Ice the middle man and y'got high-end wetsuits for
under two c-notes, tech trunks for under a fifty…
A few months ago, BeachGrit reported on a surf biz
called Need Essentials that was
selling high-end 4/3mm wetsuits for $A200 ($US140) apiece. Made in
the same Taiwanese factory (read about the amazing Sheico Group and how they
stole the wetsuit market away from the Japanese
here) as Quiksilver and the rest, but without
the team riders, without the execs, without the marketing, labels
and swing tags.
The difference? The 100-percent markup.
The surfer behind Need is Yamba-based surfer Ryan Scanlon, the
former Senior Vice President of Global Products for Quiksilver.
Ryan has a sharp eye for detail, as his former job would imply, and
he knows the surf biz.
Back in June he told me: “I try to live a pretty simple life (he
lives on a yacht) and Need is a reflection of that. I wanted to
create something that I wish existed but didn’t. A supply
chain where you didn’t have to pay for all the excess. You just pay
for what you… yeah… Need.”
Anyway, his biz, which is just over a year old, has since gone
nuts. He sells out every run he gets made and ‘cause Ryan’s a
one-man show, he keeps the runs tight so he doesn’t fall into the
trap of most businesses where they grow too fast, borrow a ton of
cash and… yeah, you know the rest.
Click here
And maybe here too.
‘Cause I wrote the last story about I’ve become a conduit for
surfers wanting to know about Need and to field complaints that no
one could get in quick enough to get a suit. It doesn’t hurt that
the all-black no-graphic or logo suits have a Dior-esque feel about
‘em.
On this run, Ryan has added a technical surf trunk. It’s basic
black, medium of length, has a slim silhouette and feels exactly
like a $200 pair without the gimcrackery. What’s the hit? Forty
five Australian dollars.
This kind of biz has the power to shift the established
consciousness. High-end flavour with a price that is
Costco.
As you can tell, I’m unduly impressed by Need and was delighted
to lash our website with his branding. I recorded this interview
with Mr Scanlon a few days ago. I know, I know, it sounds pure
advertorial but this is a brand that is real in the way Quiksilver,
say, was back in the seventies. Small company, great gear, a price
that didn’t hit you in the nuts. Who wants to be screwed?
BeachGrit: A lot of people I spoke to were dying to buy
Need but couldn’t get a piece. Y’still got
stock?
Ryan: Yeah, we have a heap of summer stock. We are a little
light on with steamers but there are more arriving in the next
couple of weeks. We’ve whipped up our supply now that we know we
have a great product that is well tested.
BeachGrit: Those trunks are pretty wild for 45
bucks.
Ryan: Yeah, we tried to create the perfect boardshort so we got the
best fabric on the market got the best board short factory in the
world to make it and priced it for $45. People are pretty stoked on
it!
BeachGrit: What else y’got?
Ryan: Okay, this is how we work. We don’t release a lot of new
products. We just try and continually improve our essentials. We
don’t revise our products every season to make them look fresh in
store or in a marketing campaign. That way we can slowing improve
our products with every production run and by not always changing
we eliminate the risk of mistakes and faulty materials or
technology. We have a few new products lined up for the new year
that really focus on colder water. People in cold climes have to
spend so much on rubber every year and we want to help them out
with new options. We have an epic hooded 5/4/3, boots and gloves
that we have just finished testing in July and August in the south
island of New Zealand that we are really happy with.
BeachGrit: Tell me about the design of the suits. Do you
design? Are they picked off the rack?
Ryan: Yup, we design all our suits. We don’t skimp on the
quality of fabric, components or manufacturers. That’s the
foundation of how Need works. Best materials in the market, best
manufacturers in the world and best components. What we do
eliminate are all the things that add cost that don’t make a
difference to the function or comfort in the wetsuit. By foregoing
retail mark-ups, branding, swing tags and packaging, athlete
royalties, expensive marketing campaigns and fads in trend and
technology we can make a world-class wetsuit at a fraction of the
cost.
BeachGrit: You don’t call yourself a company, but rather
a supply network. Talk me through that?
Ryan: We are pretty different to other surf brands! We don’t see
ourselves as a brand but more a supply network. We don’t do fashion
or fads, we just focus on surfers genuine needs. We understand that
most surfers just need a great product that keeps them warm and is
built to last but they don’t want to pay top dollar for all the
extra noise.