Shapers Club open new HQ
it’s been almost one year, to the day, between the first shovel breaking the soil and the grand opening on the 6th of July 2024. The opening was the materialisation of a 4 year process, in which Thomas and Renaud Cardinal, the cofounding siblings behind Shapers Club, set their sight on building a new HQ in an abandoned boat warehouse in Marennes, the last town before crossing the bridge to the Île d’Oléron, near La Rochelle in the South West of France. The new facility is part of the rebranding of the seminal UWL brand into Shapers Club, “because our main business is to manufacture surfboards with shapers from all over the world”, recalls Thomas.
Investors both private and public, raised €4 million, a striking figure for an independent surfboard company. Where did the money go? The 1800m2 compound (3 times bigger than the former facility) comprises a factory with a capacity of 3000 surfboards/year, a 310m2 surfshop (400 boards on the racks, 200 more waiting underneath), a bar/snacking area with a capacity of 160 guests (+ a concert stage), a co-working space (90m2 for 16 people), a 100m2 gym (surfing training, yoga, combat sport). On the outside, a 150m2 skatepark, plus 51 spots in the parking lot. To handle all the traffic, in addition to the 18 staff on call.
“Initially, we had planned a ‘soft opening’ at the beginning of June for a month of testing, with an official opening on July 6th. Finally, we opened for the first time on July 6th at 11:59 am in a ‘hard opening’ mode after a lot of hard work. Thanks to the whole team, old and new, as well as the teamriders, friends and volunteers who gave a big helping hand!”
More than 500 people attended the grand opening, with shaping demonstrations by Thomas Bexon, Joshua Martin, and Malcolm Campbell, as well as artistic performances by Jake Bowrey (alias Cutlap), and a skateboard contest and a rocking band. See the gallery of the the launch party and a sneak peak of the new HQ below.
