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.
“Beyond the Resume: 3 Hidden Characteristics of Valuable Employees” by Mike Szczesny via Total Retail
Credit: Getty Images by Luis Alvarez The question of employee engagement has never been more pressing. Coming out of the pandemic, there has been a shift in employee expectations about both pay and working conditions. With potential economic headwinds — e.g., debt...
“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...
“LOUIE BARLETTA ON LEAVING ENJOI AND WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS” by Ian Michna via Jenkem Mag
It’s been a while since a move shocked the skate industry, but just the other day, the announcement of Louie Barletta leaving enjoi hit a lot of 2000s skate babies in the gut. After years of being one of the key and influential figures of the company, Louie...
“14 Ideas for Effective Retail Customer Service Training” by Bob Phibbs via The Retail Doctor Blog
Retail customer service training aims to create an exceptional customer experience. So, what goals do you focus on when you teach your employees how to give customers exceptional experiences? Sometimes good customer service means something quick, cheap, and...
“IN MEMORIAM: THOMAS F. TAYLOR (1966-2023)” by Cullen Poythress via Transworld Skateboarding
Thomas in the pages of TWS. Photo: King Thomas with Grant in the backyard bowl. Photo: @jt_lushbag In the light of the great past masters of our kind, none so embodied the spirit of the craft quite like Thomas Taylor. In our lifetime of friendship and hell raising,...
“3 Reasons Why Retailers Must Use TikTok to Grow Their Business” by Louie Bischoff via Total Retail
Credit: Getty Images by Mario Tama I grew up with a self-employed retail family. Our "family trips" to other cities always involved going to a trade show or to see a new vendor. As a child, I felt slighted and disappointed that these "family trips" were really focused...
“Dick’s Sporting Goods heads for the big outdoors with Moosejaw deal” by George Anderson via Retail Wire
Dick’s Sporting Goods is acquiring Moosejaw from Walmart. The sporting goods giant made the deal to advance its ambitions in the multibillion-dollar outdoor retail market. According to The NPD Group, dollar sales in the outdoor specialty market grew seven percent...
“The Retail Party’s Not Over…It Just Has a Different Menu” by Warren Shoulberg via The Robin Report
A funny thing happened on the way to the next recession: the consumer said, “No thanks.” With surprisingly strong retail sales numbers for January, shoppers are continuing to act like it’s business as usual when it comes to buying things. Driven by high employment...
“Shopping for Relevance: How Retailers Can Increase Sales” by Bob Phibbs via The Retail Doctor Blog
With the rise of online shopping, retailers have to work harder than ever to attract and retain customers. Contrary to the old saw, shoppers only care about price; what shoppers are really looking for is relevance. Shoppers often find relevance in...
“January Retail Sales See Biggest Jump in Nearly 2 Years” by Maria Albiges via Total Retail
Credit: Getty Images by Oatawa U.S. retail sales increased by 3 percent in January, far exceeding expectations for the month, according to the Commerce Department. This is the largest increase since March 2021. The Commerce Department said Wednesday it...
“Louis Vuitton picks Pharrell Williams to lead men’s designs” by Annabelle Liang via BBC News
French fashion brand Louis Vuitton has named Grammy-winning producer, rapper, singer and songwriter Pharrell Williams as its new menswear creative director. The label described Williams as "a visionary whose creative universes expand from music to art, and to...
“Instagram sunsets live shopping as commerce retreat continues” by Peter Adams via Retail Dive
Image Retrieved from Instagram Instagram is sunsetting live shopping on March 16, according to a post on its website. The move is the latest in a series of commerce-related pullbacks from the Meta Platforms app and follows the removal of the Shop tab from its...
“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...
“Pat Fava, Egan Wint Win Red Bull Heavy Metal In Detroit” by Staff via The Inertia
Red Bull Heavy Metal at its best. Photo: RB Red Bull continued its revival of the decades-old Heavy Metal over the weekend. The event was brought back to life in 2022 after a 19-year hiatus, and on Saturday they transformed Detroit’s Hart...
“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...
“Climate Solutions Advocacy: A Powerful Climate Action for Small Business Owners in Board Specialty Retail” by Laurel Eastman of Citizens Climate Lobby
Did you know that as small business owners in the board specialty retail industry, we have a unique opportunity to be leaders in the fight against climate change? Running a small business is a serious amount of work, so I’ll jump right to the good news. The most...
“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...
“The Future of Retail Productivity” by Mikelya Fournier via The Robin Report
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, productivity across retail has not increased in nearly 30 years. In our digital marketplace, more data than ever is being acquired through multiple platforms emerging to keep up with unpredictable consumer behavior. This...
“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...
“How Retailers Can Capitalize on the 5 Types of Shoppers” by Dan Smythe and Cameron Davis via Total Retail
Credit: Getty Images by Daniel Milchev No two customers are the same, yet they share many of the same goals and behaviors. An insightful, 18-month-long study of critical purchasing patterns discovered that shoppers fall into five categories: the...
“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...
“Is it time for retailers to pay their managers OT?” by Tom Ryan via Retail Wire
Photo: Getty Images/FG Trade A university study concludes businesses, including many retailers, are increasingly giving workers promotions with “fabricated” managerial titles but no wage upgrade to avoid paying them overtime wages. Researchers from Harvard...
“5 Reasons Why Apathetic Employees Are Risky Business plus Corrective Strategies to address the problem” by Bob Phibbs via The Retail Doctor Blog
An unmotivated employee can be a real headache for any retail store. Worse, instead of helping you build sales, they can lead to sales decreases. Not only are they unproductive, but their lack of enthusiasm rubs off on the rest of your team, leading to decreased...
“JENKEM VOL. 3 – LATEST AND GREATEST HARDCOVER BOOK HAS ARRIVED” by staff via Jenkem Mag
It’s been quite some time, but we’re back with the third and final installment in our Jenkem Book Series. That’s right, Jenkem Vol. 3 is finally here, consisting of 100% new content, completing the book trilogy we started back when we were even...
“Retail in 2023: Back to Basics” by Chelsea Zhang and Rick Zullo via Total Retail
Credit: Warby Parker Over the last several years we’ve seen a tremendous boon in direct-to-consumer (DTC) and e-commerce strategies for retail. Venture capital flooded into the category leaving incumbent retailers feeling pressured. 2022 started to see a reversal of...
“Mark McMorris Wins Snowboard Slopestyle Gold, Breaks Record for Winter X Games Medals” by Will Sileo via The Inertia
Photo Courtesy of NBC Sports Mark McMorris just became the winningest athlete in Winter X Games history. You can watch the full video below, and I’d recommend it, as there was some insane snowboarding during the entire event. But if you want things summed up nicely,...
“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...
“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...
“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,”...
“An Arizona Ski Resort Just Charged $309 for a Single-Day Lift Ticket” by Juan Hernandez via The Inertia
Arizona Snowbowl. Photo: Twitter // @AZSnowbowl It’s no secret a day on the hill — especially a spontaneous one after welcoming several inches of new snow — isn’t the cheapest way to spend your weekend. Still, breaking the threshold of $300 for a single-day lift...
“How Hybrid Models Have Impacted Retail Shopping” by Anat Shakedd via Total Retail
Credit: Getty Images by ipopba Consumer behavior and shopping experiences have arguably changed more in recent years than ever before. Throughout the pandemic, shoppers became more accustomed to online ordering and the inevitable ease that comes with shopping from the...
“24 Nonprofit Skateboard Organizations That Make a Difference” by Ruben Vee via SkateboardersHQ
Skateboarding has gained ground in such a short time. Through a unique combination of courage, creativity, and an engaging lifestyle, skateboarding has gained popularity worldwide and finds its place among traditional sports like football and baseball. Besides being...
“The Killer of a Skateboarding Legend Went Unnamed for Years. Could Deaths Have Been Prevented?” by David Sjostedt via The San Francisco Standard
Jake Phelps skates a halfpipe at the Hunters Point ramp in San Francisco in 1986. | Courtesy Thrasher Magazine When it was reported that San Francisco skateboarding legend Jake Phelps died peacefully in his Bayview home on March 19, 2019, the legions of global...
“The 12 Worst Excuses for Not Training Retail Employees” by Bob Phibbs via The Retail Doctor Blog
Most CEOs, owners, and managers of retail stores understand that employee training is a key factor in improving customer service, increasing sales, and reducing turnover. Unfortunately, many retailers are still reluctant to invest the time and resources needed to...
“SMART Retailing: The Future has Arrived” by Dan Jablons via the Retail Smart Guys blog
Globalization has caused changes in how nations, people, and especially businesses interact. A tremendous unconstant shift is happening in the retail market, resulting in the formation of smart retail. Companies, because of technology, are turning digital, automated,...
“A New Threat for Retailers: The Rise of the Synthetic Shopper” by Chris Ryan via Total Retail
Credit: Getty Images by Brian A. Jackson While the rapid rise of e-commerce has generated additional revenue for many retailers, it’s also brought additional challenges. The increased fraud risk and merchant liability for online transactions create a cautious...
“How pandemic trends will continue to inform consumer behavior in 2023” by Sara Karlovich via Marketing Dive
Brandon Bell via Getty Images During a press briefing during NRF’s Big Show, experts indicated that earlier cash reserves are dwindling, while consumer savviness remains on the rise. NEW YORK — Consumer behavior will remain difficult to map out in 2023, but the...
“Ad spending on TikTok defies advertising slowdown” by Krystal Scanlan and Seb Joseph via Digiday
Ivy Liu Every downturn is good for someone. Take TikTok, for instance. Even as marketers continue to scrape dollars back wherever they can, whether that be from TV or Facebook, they can’t stop pouring money into the short-form video app. And that’s despite some...
“2022 Wake Awards” by Staff via Wakeboarding Magazine
The 2022 Wake Awards are coming! The best riders of 2022 will be honored and awarded for their accomplishments during a special two week-long presentation beginning in January 2023. Starting on January 16, we’ll release the finalists in several categories each day!...
“7 Essential Retail Manager Skills Your Store Needs To Succeed” by Bob Phibbs via The Retail Doctor Blog
What retail manager skills does your store need to succeed? Managers need a host of interpersonal skills to execute a management plan and help retail stores boost sales. One thing that can compromise a store is that most retailers promote from within, and while that...
“Do drinking and shopping mix?” by Tom Ryan via Retail Wire
Photo: Getty Images/Radiokukka Tempe Marketplace and Desert Ridge Marketplace in Phoenix on Jan. 12 will become the first outdoor shopping centers in Arizona to allow shoppers to drink alcohol as they shop. Vestar, the owner of both centers, had argued that malls need...
“Instagram to Remove Shopping Tab” by Dani James via Retail Dive
Permission granted by Meta Dive Brief: Changing the way consumers access commerce on its app, Meta-owned Instagram will remove its Shop tab from the homepage navigation bar in February, according to a post on the company’s support site. A Meta spokesperson...
“Walmart Inks Deal With Salesforce to Sell its Tech to Other Retailers” by Joe Keenan via Total Retail
Credit: Walmart Walmart wants to sell more of its technology and services to other companies. On Thursday, it announced a deal with Salesforce to ramp up sales of its GoLocal delivery service, which drops off purchases at customers’ doors; and...
“5 trends that shaped the holidays in 2022” by Staff via Retail Dive
RgStudio via Getty Images From deep discounts to metaverse activations, here are some of the biggest influences on the season. Inflation and inventory challenges set a subdued tone for the 2022 holiday season before it even truly started. Discretionary...
“Outdoor Retailer Education Schedule plus invitation to BRA Retailer Gathering at this week’s Snow Show” by Outdoor Retailer and BRA
Outdoor Education Taken Higher Outdoor Retailer is the largest outdoor trade show of its kind, delivering the industry experts and educational opportunities you won’t find anywhere else. With top educators and innovators from around the world, Outdoor...
“How To Use Powerful Questions To Engage And Sell More Customers” by Bob Phibbs via The Retail Doctor Blog
Using questions effectively in a retail sales presentation can be a powerful tool to engage customers and guide them toward purchasing decisions. But there is more than one type of question. I'll cover the different types of questions you can use in your sales...
Surf Expo Photos via Shop Eat Surf
Click on the following link to view more great photos from the BRA Retailer Gathering where we kicked off the 20th Anniversary of Board Retailers Association (since 2003) and honored BRA co-founder Roy Turner and to view a ton of other remarkable photos from Surf Expo...
“With Patagonia leading the pack, what’s next for sustainability in apparel?” by Julia Waldow via Modern Retail
Ivy Liu Back in 2011, Patagonia placed an ad in the New York Times on Black Friday with a photo of one of its products and a provocative message: “Don’t Buy This Jacket.” The move, part of a larger poster and PR campaign, was meant to encourage people to think about...
“Rally car driver and DC Shoes co-founder Ken Block dies in a snowmobile accident” by Emily Olson via NPR
Ken Block, pictured here at the 2017 World Rallycross Championship in Barcelona, Spain, died yesterday in a snowmobile accident, his company said. David Ramos/Getty Images Ken Block, an action sports legend who co-founded DC Shoes and Hoonigan Racing, died on Monday...
“Just Like F1, Social Commerce Needs Precision and Speed” by Nick Verlaney via Total Retail
With its feedback, creation and conversation loops, social commerce mimics circuit-based Formula 1 races. And success on the track and on social media isn't purely about who is the quickest. Instead, it’s about strategy, precision and avoiding critical mistakes. The...
“5 Tips For Setting Goals That Work For You” by Bob Phibbs via The Retail Doctor Blog
The start of a new year is a great time to set a new direction. Whether you had a 🔥 or 🌡️ year, prepare yourself for 2023. Do you dread the pressure of setting goals, only to feel like you failed when they’re not achieved? Many of us would...
“Atmospheric River Is Set to Dump Feet of Snow on the Western U.S.” by Joe Carberry via The Inertia
Forrest Shearer slashing some early-season snow in a Wasatch hidden gem. Utah’s favorite playground should get feet as well. Over the next seven days, the weather across the West is expected to get real. As in real snowy. Forecasters are predicting feet of...
“JENKEM PRESENTS: THE 6TH ANNUAL SKATEBOARDING SUPERLATIVES” by via Jenkem Mag
Wow, another year flew by, and we hope you have something to show for it. If you managed to hit a set bigger than a three or grind something taller than a curb, we commend you for your year full of efforts and successes. To properly highlight the good and the bad of...
“The Gospel, According to Jeremy Jones – The polymath snowboarder has a new book about the art and philosophy of being in the mountains” by Heather Hansman via Outside
Jeremy Jones, big-line snowboarder, splitboarding sage, and fearless-seeming founder of Protect Our Winters (POW)—a partner of Outside’s Find Your Good fundraising platform—says he was scared to write a book. “I was kind of nervous, but nervousness and excitement go...
“7 Ways How To Grow Your Retail Sales The Week After Christmas” by Bob Phibbs via The Retail Doctor Blog
After-Christmas retail can be fun if you focus on making money instead of just giving it away through aggressive promotions and discounts. After Christmas Day has come and gone, retailers of all sizes, from boutiques to department stores to big-box stores, may want to...
“New Retail: How the “Store” Will Undergo Transformation” by Sanford Stein via The Robin Report
For the vast majority of the 20th century, retailing had been largely transactional. The store was the place where the goods were seen, sold, and stored (hence the term). With the advent of ecommerce that definition became questioned, and the change-averse retail...
“How Mobile Bridges the Gap Between In-Store and Online” by Alex Campbell via Total Retail
Credit: iStock.com by Anita Kot To deliver on consumer expectations and keep their loyalty, brands must incorporate mobile messaging into their marketing strategies This holiday season, retailers prepared for an influx of in-store and online shoppers at levels even...
“Is Retail In Recession – Or Are We Coming Out Of It?” by Walter Loeb via Forbes Magazine
Road sign with the words "Recession next exit" featured.GETTY The New York TimesNYT +0.8% published on Friday that retail sales fell in November despite Black Friday deals. That means that we are in a real slowdown of sales at this time. Despite this news,...
“WE TALKED TO THE ENGINEER BEHIND THE DIME GLORY CHALLENGE OBSTACLES” by Ian Michna via Jenkem Mag
Every year the skate world gathers in Montreal for the most entertaining skateboard “contest” of the year. There’s no need for a numeric scoring system or a qualification round – the Dime Glory Challenge’s objective is simple: go huge. The best skaters in the world...
“2022 Wakesports Hall of Fame Inductees – Find out who was inducted into the Wakesports Hall of Fame in 2022.” by Staff via Wakeboarding Magazine
Melissa Marquardt: 2022 Inductee Wakesports Hall of Fame Courtesy Melissa Marquardt Ten inductees were included in this year’s class. Courtesy Wakesports Hall of Fame The 2022 Wakesports Hall of Fame class of inductees includes some of the sport’s most...