Celebrating 25 Years: Spain’s Crazy Shop

Crazy Shop in Jaca, at the base of the Spanish Pyrenees is a haven for Spanish snowborders and skaters. Celebrating their 25th anniversary, we caught up with legendary brothers & owners Santy & Luis to talk business.

Tell us about Crazy Shop’s history.
Hello everyone, we are Santy Cabrero and Luis Cabrero, we are brothers and owners of Crazy Shop, a snowboard shop located in Spain in the town of Jaca in the Pyrenees. Both of us have been snowboarding since we were young. It will be 30 years next year since we got our first boards and over the years, we have both competed at national and international levels. We’ve been fortunate to travel the world, enjoying this passion that is our way of life.

Crazy Shop was founded in 1998. We have supported young riders from our area, helping them in competitions, collaborating with snowboard schools and instructors at our ski resorts. Along this journey, we have also organized and sponsored various exhibitions and competitions in our community. Our extensive experience allows us to offer a wide range of snowboard and skateboard products, which are tested and approved by our riders, so we can provide the most effective advice. We always stock the leading brands and try new ones from the international market, so to offer the latest snowboarding experiences and equipment technologies.

The store is 120 square metres and you can find a wide range of snowboarding and skateboarding gear, as well as a variety of streetwear clothing with the latest brands.

Congratulations on the anniversary! What are you doing to celebrate?
Thank you very much! We are very excited to be celebrating our shop’s 25th year – who would have thought!? Throughout the winter we have surprises for our friends and customers, we will hold several Instagram giveaways with products that will not disappoint (I won’t reveal more, hahaha). In the middle of the winter season, we plan to organize a gathering of the most legendary Spanish snowboarders, as we have friends who are Olympians and multiple world champions, such as the great Iker Fernandez, Lucas Eguibar, and Ruben Verges.

One of the things that excites us the most is being able to offer a snowboard that we designed in collaboration with Slash, the snowboard brand of the great Gigi Ruf. For us, it’s a dream come true since he was our favourite pro when we were young.

Oh, and one more surprise we’ll reveal is that you can now check detailed weather conditions on snowforecast with our own password for everyone to enjoy (crazyshopsnowboard).

What brands and products have performed best for you so far this winter?
Every winter, we strive to offer more exclusive and selective products to our customers. That’s why this year, one of the flagship products is Nidecker’s Supermatic, a semi-automatic binding that, for us, will change the market for all bindings. Another novelty we introduced this season is the entire range of 686 Gore-Tex snowboarding clothing, and it’s been a success. It’s very special for us since we were the first in Spain to introduce this great snowboarding clothing brand 18 years ago.

How much of your sales come from your website?
We’ve had a website for 12 years now. But to be honest, it’s not our main sales channel; quite the opposite. In recent years, we’ve seen significant online growth, which, in our opinion, doesn’t benefit our sector due to the fact that many websites are engaged in a constant price war, and at the same time, we see that customer service is disappearing. Our most important sales come from personal interaction and the relationship we have built with our customers. Being able to explain products in person, talk to the customer about the equipment, and offer personalized service to each of them has made them regular visitors, they cease to be customers and become friends.

How do you split your product assortment with carry-over and newness?
Crazy Shop is open twice a year, in the winter and summer seasons, during the in-between times, we close and go surfing. So, at the end of each season, to avoid accumulating stock, we offer a 2-for-1 sale in the last two weeks of the season, except hardgoods since we hardly ever have any leftover (after many years of ordering, hahaha). Also, before the winter season starts, we hold a stock fair where all the local businesses come together to clear their warehouses, and people can take advantage of great discounts.