time of year for skateboard sales. The return of nice weather brings skaters back to the shop, because some skaters take a break during winter.” He adds: “Being a shop in an urban location, school and bank holidays don’t really work in our favour as far as sales figures are concerned. It’s more about nice weather, which we haven’t had much of so far this year.” The crew at NDJ Skateshop in Nantes feels the same: “The weather hasn’t been very good, and it seems like spring has had a hard time getting started, which means that we’ve had a hard time selling our spring products. Also, the calendar hasn’t worked very well in our favour as an urban store, because people tend to go to the beach for the long weekends in May, which has had a definite effect on sales in the shop.”
On the sales side, the weather hasn’t been very favourable to truly kick off sales of spring textiles. At Evasion Proshop in Lorient, sales of neoprene have been leading the way, most notably Rip Curl for men and Billabong for women. The wetsuit isle has also been working well at Tamarindo on the Ile d’Oléron: “We’ve sold quite a few wetsuits, especially Rip Curl, O’Neill and also Vissla.” Julien from Au Spot in Paris adds: “As far as equipment for people is concerned, and especially in neoprene, the fashion side of things has definitely found its place, with clients searching for good looking and assorted products. It’s a trend that is definitely standing out.”
As far as surfboards are concerned, evolutive models seem to be popular this spring. Cyril from Tamarindo states: “This year hybrid shapes, fish and twin fins are the most sought after boards in the shop.” When it comes to brands, every store we spoke to says TORQ boards are this year’s success story. Cyril says: “The new shapes, colours and technology that the brand offers is attracting more and more clients, especially a female clientele.” Alban from Unclezaz agrees: “The brand is in high demand by surfers because it has a strong image.” Other brands seem to be standing out this year too, with stores mentioning most notably Lib-Tech, Venon and Modern.
Another trend that has been standing out in the surfboard sector is an increase in the popularity of foamies. It’s a trend that’s been developing steadily in the US and Australia for a few years already, and softboards are starting to carve out room for themselves in France now too and will be a market reality for 2018. Julien from Au Spot in Paris tells us: “Foam boards are really becoming sexy products. Manufacturers have put time and effort into colours and designs, which has attracted more and more interest in this kind of board from clients.” The team at Evasion Pro Shop in Lorient agree: “We’ve seen a real increase in sales of foam boards. While only a few years ago these kinds of boards were only being ridden by beginners, today more and more surfers have one in their quiver, for themselves or family members.” Brands such as Softech, CatchSurf and Softjoy are performing well with retailers asked.
As for street products, while sales of longboards seem to be slightly on the decline, the SurfSkate phenomenon seems to continue its development. The trend that started last season is well and truly confirming itself this year. Alban from Unclezaz in Mimizan tells us: “When they can’t get in the water, surfers are constantly searching for that feeling they can only get on a surfboard, so if the waves aren’t any good, the SurfSkate is the answer they’re looking for.” He adds: “It’s a trendy product that is really selling well in stores.” The most talked about brands are Yow, Carver and FlyingWheels.
Elsewhere, while sales of longboards and cruisers seems to be slowing down, street skate sales are making a comeback. The renovation of old skate parks and the construction of new ones are contributing to the increase in sales in the sector. Cyril from Tamarindo confirms the trend: “We have a new skate park in Oléron and as a result we’ve had quite a rather large demand for street skate products.” Core shops like Nozbone in Paris feel the same way: “As a core shop and opinion leader, we’ve been observing a noticeable increase in hardware sales, which is a positive sign for skateboarding in general.” The brands mentioned the most often by shops are Palace, Hélas, Dickies, Thrasher and Santa Cruz. As for shoes, Vans is still the most sought after brand by clients this season.
So, the results for the start of the season seem generally positive, with the back-to-back school and bank holidays playing a useful role for stores that helped them really kick off the start of the season. For the moment, stores are satisfied in general and optimistic for the 2018 season. The upward trend that started a few months ago seems to be holding solid. Now, here’s hoping that the weather and the waves will cooperate and the 2018 season continues to be as successful as it has been from the start…
