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.

“Outdoor Retailers Give Customers Their Expertise for Free. Should They? – Here’s how shops can monetize non-paying customers who just want free information” by David Gladish via Outside Business Journal

by admin | Oct 22, 2022 | Customer Loyalty, Customer Service, Industry, Outdoor, Retail Strategy

Photo: Nikola Stojadinovic/Getty If you’ve ever worked in outdoor retail, you are probably all too familiar with a particular customer. They come in, use up your time and expertise to gain product knowledge and find the proper fit, subtly (or not so subtly) take a...

“Has Surf Culture Outgrown Competitive Surfing?” by Sam George via The Inertia

by admin | Oct 13, 2022 | Community, Competitions, Industry, Surf

A scene that after all these years, isn’t that different from the one below. Photo: Sean Rowland//WSL I was never much of a professional surfing competitor. Meaning an honest personal assessment would place me far from a serious contender, but more like an...

“New Book ‘SURFER Magazine 1960-2020’ Captures Essence of Publication’s Six-Decade Run” by Sam George via The Inertia

by admin | Oct 6, 2022 | Book Review, Industry, Surf

The Chris Burkard shot from Iceland made famous in the pages of SURFER. Like just about every other surfer over the age of, let’s say, 20, I distinctly remember the very first issue of SURFER magazine I ever saw. It was the summer of 1967, and as...

“Sign the Petition for a Designation Plaque for Velzy’s, the Worlds First Surf Shop” by Jaqueline May via MoveOn.org petitions

by admin | Oct 3, 2022 | Brick & Mortar, Industry, News, Retail History, Surf

Dale Velzy opened the world’s first surf shop at 117 Manhattan Beach blvd, Manhattan Beach, California in 1950. We support installing a bronze plaque to designate this historical spot. Why is this important? There are numerous bronze plaques around Manhattan Beach...

“Patagonia: Conscious Capitalism” by Robin Lewis via The Robin Report

by admin | Sep 29, 2022 | Community, Industry, News, Outdoor, Sustainability

I’m offering yet another report on Patagonia that I’m tossing into the ring, now full of one adulatory article or broadcast interview after another. However hesitant I was to follow lemming-like this cascade of applause for Patagonia’s founder Yvon Chouinard, I...

“Vans Brooklyn Block Party” by Staff via Transworld Skateboarding

by admin | Sep 27, 2022 | Brick & Mortar, Community, Industry, News, Skateboard

Located in Brooklyn’s bustling Bushwick neighborhood, Vans’ Skate Space 198 is an NYC skater’s oasis that first opened its doors to the city’s skateboarding community in January 2020. Now, more than two and a half years later, Vans Skateboarding is...