Nightglow Window

Biz Boot Camp

A post lifted from my "real site", surfexpo.com.

Bonus, not-for-widespread publication photo taken by Mr. Fish:

Yeah, we're joshing around. But check out Roy's stare down.

On Thursday, March 19, more than 150 members from more than 45 surf manufacturing companies and surf retail shops reported for duty at Industry Boot Camp, presented by the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association (SIMA) and Board Retailer Association (BRA).

For the first time in the SIMA Boot Camp educational series, SIMA and BRA joined forces to bring both manufacturers and specialty surf retailers together for a day of seminars, learning and candid roundtable discussions at the Waterfront Hilton Beach Resort in Huntington Beach, Calif.

Sun Diego's Dave Nash compares notes with Industry Vet Bob Mignogna.

The crowd gets ready to listen. Not to play "Where's Waldo", but check out all the heavy hitters in this photo. (click to supersize).

SIMA Executive Director Sean Smith opens up the day.

The one and only Bobbie Abdulfattah of Jack's Surfboards. A surf industry retail legend by any measure. When are guys like this going to be honored at Waterman's Ball?

“SIMA Boot Camps are important for the future of our industry,” said Dick Baker, SIMA chairman emeritus. “As SIMA’s educational programming grows, we are stoked retailers and manufacturers were able to come together for Industry Boot Camp. The core surf shop is at the heart and soul of successful brands and it was very powerful bringing the two groups together, especially just before the business surge of the summer months.”

Baker kicked off the day's proceedings with an industry overview. As usual, he brought plenty of insight to the table wrapped in an upbeat message. Here are a few soundbites from his speech:

"Weather is the heart and soul of this business and once it hits 75 degrees, people are out there shopping."

"The [broader] fashion market has no soul from a distribution standpoint ... what's embedded in this room is unlike what's in any other industry."

"The only thing none of us can do is change the economy. That doesn't mean you can't be successful, but it's not going to be business as usual."

"We are now looking at April through August, that's like our ski season."

"Brands have worked their asses off to get the product right for shop. This is the most kumbaya business environment in the last 12 years."

"We as a sector as far ahead of other businesses in the recovery process."

After Baker's comments, BRA President Todd Roberts took the stage with his own highlight reel: this one on the growth of his association and a video presentation on what the organization means to its members and what challenges are most on the minds of retailers. Yeah, it's the economy stupid -- but distribution issues were also noted.

SIMA Chairman Emeritus Dick Baker has gone from self-proclaimed dorky outsider to being the sage voice of the industry.

BRA President Todd Roberts.

With these important preambles tucked away, the group split in two. Retailers heard Alan Roseman and Gregg Solomon talk about, respectively, merchandise planning and "solutions for a challenging economy." The manufacturer sessions included a presentation by Charlie Cotton on Merchandising as well a session on how to get the most out of a trade show budget presented by Kevin Flanagan, Vice President of Marketing for Reef and former ASR show director.

I hung around for the manufacturer presentations, but judging from the applause coming from the other room all the sessions were valuable.

But I was skeptical at first. The presentation of Charlie Cotton, who was VP of Visual Merchandising Production At Quiksilver, seemed painfully obvious at first: successful businesses are run by people directly involved with the customer. Well, no duh, right?

Unfortunately, many businesses lose sight of these "No Duh" points. Cotton emphasized the importance of working the sales floor, asking shoppers what they are interested in, creating merchandising statements that cause a buy response. "There is no greater feedback than witnessing what occurs in your selling space."

Charlie Cotton.

"You have to go out and get your market share," he said. "The first question is, who is your customer? Is your customer the account of the person paying at the register? Is your marketing tailored to the person who buys product or the store? I think it's safe to say that is a manufacturer wants market share the need to connect with both the account and customer. Manufacturers must know the account's business at least as well as the retailer."

Other "No Duh" points from Cotton's presentation:

If you have only one price to sell, you have no story to tell.

By telling your brand's story well at retail, you product and brand becomes more desirable to the customer.

Only by knowing how many units you can sell can one determine how much inventory to buy.

Getting market share is war. Addressing the details wins the battles.

Understand your customer and you'll sell more product.

Energy sells merchandise.

Simple stuff, eh? But talking to sales managers later in the day, it seemed Cotton's presentation nevertheless provoked several new ideas on how to run a business -- which ultimately is the whole point of the day, right?

Next up was the panel discussion on trade show budget management. I'm biased at this point, but I was extremely curious about this one. After all, both Surf Expo and ASR have recently made significant moves to address cost -- with varying strategies. Would this hard work come through during the presentation?

Fortunately Reef Market VP Kevin Flanagan did a solid job moderating the topic and keeping things on point and company trade show managers Leonard Fiedorowicz (Volcom), Wendall Wong (La Jolla Group), and Jake Barret (Reef) provided their combined decades of experience with the group.

The conversation was specific and comprehensive, but a few highlights.

The kick things off Flanagan laid out the benefits of trades shows, including:

■ A place to meet customers and prospects face to face
■ A sales and marketing opportunity, so set goals
■ A gathering of the brand family
■ A clearinghouse of new trends
■ An opportunity for retailers to compare companies side by side before ordering
■ A place to develop future business, not for just the next quarter but the next six or seven years.
■ A place to see the full brand story and have it explained by the company principals.
■ A place to share ideas through retailer interaction and seminars
■ A place to incentivize retailers to prebook

Some time was spent of freight and the perils of using a bargain shipper. According to the panelists, if a deal looks too good to be true, it probably is. While these are hard to turn down (and each panelist had horror stories to prove it) using a company like Pyramid will eventually save time, money, and loads of hassle.

Don't worry, Kevin Flanagan still has hands. He also did a solid job handling the Trade Show presentation.

Thr three (trade show) wise men: (left to right) Jake Barret, Leonard Fiedorowicz, and Wendell Wong.

Jake Barret.

There were also some practical tips, like knowing the location of the nearest Home Depot before you arrive. (You'll probably need it.) It's a good idea to arrange and prepay all staff hotel rooms long before the event. Wong says it's smart to book longer blocks than you think you might need and know precisely when the last day to make free changes is. It's much easier to shorten a stay than to extend one only to find the hotel is sold out.

Always have your paperwork on hand so you can pull it out if questions by the trade show decorator. Fax confirmation slips are also worth their weight in gold.

And after working with literally hundreds of crews, the panelists understand that a little grease keeps things sliding smoothly. Bring Gatorade, water, pizza, and swag to the crew. If they like you, they'll be much more willing to work hard to set up your booth quickly. Conversely, if someone isn't pulling their weight on the crew, cut 'em.

Leonard's Trade Show Don'ts

■ Don't leave product areas un-attended during the show
■ Don't forget parts of your booth
■ Don't let reps bring in product too early
■ Don't leave your graphics until the last minute
■ Don't plan on working late on set-up (You probably will anyway.)
■ Don't let people throw food and liquids in front of your booth
■ Don't let strangers hang out within your booth space
■ Don't try to cook food at your booth without authorization.

Wendell's Trade Show Do's
■ Send your show service forms in by the deadline. This saves you time and money. Take advantage of any discounts you can.
■ Plan early for graphics for your booth. Know your sizing and quantity and what materials are used to produce them. Last minute art requests take time and you end up paying to have the printer expedite your order.
■ Draw a layout of your booth and present it to everyone in your company. If you know ahead of time what the booth is supposed to look like and how it's supposed to set up, you won't be spending your time running around trying to figure everything out.
■ Ask your I&D and transportation company for a pre-pay discount. This is usually based on the last show you did, based on the size of your booth, and type of construction.
■ Keep all your paperwork with you at all times: GES, booth contract, electrical, catering. When all fails, you have something that proves that you paid and/or ordered from GES or the Convention Center.
■ Know your booth and look at the plans, and ask obvious questions. If you don't have set-up plans, start drawing and measuring at the show.
■ Once again, cut any I&D member you think is lagging. You are the boss, not them. You are paying them for their time.
■ Send as much information about the show to people in your company. Include dates and times, hotel information and contact numbers. Be as specific as possible. Include a schedule of events so people know where they need to be and by when. This also helps you know if you are tracking on schedule with your set up.

After a TransWorld Business sponsored lunch, the SIMA Boot Camp broke into a series of roundtable discussions. This is hardly unique -- it's a staple of events like these. But surprisingly, this was SIMA's first attempt at the concept.

Better late than never I say. It soon became clear that the knowledge found among the attendees was often as well versed as that of the presenters. Each roundtable was made up of a mix of manufacturers and retailers, providing opinions from all angles of the industry. Topics discussed during the roundtables included: customer service, marketing support, green products, merchandising, trade shows, distribution strategies, and product innovation.

The roundtable discussions clearly displayed the depth of knowledge in the room.

"The roundtable discussions alone were worth my flight from the East Coast just for the day," said D. Nachnani, president of Coastal Edge Surf Shop in Virginia Beach. "In a short and concentrated amount of time, we were able to clarify our needs and concerns as retailers with the manufacturers. Everyone was focused on growth towards the future, and unity was prevalent."

Plus, it was just cool. How often can you listen in as Gotcha Founder Michael Tomson peppers Volcom CEO Richard Woolcott on product innovation. It just doesn't happen too often. So what was said, what insights were gleaned? Sorry, SIMA asked the media not to take notes during the roundtable to facilitate conversation. Too bad. This was the highlight of the day and could spark conversation throughout the industry. My only complaint, and it was shared by many, was that the 20-minutes sessions were too short.

Fortunately, once the closing remarks we made, attendees did have a chance to compare notes and continue to talk at a Surf Expo sponsored cocktail hour. It was interesting to see what clicked. Some were excited that both manufacturers and retailers seemed ready for innovative products unlike what's on the shelves now. Others thought getting the industry together had a positive calming effect as companies compared notes about the economy.

“Industry Boot Camp was a simple, cost effective, time efficient way to exchange ideas and concerns not only with key retailers, but with industry leaders,” said Michelle LeBlanc, Roxy sales manager. “I thought the mixed group, open forum of the roundtable discussions provided a comfortable opportunity to interact—and with the current economic environment and challenges that face all of us, coming together and exchanging ideas is more valuable than ever.”

What I found most heartening was the support manufacturers were showing specialty retailers, often emphasizing the important role they play in the market. That’s a fact that's always been the case, and hopefully always will, but it's nice to see how attentive the companies really are.

“The success of the first-ever SIMA/BRA Industry Boot Camp was evident to all attendees,” said Todd Roberts, ZJ Boarding House and BRA chairman. “Between the high caliber of speakers, interaction amongst retailers and manufacturers during the roundtable discussions, and the overall positive vibe, the joint event served as a fantastic platform for bringing the industry together.”

All in all, a most productive day.

Future SIMA Boot Camps

Green Boot Camp // April 16, 2009 - Ocean Institute - Dana Point, California
Industry Research // June 18, 2009
Sales & Marketing // July 9, 2009
Communications Boot Camp // October 15, 2009
Merchandising & Design Boot Camp // November 12, 2009