A socially darwinian missile launched from surf conference!
Last night the President of the United States Donald J. Trump met with some of his generals etc. at the White House and told the gathered reporters that they were witnessing “the calm before the storm.” Oh this tease sent the news into overdrive. What could this provocative phrase be referring to? Iran? North Korea?
Who knows? And frankly I didn’t care because I was busy pondering a far more disturbing statement delivered at the Transworld Business 2017 State of Surf Q2 even from two nights ago by Nixon’s Vice President of Sales Americas Brian White.
He told the gathering:
Overall, there is an evolution happening, and some retailers who aren’t in the business to support and elevate the entire community are hurting the market for everyone, White said.
“We need to let the weak die, because if they can’t win by assortment or by the experience they are providing, then they win by lowering the price, and it needs to go away.”
Whoa.
Who are these weak that need to die? Like… who? Like… which surf shops? Does your local surf shop need to die? And what do you think in general about survival of the fittest as a concept? Are you Hitlerian or do your politics line up more with Gandhi?
I prefer socialism. See all those charity second-hand used clothing shops … they are the future. Recycle and reuse. For the masses. For the planet. You can for 1 gbp but a knitted woolen jumper formerly worn by an actual fisherman or knitted by a grandma smashed on gin! And bypass OK, Former, Patagonia, and all other pretenders. Bomus: Have more money for pints. You may, however, have to forego being attractive to women. But I am OK with that.
Live and let live.
Yeah, well fuck Ayn Rand and the intern she rode in on.
It is time to cull the heard. Weak links will die in a down market. Far from Fascism and socialism of Ghandi is the FREE market Capitalistic society that we have today. The strong will survive and thrive, the weak will wither and die. Thats on a macro and micro level. Nixon is no exception from this rule and neither is the small shop that doesn’t adapt to the changing market. Be smart, innovative, cunning and wise and you can successfully navigate this road, otherwise when the market naturally shrinks you will die.
Pretty soon everyone except the elite or ignorant will be wearing Need wetties or other similar cut price suits, so I assume by letting the weak die they mean let the companies like Quik or Bong implode and disappear?
When John John’s face isn’t plastered all over every Pac Sun, Macy’s, Bloomies, etc. then you (yeah, you…HURLEY) are wasting your most marketable employee.
He’s just talking a monopoly again whereby big boys can keep prices high, or wherever they want!! His biggest call is price “they win by lowering the price, it has to go away”
Fuck off idiot
We know where the monopoly ends – see Quik, surfstitch
Just shop at Target/Big W whatever, buy a no brand, and we can picket/boycott the brands as well as the WSL.
Local surf shop: great coffee, a few shirts from TCSS, a penny board and a couple of 1600 shortboards from South Cali. Also a life size bronze statue of Alex Knost with a boner that you can hang your bag or jacket while shopping.
Dream shop
STATE OF SURF Q2 synopsis; We’re fucked because of Amazon, Ecommerce is hard so we gave up, and the WSL has awesome social engagement but we’re not sure what it means and if there’s any value / linkage to a profitable business model.
they should have called it “State of Businesses Pretending to Be about Surf”
Ha! A surf conference. Surely the main topic should be; ‘The People™ are revolting, how do we cash in?’
Let them eat chia
The weak did die asshat it was called the wavestorm carbon wrapacolypse. These past few years if your just “ok at fun shapes” your dead if you can’t throw down a cnc cut and a 10 foot glider rail line by hand ,you probably don’t exist or are so damn bitter,you’ve picked up tying flies or some shit.
Also, what does “win by assortment” mean?
Yes, wtf business speak is that?
Can I write up a business plan that claims our company will win by assorting?
No, no product per se, just an assortment of virtual ideas.
An assortment of lifestyles and whatnot.
I think he means people should sell more Nixon in their ” assortment” of brands and anyone who doesn’t is a poo head
Knost, Ford, and Doheny shall be the ambassadors
I think Tyler Warren but playing the character of Brunker Spreckels. You know a bit like when Cate Blanchett played Bob Dylan.
WAIT WAIT WAIT
Nixon still exists? My god, why? Their watches are somehow already letting in seawater before you even remove them from the packaging.
i am wearing one right now in fact!
Haha me too! The one I had that DID get seawater in it was replaced by the company. Vestal, on the other hand, is a 100% pure garbage timepiece.
we are nerds.
$20 Casio for me.
does it have a calculator?
Nah, but it’s water-thingy til 100 whatsits.
The only thing that gets to it is static electricity from particularly cheap garments. Zaps the chip and I have to reset the time.
G-shock all the way baby
Waaaaait, I thought Jack O’Neill wore an eyepatch? Was it for show? SCANDAL
He’s talking about SurfStitch.
He’s talking about surf ‘news’ aggregator websites filled with banal commentary, autoplay videos, and plastered in obnoxious ads. Clearly those don’t support our entire community.
The surf community is just one big, despicable Disqus thread.
Business is business.Poor old Darwin trained to be a parson goes out and kills god off for good .Business like DNA ain’t got no soul .
I’m somewhere between Stalin and Hitler.
The surf shops around here are alright, but I suspect some of the guys who work in them might already be dead. A bit like God.
A lot to unpack in this comment!
The People™ need comments they can get their teeth into.
Ha , blame the retailers for accepting, ” sale or return, consignment , shop rent paid for years to get product in store,etc!”
What is really evolving is the death of branding/marketing to the real surfers , who have now rejected “the Brands” and hence the retail stores are suffering as they have a shop full of branded expensive “surf wear” that no self respecting surfer would buy let alone wear!
Hilarious to see a Vice President from Nixon , calling for the weak to die , and not lower prices , when the whole industry is currently shrinking ,a full blown recession , and its the retailers fault,hahaha!!
Next he will tell you , that the WSL will save the real retailers by creating a contest format in the Surf Ranch/theme park , releasing the WSL branded clothing line, and just taking over surfing,
the Surf brands cannot sponsor any WSL contests because there is a conflict of interest by the WSL being a Surf Clothing brand, so the WSL become the biggest Global Surf Brand , and when they start making watches…..me think Mr White will go grey!