Season Distribution Talk Skateboards, Longboards + The Retail Landscape

An interview with Heiko Schöller from Season Distribution on his company, his and Richie Löffler’s brand ‘Bolzen’, the survival of specialised skate shops over general skate shops and the rise of E-Boards.

A brief history of your distribution company.
My name is Heiko Schöller and I started skateboarding at the end of the eighties. In 1998, I started selling skateboards to the local Eifel scene where I come from. Later, I moved to Cologne, and since 2004, I’ve been distributing mostly longboard hardware under the name ‘Season Distribution’ to shops all over Germany. We specialise in longboard hardware and hard to find skateboard stuff. In 2004 longboarding was a total niche and only a handful of shops sold longboards. Most shops did not know that these boards were available, and we sold brands like Sector9, Kryptonics, Randal trucks and G&S Longboards. Around 2010 longboarding became more and more popular and then 2013 – 2015 it had the crazy boom in Germany. Now longboarding is picking up again and the future looks bright! Surfskates from Carver are very popular at the moment because of the connection to surfing. This year we took over the distribution for Loaded & Orangatang, known for their high-performance boards and wheels.

Loaded has been the most important brand in longboarding for years so we are very excited to work with these fine guys from LA. We will see what’s up next!

Which brands do you distribute and in which regions?
We distribute the following brands in Germany: Abec11, Alternative, Bolzen, Carver, Icone, Kahalani, Loaded, Orangatang, Polster, Randal, Rayne, Riptide, Seismic, Sunrise, Vicious & Zak Maytum.

Please tell us about your own brands.
It all started with Sunrise Skateboards in 1998. Back in the day we printed some shirts and decks for our local skate scene and that was the beginning of it all. Today, Sunrise is well known for their bearings, that we have now doing for almost 10 years, and bushings that we started a few years ago. Together with Richie Löffler from MDCN we also do Bolzen trucks and hardware. Under the name Bolzen we have been selling longboard trucks and special longboard hardware since 2013. In 2019 we released the V2 version from our trucks. Designed here in Cologne and produced in China. We have all skated for more than 30 years and know exactly how a truck should work. The product design is really important for us. Really precise bushings seat, strong hanger, good turning, height rebound bushings…everything is important!

What are the biggest challenges facing your business today?
There are always trends and some brands are doing better compared to others. Although in rough times you have to be loyal to the people you are working with. That is really important.
Cologne, like every big city, is booming and finding a place where you can afford the rent is becoming more and more of a problem: for retail space, offices and for a warehouse.

And the biggest opportunities?
I think skateboarding and longboarding will never disappear so there will always be customers that look for high quality hardware.

How are you working with online-only stores to ensure a healthy business?                                     The main hardware we are selling is in in the high-quality range, so most products have a European MSRP. There is no need to discount and most of our customers are classic retail shops with a webshop so we do not have a lot of problems with that stupid every day is sale in online shops.

How do you think the skate business will look in 5 years time?
The next 5 years, I think 20% of all remaining skate shops in Germany will close because less people will buy in classic retail shops. Special shops that have a really good selection will survive because standing on a board before buying it is important to many people. A really good selection, honest advice and service is the key. I hope that more teenagers will get back on a Skateboard and not just play the whole day with their smart phone. More and more skateparks & pumptracks are being built so I think we are on a good way.

And the biggest opportunities?
I think skateboarding and longboarding will never disappear so there will always be customers that look for high quality hardware. E-Boards are on the rise so totally new (boardsport) customers will come to the sport in the next few years. E-boards are not legal in Germany and it is a niche but every week we sell 1-2 boards or kits – which is good.