Brutal capitalism or good business?
There has, for years upon years, been a sort of decorum in the surfboard industry. Domestic shapers, aware of the high production cost, necessity for specialized labor, etc. have decided not to ruthlessly undercut each other on price in the marketplace. You will never walk into a surf shop and see a Channel Islands board going for $700, say, then see a similar model from Mayhem going for $400. Nor will you see such behavior online. Sales on surfboards, directly from the companies, are rare to non-existent and everyone lives in peace and happiness.
Enter Firewire.
The disruptive technology which allowed boards to be built in Thailand and shipped to Australia, America, Brazil (where the sun is currently shining through gathering clouds). Labor costs and materials are very much cheaper. The whole shooting match, in fact, one of premium margin enhancement.
Mister Business.
Surf great Kelly Slater, as you know, is majority owner of the company, having purchased a 70% stake some eight years ago and has recently decided to smash a fist into the face of competitors. Eight months ago, Firewire announced a “once in a lifetime sale” ahead of the holidays, slashing prices by 30% on popular models, which was magically extended.
Another 30% sale was offered and now, Thunderbolt surfboards, which utilize a similar construction as Firewire and is distributed by, is hacking prices by 30% as summer reaches its apex.
Why the sale?
Being produced, en masse and overseas, the pop-out board manufacturers are less able to calculate for variances in demand. When overproduction results, the excess inventory is liquidated in the same way as patio furniture or mattresses.
Everything must go.
“The market is so flooded with highly discounted product for, basically, the entire year,” a hard-toiling surfboard maker told me. “You can’t compete against that. In short, their greed and poor planning is ruining the lives of domestic board builders. Anybody that supports those companies are not worthy surfers.”
Do you agree?
Are you willing to pay the price necessary in order to assure that shapers, glassers, sanders, etc. can feed their families or are you a Darwinian capitalist through and through? Cut-throat to the core.
Believing, like the recently departed Pat Robertson, that “Feminism encourages women to leave their husbands, kill their children, practice witchcraft, destroy capitalism and become lesbians.”
Oh sorry, wrong quote.