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Specialty Retailers and the Board Sports Lifestyle
Surf | Skate | Snow | SUP | Swim | Outdoor | Wake

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Specialty Retailers and the Board Sports Lifestyle
Surf | Skate | Snow | SUP | Swim | Outdoor | Wake

Lower day to day costs, increase margins, create more remarkable customer experiences

Specialty Retailers and the Board Sports Lifestyle
Surf | Skate | Snow | SUP | Swim | Outdoor | Wake

Stay Current on the Latest Industry News and Consumer Trends

Specialty Retailers and the Board Sports Lifestyle
Surf | Skate | Snow | SUP | Swim | Outdoor | Wake

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 three or four 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

“Balancing Inventory: Making Friends With Retail Pricing and Clearance Sales” by Bob Phibbs via The Retail Doctor Blog

“Balancing Inventory: Making Friends With Retail Pricing and Clearance Sales” by Bob Phibbs via The Retail Doctor Blog

What is the difference between a clearance and a sale? A sale is often a specific brand promotion or even a storewide discount. Why do stores have clearance sales? To help get some of their money back when an item doesn't sell in a profitable timeframe. Clearance or...

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“Why Retailers Must Embrace the ‘Phygital’ Experience” by Lisa Schneider and Ashley McMillin via Total Retail

“Why Retailers Must Embrace the ‘Phygital’ Experience” by Lisa Schneider and Ashley McMillin via Total Retail

Credit: Getty Images by ipopba The whirlwind of the pandemic and the fluctuating economy over the last few years has left retailers quickly adapting to the new demands of today’s consumers. Now that the dust has settled a bit, retailers continue to look for new ways...

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“How consumers are celebrating a record-breaking St. Patrick’s Day – Lucky for retailers, people aren’t just wearing green — they’re spending it too” by Lea Grgich via National Retail Federation Blog

“How consumers are celebrating a record-breaking St. Patrick’s Day – Lucky for retailers, people aren’t just wearing green — they’re spending it too” by Lea Grgich via National Retail Federation Blog

With St. Patrick’s Day just around the corner, consumers are donning green clothes and buying green food dye in preparation for the lucky holiday — and more people are celebrating than ever before. This year, 61% of consumers plan to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day, up...

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“Don’t Ignore Email and SMS: Consumers Surely Haven’t” by Greg Zakowicz via Total Retail

“Don’t Ignore Email and SMS: Consumers Surely Haven’t” by Greg Zakowicz via Total Retail

Credit: Getty Images Looking for a marketing edge? Of course you are, but little did you know that the elusive edge may be closer than you realize. Omnisend’s recently released yearly email and SMS marketing benchmark report analyzed more than 17 billion...

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“3 Ways to EVOLVE Your Social Media Webinar Replay” plus invitation for “3-Day Social Media Confusion To Confidence Challenge”, “Reels Means Deals Replay” & more by Crystal Vilkaitis of Crystal Media (BRA Supporting Vendor Partner)

“3 Ways to EVOLVE Your Social Media Webinar Replay” plus invitation for “3-Day Social Media Confusion To Confidence Challenge”, “Reels Means Deals Replay” & more by Crystal Vilkaitis of Crystal Media (BRA Supporting Vendor Partner)

Marketing is constantly evolving. If you are not keeping up, you're falling behind. But real change doesn't happen overnight. Last week, Crystal Media CEO and social media expert, Crystal Vilkaitis, presented an outstanding webinar called "3 Ways to Evolve Your Social...

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“Skiers And Snowboarders, Men And Women Have Rare Chance To Compete Together In Dew Tour Superpipe Jam” by Michelle Bruton via Forbes plus video of big air and entire competition courtesy of Dew Tour

“Skiers And Snowboarders, Men And Women Have Rare Chance To Compete Together In Dew Tour Superpipe Jam” by Michelle Bruton via Forbes plus video of big air and entire competition courtesy of Dew Tour

Ayumu Hirano competes in the Dew Tour High Air & Best Trick Jam at Copper Mountain MIKE YOSHIDA If you overhear someone today commenting on the “rivalry” between skiers and snowboarders, chances are they were around in the ’70s when snowboarders began to join the...

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“Top 10 tips when preparing for a transaction” by Sharon Bromberg and Daniel Teoh of of BRA Supporting Vendor Partner CohnReznick plus access to relevant and helpful CR / M1 collaborative on-demand webinar

“Top 10 tips when preparing for a transaction” by Sharon Bromberg and Daniel Teoh of of BRA Supporting Vendor Partner CohnReznick plus access to relevant and helpful CR / M1 collaborative on-demand webinar

In our experience as diligence providers and financial advisors seated on each side of the deal, there are too many times we see owners leaving money on the table because they haven’t spent the time and effort necessary to put policies, procedures, and proper...

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“How To Visual Merchandise And Create Killer Retail Display Windows” by Bob Phibbs via Retail Doctor Blog plus intro to outstanding window graphics vendor who is providing a very special discount for BRA Retail Members

“How To Visual Merchandise And Create Killer Retail Display Windows” by Bob Phibbs via Retail Doctor Blog plus intro to outstanding window graphics vendor who is providing a very special discount for BRA Retail Members

Visual Merchandising is something many retailers feel challenged by. What to put in the store window? What to put with it? How much to put in the window? These are great questions to ask yourself. After all, your window is your brand. It's a physical...

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“Skate Shop Day happens in one week plus 2022 recap, link to SSD graphics & letter from Chris Nieratko (SSD Founder and owner of NJ Skate Shop)” reposted by Board Retailers Association

“Skate Shop Day happens in one week plus 2022 recap, link to SSD graphics & letter from Chris Nieratko (SSD Founder and owner of NJ Skate Shop)” reposted by Board Retailers Association

What is Skate Shop Day? Skate Shop Day is the day that the skateboard community celebrates our cultural hubs, the foundations of every skate scene, the places that bring skaters together and act as the glue for skateboarding as a whole. Skate Shop Day is meant to get...

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“9 Tips for Boosting Loyalty Program Success – How To Acquire, Retain, and Engage Your Customers” by ebbo via Napco Research

“9 Tips for Boosting Loyalty Program Success – How To Acquire, Retain, and Engage Your Customers” by ebbo via Napco Research

A confluence of factors, both internal and external, have led consumers to be less loyal to retailers and brands. Internally, the pressure on merchants to raise prices, lower product quality, or take a public stance on a divisive social issue, for example, are top...

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“Aurelien Giraud recognized as World Champion 2023 at yesterday’s World Skate Tour Competition / Olympic Qualifier Event in Sharjah, UAE plus secret to his injury recovery” by Tibs Parise via Clayer Skateboarding Blog

“Aurelien Giraud recognized as World Champion 2023 at yesterday’s World Skate Tour Competition / Olympic Qualifier Event in Sharjah, UAE plus secret to his injury recovery” by Tibs Parise via Clayer Skateboarding Blog

The Frenchman came alive in the best trick section to claim victory over Portugal's Gustavo Ribeiro and 12-year-old Japanese rising star Onodera Ginwoo in the men's final at the street world championships and Olympic Qualifier in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. How did...

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“Top 10 Hidden Gems of Surf Expo 2023 (opinion article)” by Rich Aloha via Wakeboarding Magazine plus link to view photos from the most recent Surf Expo Trade Show

“Top 10 Hidden Gems of Surf Expo 2023 (opinion article)” by Rich Aloha via Wakeboarding Magazine plus link to view photos from the most recent Surf Expo Trade Show

Surf Expo exhibitors fill up a massive hall in Orlando. Rich Aloha Surf Expo, once a watersports wonderland, adds a January event. What can riders now expect from this premier event? Since its debut in 1976, Surf Expo, has drawn in multitudes of surfing...

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“Memphis skateboard community shows support for fellow skater Tyre Nichols” by Stacy Jacobsen via WREG-TV (Local Memphis affiliate station) plus link to video and more news about the brutal murder of a skateboarder

“Memphis skateboard community shows support for fellow skater Tyre Nichols” by Stacy Jacobsen via WREG-TV (Local Memphis affiliate station) plus link to video and more news about the brutal murder of a skateboarder

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WREG) — Appalling, deplorable, and heinous. Those are the words civil rights attorney Ben Crump used after he and Tyre Nichols’ family saw the video of the police encounter leading up to his death for the first time.Tyre Nichols’ family, attorneys see...

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“Is it time for retailers to radically rethink their business models?” by Patricia Vekich Waldron via Retail Wire

“Is it time for retailers to radically rethink their business models?” by Patricia Vekich Waldron via Retail Wire

The business models of many retail businesses have been unsustainable for years and all it took was the pandemic to make that undeniably clear. Pandemic and post-pandemic complications have caused many businesses to experience “inefficiencies, stress and fatigue,”...

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