Below you will find helpful and relevant articles that we carefully curate for the benefit of our B.R.A. Retail Members almost every day. Be sure to scroll through the most recent article or use the Search/Lookup feature to find topics and keywords related to articles that may help you to lower costs, increase margins or create more remarkable customer experiences.
by admin | May 4, 2025 | Brick & Mortar, Industry, News, Retail Economy, Skateboard, Tariffs
There’s been a lot of speculation about the exact effects of the latest tariff (145%) on Chinese goods. And while we’re sure every at-home economist likely has a few valid points, we wanted to hear directly from the people actually making and selling skateboards about...
by admin | May 2, 2025 | Brick & Mortar, Community, News, Retail Strategy, Retail Technologies, Surf
Hi, I’m Cheyne Cottrell, General Manager and Co-Owner of Island Water Sports. My family has been riding the waves of the surf retail industry since 1977. This is my short story of how we navigated decades of challenges and expanded into new opportunities. I’ve also...
by admin | Apr 30, 2025 | Governmental Affairs, News, Opinion, Retail Economy, Retail Strategy, Tariffs
You really can’t argue with Joe Feldman, an analyst at Telsey Advisory Group: “We are spending a lot of time on something that continues to change and is rapidly changing. It’s not even worth trying.” Ever-changing, ever-chaotic, ever-devastating, the Trump Tariff...
by admin | Apr 28, 2025 | Brick & Mortar, Customer Experience, Customer Service, HR, Opinion, Resources, Retail Strategy, Sales Training
The scene plays out in one of America’s most prestigious department stores: A customer looking to purchase a high-end coat walks the sales floor for 15 minutes. During that time, not a single employee acknowledges him. Some are busy with their phones; others are...
by admin | Apr 26, 2025 | Resources, Retail Strategy, Shipping
When you think about how to optimize your shipping operations, the freight you receive from vendors might not be the first thing that comes to mind. However, you have more control over your inbound shipping than you may realize, and when you have the right resources...
by admin | Apr 24, 2025 | Industry, Opinion, Safety and preparedness, Skateboard, Skateboard Film Review
People throw out the words “iconic” and “legendary” pretty damn willy-nilly these days… Hell I’m probably guilty of it too when referencing my niche interests that nobody else gives a shit about. But when scrawling out a list of iconic skate videos, it’s...
by admin | Apr 22, 2025 | Competitions, Debate, Industry, News, Olympics, Opinion, Snowboard, Surf
Caroline Marks certainly made USA Surfing proud. The entity wants to continue to help develop athletes like her. Photo: ISA Editor’s Note: The following opinion was penned by Vipe Desai, SIMA’s executive director, world champion Shaun Tomson, Peter “PT” Townend, USA...
by admin | Apr 20, 2025 | Artificial Intelligence / CHAT GPT, Brick & Mortar, News, Resources, Retail Strategy, Retail Technologies, Reviews
Credit: Getty Images by MoMo Productions Competing in the tech-saturated business landscape is easier than you might think Industries are rapidly adopting artificial intelligence. Today, 83 percent of companies are prioritizing AI in their business plans,...
by Doug Works | Apr 18, 2025 | Community, Industry, News, Resources, Retail Strategy, Skateboard, Snowboard, SUP, Surf, Trade Shows
Image of a vintage copy of The Surfer Quarterly over from when an issue only cost $.75 courtesy of Surfer Mag SAN DIEGO — CARV Expo, taking place June 20–22 at the San Diego Convention Center, will bring together board sports brands, retailers, athletes, media, and...
by admin | Apr 16, 2025 | Brick & Mortar, Distinguished Retail Members, Legends, Resources, Retail History, Retail Strategy, Retail Technologies
Push play to listen to this insightful interview of George The begining of Modern Skate and Surf MARKGeorge, could you tell me a little bit about the history of Modern Skate and Surf, you’ve been around since 1979 is that right? GEORGEThat’s correct. I...
