Redwood Surf Shop

Shop Name: Redwood Surf Shop

Location: Croyde, North Devon

Age of Shop (years trading): 18 years

Brands Stocked: Insight, RVCA, Element, Von Zipper, Vans, Nike, Reef, Sutsu, Rhythm, Old Guys Rule, Dakine, O’Neill Wetsuits, Take Off Surfboards and JP Surfboards.

If you are in the UK looking for a good surf shop with good stock, good banter and a good location to go with it, then Redwood Surf Shop in Croyde has it all. For all you lot looking to grab a board and hit the waves then this local surf hire shop has just the thing you need. From surfboards/wetsuits (or board and wetsuit)/fins/boots and even a body-board and the prices are unreal! There surf check web cam allows you to check out the local surf online before you have even left your bed for the 6am wave wake-up call.  Let’s just hope that Redwood stocks a thick enough wetsuit to go with its winter opening hours!

Please give a brief history of your store including when it was started, who started it, who the owners and key players are…

The shop was opened in April 1995 by former English and British champion Richard Carter.

The Shop manager is Nick Haynes who helped open the shop in 1995.

Both Richard and Nick were previously involved in the surf industry in one way or another prior to opening Redwood and have a good general knowledge of surfing.

What percentage of your sales are from online business compared to your in-store sales?

We are solely in-store sales.

What are the benefits of having a physical shop over simply having an online store?

It’s unlikely you’ll find the same advice online as you would speaking face-to-face with a person who has years of experience. We have a range of surfboards that you can try before you buy. So manypeople are riding the wrong boards. Surfing is hard enough let alone if you’re on the wrong board. And it always surprises us that people buy wetsuits and accessories online because sizes vary so much from brand to brand and fit varies between styles within a brand. Poor fitting wetsuits really don’t perform well.

What makes your store different and in what ways does your store excel beyond your competition?

Ha ha do we?? Maybe a great location. We have always tried to be honest and helpful with everyone and pretty laid-back. Nothing worse than being followed around in a store by persistent staff.

We have products that we trust and use ourselves.

What trends do you see upcoming?

This is North Devon. We only just stopped wearing wellies a couple of years ago and now they’re everywhere again!

What kind of advice can you give other independent retailers who are trying to compete against the big box megastores?

Having the right people helping you with the buying, people that work on the shop floor who can actually see what people want. Keeping things fresh.

Which up and coming brand do you hope to stock in the future?

No idea but Sutsu did well for us last year.

What are you doing to pull people into your store?

A bit of social networking but like I said we have a great location.

How confident are you for the coming summer?

Being on the coast we just need some good weather. Weather over waves for sure. If it rains all week it costs people a lot of money entertaining the family but if the sun shines and they spend the week on the beach it frees up a lot more money.

How’s the local market in these days?

We’ve seen shops come and go. Never nice to see people struggling. We do have a good local client base but it is a very tough time for retail.

What have been the best three selling categories for you in the last 12 months?

O’Neill Wetsuits, Ladies clothing and Vans footwear.

Please tell us of any upcoming initiatives your shop has planned? (events, signings, re-vamps etc…)

We have always tried to help local kids. Richard being one of Croyde Surf Club’s founders has stayed involved with the club and we run a grom contest every year. Last year Hurley and JP surfboards very kindly helped with prizes.