Welcome to the Board Retailers Association (BRA) website. Below you will find helpful and relevant articles that we carefully curate for the benefit of our BRA Retail Members several times per week. Be sure to scroll through the most recent articles or use the Search/Lookup feature in the Menu above to find topics and keywords related to recent and not-so-recent articles that may help you lower costs, increase margins, or create more remarkable customer experiences. We deliberately made this our site landing page to demonstrate our commitment to “Protecting Retailers and a Lifestyle” for over 20 years (since 2003).
Be sure to visit the About Us, Retail Member Benefits and Join pages on this site to learn more about and benefit from our resourceful nonprofit trade association committed to helping board specialty, outdoor specialty, and lifestyle specialty retailers to survive, thrive, and keep “the special in specialty” for free.
“How to Improve Talent Retention This Holiday Season” by Dr. Natalie Baumgartner via Total Retail
Credit: iStock.com by Drazen Retail workers are leaving their jobs at a record pace, with 721,000 workers quitting in August alone, maintaining an industry high for employee turnover since April. What’s more, employers in the retail space that were already...
“Retail Sales Training: Pepper Your Presentation to Remove Insecurity” by Bob Phibbs (The Retail Doctor)
Ever been at a great dinner and used the salt instead of the pepper? The whole entree is ruined. This retail sales training blog is about peppering your approach to avoid the salt of insecurity. A colleague of mine, Carol Spiekerman posted this on her blog. I...
“Concerns over omicron could shift spending away from experiences, retail trade group says” by Melissa Repko via CNBC
A person with a hand full of shopping bags walks by as Black Friday sales begin at The Outlet Shoppes of the Bluegrass in Simpsonville, Kentucky, November 26, 2021.Jon Cherry | Reuters KEY POINTS National Retail Federation CEO Matt Shay said Tuesday that the new...
“Jump on Board with Locally” by Calista Tufankjian
Come ride the Locally wave Are you Looking for a new way to connect brands and shoppers? Locally is your answer. Locally is a dynamic store and product locator company with thousands of retailers integrated providing shoppers with nearby, in stock products...
“The Future of Surf Pools” by Dashel Pierson via Surfline.com
Anyone with even the faintest interest in surfing can likely remember where they were, what they were doing, when the first video of Kelly Slater’s wavepool dropped. (I was on the couch, soaking in the reality of Adriano de Souza’s World Title win, which...
“Investing in Associates is Good for Business” by Rob Klitsch via Total Retail
The tide is turning in retail. Despite staff and supply shortages that may burden shoppers and encumber stores during the holiday season, signs of growing optimism for the future abound. While last year the industry underwent a scourge of bankruptcies and...
“Virgil Abloh dies at 41” by Daphne Howland via Retail Dive
Courtesy of LVMH Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton Dive Brief: Fashion designer Virgil Abloh, founder of Off-White and artistic director for men's at Louis Vuitton, died on Sunday. He was 41.Abloh had been undergoing treatment for a rare and aggressive cancer, cardiac...
“How To Use Email Marketing To Increase Retail Sales In December” by Bob Phibbs (the Retail Doctor)
Are you looking for how to use email marketing in December to lure holiday shoppers back to your store again and again? You've come to the right place for ideas. Customers are out there shopping for a once-in-a-generation spending spree, but how focused are you on...
“HALF OF HOLIDAY GIFT SPENDING WILL BE SPENT ON GIFT CARDS” via Industry Resource
People around the world plan to spend more on holiday gifts this year, and more of that spending is targeted at gift cards according to the 2021 Global Holiday Shopping Forecast released by global branded payments provider Blackhawk Network. The report...
“Selema Masekela Talks About Mami Wata’s Mission to Redefine Surf Lifestyle” by Will Seleo via The Inertia
Mami Wata seeks to change the global perception of African surf culture through establishing itself as a major brand in the surf lifestyle space. Photo: Mami Wata. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1dZ4N2-x58&feature=emb_imp_woyt Brands, and especially clothing...
“6 Essential Strategies to Make Your Holiday Creative Stand Out” by Polly Wong via Total Retail
In case you missed it, the holidays are in full swing. Media outlets have started reporting on the top toys for the season, Amazon.com is moving up Black Friday to start now (!), and the threat of supply chain snarls and shipping delays are...
“ICSC: 86% of consumers will shop over Thanksgiving weekend” by Tatiana Walk-Morris via Retail Dive
image by Libby Penner Dive Brief: As shoppers prepare for the busiest shopping weekend of the year, a new report from ICSC predicts that consumers will spend $491 on average between Thanksgiving and Cyber Monday, bringing in a total of over $108 billion for the...
“How To Determine If Your Employee Scheduling Is Too Lean” by Bob Phibbs (The Retail Doctor)
Almost every retailer looks at employee scheduling as their most expensive operating cost. I see employees as an asset, not a liability, but that’s another post... Stores that were designed to run on six employees are now limping along on two...or even one. How do...
“TikTok usage surpassed Instagram this year among kids aged 12 to 17, Forrester survey says” by Salvador Rodriguez via CNBC
Adam Mosseri speaks onstage at the WIRED25 Summit 2019 - Day 1 at Commonwealth Club on November 08, 2019 in San Francisco, California.Matt Winkelmeyer | Getty Images KEY POINTS More Americans between the ages of 12 and 17 are using TikTok than Instagram on a weekly...
“Your In-Store Customer Experience and Bottom Line Are Linked. Here’s Why” by Bobby Marhamat via Total Retail
Credit: Getty Images by Maskot Regardless of retail’s latest headwind, brick-and-mortar organizations continue to embrace their enduring mission: get consumers into retail locations and convince them to part with their money. The emphasis on e-commerce over the past...
“The Big-Wave Season Officially Opens for Jaws and Nazaré” by Alexander Haro via The Inertia
Big wave season is open. Grab your big wave guns. Photo: WSL/Bryanna Bradley On November 15, the World Surf League’s Big Wave season window officially opened. Two of the most exciting events in all of surfing are on standby for the next few months: the Quiksilver...
“Top 5 KPIs for Actionable Retail Decisions” by RICS Software (BRA Supporting Vendor Partner)
A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is a measurement of business performance and health. The best KPIs help you make decisions and take action towards achieving your goals. At a minimum, we recommend you review these Top 5 KPIs for Actionable Retail Decisions weekly,...
“The Jobs Problem In Retail Isn’t What You Think” by Bob Phibbs (The Retail Doctor)
Much is being written about people quitting and the Great Resignation. People quit all the time and oftentimes find the grass isn't always greener. But the jobs problem in retail isn't what others are telling you. I was in Manhattan last week shopping and enjoying a...
“GROUND GLASS: BRAD CROMER” by James Thompson via Jenkem Mag
Over the last few years we’ve seen a few videographers include 16mm film in their edits. While it’s common to see a couple of seconds of b-roll or a trick thrown in as an artsy break, very few attempt to capture an entire video on film. At $50 a minute, you’re at the...
“Vans Marketing Executive on the Evolution of the Triple Crown of Surfing” by Tiffany Montgomery via Shop Eat Surf
John John Florence, who won the digital Vans Triple Crown of Surfing in men's in 2020 - Photo by Ryan Miller courtesy of Vans Click on the following link to view this interesting Shop Eat Surf Article: Vans Marketing Executive on the Evolution of the Triple Crown...
“Why Retailers Should Focus on Online Reviews to Improve Credibility and Drive More Sales” by Heidi Sullivan via Total Retail
Credit: Getty Images by Kiyoshi Hijiki It’s not a novel concept anymore, but in an age of instant gratification when consumers have all the information they need right at their fingertips — and at a moment’s notice — many retail businesses are finding that sometimes...
“Retailers Future-Proof the In-Store Experience with Digital Precision” by Steve Mauchline and Min Chen
Lately, though, this “dot the i’s and cross the t’s” mindset has gone by the wayside more frequently than is ideal. We know that the most enjoyable and exciting shopping experiences happen when it’s clear that associates care not just about the retail and...
“How To Prepare For Small Business Saturday Nov 27” by Bob Phibbs (The Retail Doctor)
Small businesses have survived the judgment made about them as “non-essential” and now there is a groundswell of support for them this Small Business Saturday that didn’t exist just a few years ago. We collectively woke up and realized it really mattered that we chose...
“How to Create One Connected System for your Retail Store” by RICS Software (BRA Supporting Vendor Partner)
As businesses grow, the importance of system integration grows with it. Without it, you lose time and money. System integration is connecting software applications allowing them to talk to each other and act as one coordinated platform. Top retailers have found ways...
“No Retention Without Reward: It’s Time to Revolutionize the Way Retail Workers Are Compensated” by Jake Levin via Total Retail
Credit: Getty Images by Ryan J. Lane COVID-19 created a shakeup for retailers in all categories across the U.S., with brick-and-mortar operations undergoing some of the most significant operational changes they've ever faced. Sales associates have also felt the brunt...
“What should retailers do about angry reviews?” by Tom Ryan via Retail Wire
A university study finds that while the general assumption is that an abundance of helpful reviews — whether positive or negative — is ultimately more influential in driving purchases, anger in negative reviews is not helpful. Across six laboratory...
“Brainfloss: Steve Caballero” via Transworld Skateboarding
Push Play to view this remarkable video article Stevie Cab, over 40 years deep as a pro. But did you know he’s been making art the whole time as well? We wanted to shine a light on one of Cab’s many talents. From comic books and hot rod...
“Learn How to Increase Sales in Retail with These 8 Pro Tips” by Bob Phibbs (The Retail Doctor)
Looking for resources on how to increase sales in retail during a pandemic? The key is to realize in many ways, brick-and-mortar retailers have a finite client base. After all, there are only so many people who will be willing to walk into your store with or without a...
“Sierra Kerr’s Air Game is Turning Heads – AND SHE’S ONLY 14 YEARS OLD” via Surfer Mag
If you’re wondering what the future of surfing will look like, turn your eyes upon the jaw-dropping compilation below and you’ll get a solid glimpse of the progression that lies ahead. Fourteen-year-old Sierra Kerr (offspring of Tour vet and airshow standout Josh...
“4 Ways to Power Touchless Retail with Text Messaging” by Podium (BRA Supporting Vendor Partner)
Companies from Amazon to Zoom are rethinking their customer experience in the post-COVID era. See how innovative retailers are responding with text-based messaging, touchless payments, and more. COVID-19 has completely transformed consumer behavior. 85% of...
“Local Olympian Hosts Women’s Skate Event, Raises Money for Survivors of Domestic Violence” by Katie Lane via NBC
TOKYO, JAPAN: Amelia Brodka of Poland competes during the Women’s Skateboarding Park Preliminary Heat on day twelve of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Urban Sports Park on August 04, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images) La Paloma Theatre...
“NRF PREDICTS HIGHEST HOLIDAY RETAIL SALES ON RECORD” via Industry Resources
Holiday spending has the potential to shatter previous records, as the National Retail Federation today forecast that holiday sales during November and December will grow between 8.5 percent and 10.5 percent over 2020 to between $843.4 billion and $859...
“Why Your Selling And Training Methods Don’t Work…And The Simple Fix” by Bob Phibbs (The Retail Doctor)
It has been said that no one likes to wait. Yet stores that have a long line tend to attract even more people to wait because they feel it must be worth it.Few of us like it when someone has power over us. Think The doctor will see you now or You’ll...
City of Huntington Beach Becomes 100th West Coast Municipality to Pass a Resolution Opposing New Offshore Drilling by Surfrider Foundation via Shop Eat Surf
River Jetties Huntington Beach credit Mona Haddad with Surfrider Foundation” Huntington Beach, Calif., October 20, 2021— Today, the Surfrider Foundation and ocean advocates are celebrating a significant victory after the City of Huntington Beach became the...
“Retailers Must Find a Way to Keep Pace With Emerging Instagram, TikTok Trends” by Adrien Nussenbaum via Total Retail
In December 2020, a Scottish mailman named Nathan Evans uploaded a video to TikTok singing a 19th Century sea shanty called “Wellerman.” Within days, his rendition of a more-than-200-year-old song was shared worldwide, leading to countless online collaborations,...
“Why Retailers Should Display Christmas Merchandise Before Halloween” by Bob Phibbs (The Retail Doctor)
Why do retailers put out Christmas merchandise before Halloween? Because customers buy it. It's that time of the year ... Time for the leaves to change and drop... Corn mazes to sprout up... Pumpkin spice lattes... and the perennial favorite of writers...
“‘Surfer Susie’ Is the Most Stoked 74-Year-Old Surfer on the Planet” by Rebecca Parsons via The Inertia
Surfer Susie in her element. Photo: Courtesy of Susie Terry You’d be hard pressed to find someone more stoked on surfing than Susie Terry. Born and raised in Ventura, Calif., Susie (now known as “Surfer Susie”) was first intrigued by the idea of riding waves...
“THE 27TH ANNUAL TAMPA PRO is underway plus link to view the Finals as well as the 2020 Pro Contest” via SPoTtampa.com
Skatepark of Tampa (BRA Distinguished Retail Member)* is back with the the most historic contest in skateboarding. Whether you'll be coming to SPoT to experience the stoke first hand, or keeping it virtual and tuning in to the world's...
“How Retailers Can Teach Empathy for De-Escalation” by Derek Belch via Total Retail
Retailers and consumers alike had just started to feel hopeful about a post-pandemic future a mere few weeks ago. However, with the COVID-19 Delta variant quickly becoming a concern, retailers across the country have made the move to reinstate mask mandates...
“Pandemic-related delays force retailers to tweak holiday messages” by Arriana McLymore and Siddharth Cavalevia via Reuters.com
NEW YORK, Oct 12 (Reuters) - Season’s greetings from your favorite retailer come with a 2021-style postscript. That gift you want to get for your loved one? It may be out of stock. And the hot toy? It may not arrive in time for Christmas. Americans collectively are...
“DC Shoes is proud to present, ‘THIS TOO SHALL PASS’, a short documentary about mental health issues in the skateboarding community.” – be sure to share this important video with your customers
https://youtu.be/K_uYb17XfVY Push play to view this important video Everyone you meet is fighting a battle you know nothing about. Be kind. Always. DC Shoes is proud to present, "THIS TOO SHALL PASS", a short documentary about mental health issues in the skateboarding...
“To Meet Customers’ In-Store Expectations, Retailers Must Master ‘Phygital’ Experiences” by Jaime Betancourt via Total Retail
Credit: Getty Images by bernard bodo Distance makes the heart grow fonder, sure. But it can also create romanticized expectations that are near impossible to meet. While there's certainly a lot to miss about physical shopping, it's possible some consumers have built...
“Key Industry Surf Shops Impacted by Oil Spill” by Tiffany Montgomery via Shop Eat Surf
Workers cleaning oil that washed ashore on Corona Del Mar State Beach Wednesday - Photo courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard The oil spill in Orange County that has closed beaches in Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, and Dana Point is not only a crisis for the...
“Just How Much Does Music Change the Way We View Surfing?” by Juan Hernandez via The Inertia
That headline was a rhetorical question. Of course music impacts our viewing of surf videos. A lot. In fact, music doesn’t just have an effect on how we view surfing, a guy like Quentin Tarantino would argue music completely controls how...
“A LOOK AT SOME OF SKATEBOARDING’S GREATEST DISPLAYS OF FILMING” by Justin The Intern via Jenkem Mag
To some skaters out there, filming might seem like a pretty simple task. First, you have to buy a half-decent camera with a fisheye, and then all you really have to do is keep the skater in the frame and make sure the colors aren’t too blown out. Easy, right? Maybe,...
“A ship anchor hooking the pipeline may have caused the California oil spill, preliminary report says” by Madeline Holcombe, Eric Levenson, Amir Vera and Cheri Mossburg via CNN plus relevant letter from SIMA President
(CNN) An anchor hooking an oil pipeline may have caused the Southern California spill that spewed more than 100,000 gallons of oil into the Pacific Ocean, the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said in a notice to operation owner...
“Mobile retail aspires to attain food truck-like popularity” by Tom Ryan via Retail Wire
Mobile retail is at the early experimental phase of development, but operators are looking to achieve the same level of acceptance as food trucks have achieved in the restaurant space. The Lovesac Company, the home furnishing brand known for its adaptable Sactionals...
“When Retailers Mistake Their Most Important Asset As A Cost” by Bob Phibbs (The Retail Doctor)
For years we’ve heard that employee expenses are driving retail profit margins down; as a result, labor hours were cut. That meant shoppers were more likely not to see anyone working in a store, that they most likely would have to wait for assistance, and...
“A Rock Star’s Next Act: Making Montana a Skateboarding Oasis” by Jim Robbins via The New York Times
Photographs by Todd Heisler BROWNING, Mont. — This is not the Montana where the wealthy are building ski-in and ski-out mansions or refurbishing a trout stream on a new ranch. Browning is the capital of the Blackfeet Nation, where the rolling, grass-covered...
“SQUARE AND TIKTOK PARTNER TO HELP BUSINESSES EXPAND THEIR REACH ONLINE” via Industry Resource
Square and TikTok announced a new integration that will make it easy for sellers of all types and sizes to reach new customers and grow their sales online. Square x TikTok enables sellers to send fans directly from TikTok videos, ads, and shopping tabs...
“Analysts throw cold water on the great DTC pivot” by Ben Unglesbee via Retail Dive
image courtesy of Daphne Howland/Retail Dive Dive Brief: As brands large and small try to capture more margin by selling directly to consumers, analysts with BMO Capital Markets question whether the strategy is truly more profitable.In a recent report, the analysts...
“5 Steps to Get Your Website in Shape for a Competitive Q4” by Jason Rosenbaum via Total Retail
Photo Credit: Getty Images With the holidays right around the corner, retail brands will be looking for ways to stand out in a crowded marketplace. They’ll have to look hard, because they’ll be facing unprecedented competition. Over the past year, many B-to-B-to-C...
“How To Fix The Fatal Mistake That’s Losing You Retail Customers” by Bob Phibbs (The Retail Doctor)
Online retailers and discounters have taken their toll on many brick-and-mortar stores. Macy's, JC Penney, and Kohl’s have each closed locations, and Lord & Taylor closed all physical store locations. You might be worried that you are next, especially if you are...
“A Look Back: Dogtown and Z Boys” (mini documentary about the documentary) by Glen E. Friedman via Thrasher Mag
Dogtown and The Z Boys found an audience outside of the traditional skateboard community. Tony Alva, Peggy Oki, Stacy Peralta and more from the OG Zephyr scene break down why it worked and what was missing. Big Thanks to Glen E Friedman and Vans....
“Why raising minimum wage is no longer enough to draw in retail workers – Workers are not responding to these cues as they traditionally have. Why? Most retailers are using an outdated hiring playbook” by David Ritter and Conor Gaffney via Retail Dive
Editor's note: The following is a guest post from David Ritter, a managing director, and Conor Gaffney, an associate in the consumer and retail group, at global professional services firm Alvarez and Marsal. They can be reached...
“Will overstocking get retailers through the holidays?” by Tom Ryan via Retail Wire
Big box retailers are pulling forward orders earlier than normal and aggressively investing in core items as supply chain bottlenecks threaten to lead to empty shelves over the holiday season. In many cases, inventories are up double-digit percentage points compared...
“New Social Commerce Tools Can Boost Businesses This Holiday Season” by Thibaud Clément via Total Retail
A breadth of new social commerce tools and features will make shopping online this holiday season look very different from years past. Throughout the past year, e-commerce has seen an enormous boom fueled by physical retail limitations and closures caused by the...
“Watch Now: ‘The Curious Tales of Italo Ferreira – THE EPIC BIOPIC ABOUT THE 2019 WORLD CHAMP AND OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST IS FINALLY HERE’ by Surfer Mag
https://youtu.be/FjreKua08o0 Trailer: The Curious Tales of Italo Ferreira (push play) Roughly 18 years ago, in a small fishing town located along the northeastern curve of Brazil, current World Champ and 2021 Olympic Gold Medalist Italo Ferreira first learned how to...
“SKATEBOARDING IS FASHION – NYFW, The Olympics, Pants, and ZZ Top” by Anthony Pappalardo of Artless Industria®
Last week, I attended a panel discussion celebrating the release of Kyle Beachy’s new title The Most Fun Thing: Dispatches from a Skateboard Life at the McNally Jackson Seaport book store in Manhattan. The panelists included Beachy, Jessica Edwards, Noah Johnson,...
“Carissa Moore and Gabriel Medina Are Officially the 2021 World Champions – RECAPPING A HISTORIC DAY OF COMPETITIVE SURFING” by staff writer at Surfer Mag
After a historic day of competitive surfing at Lower Trestles yesterday, Carissa Moore and Gabriel Medina are officially your 2021 World Champions. The Rip Curl WSL Finals offered a new format to decide the final World No. 1s–and thanks to pumping conditions, it kept...