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Portuguese Market: Surf & Skate Keep Business Afloat Via Popularity In Lifestyle Sector

Portugal has been living in a situation of political instability due to a crisis between the President of the Republic and the government following the resignation of several members of the ruling party. For example the management of the TAP airline is a daily political nightmare and this could all result in an early election. In terms of the economy, Portugal continues to struggle due to high inflation and the loss of purchasing power. The consecutive rises in interest rates has left the population living in increasing difficulties, and they are being forced to cut back on non-essential goods.
By Nuno Principe

Even so, the latest forecasts brought good news with the IMF, who revised upwards the average growth of the country’s economy from 1% to 2.6% for 2023. This was due to the increase in tourism in the first quarter with the economy growing 1.6% compared to the previous quarter and 2.5% compared to the same period in the previous year. Tourism revenues in Portugal totalled 245.7 million euros in February, 60.3% more than in the same month of 2022. Compared to the pre-pandemic period (February 2020), there was a growth of 26.4%.

Despite still having a high-rate inflation the rate has dropped to 4%. To fight the inflation effect on food and help families the government eliminated VAT on essential products, this was a key step in reducing the inflation rate.

For Manelsport shop, “On the negative side we have the product pricing increase”, said the owner, Carlos Dias. “On the positive side, surfwear demand continues, which stands out along with the skateboard hardgoods as our most positive categories. Surfing schools and surfing events continue to raise surfing’s profile. Our sales have risen slightly compared to 2022 which confirms that surfing and skateboarding have become more of a lifestyle, with great demand for surf and skatewear products. Skate shoes in particular are performing better, with the notable rise of the Cariuma brand. We still find some brands still have delivery delays but this is way less than last year.”

Pedro Fernandes from Despomar, Portugal’s biggest retail brand mentions that “Easter was good for most customers nationwide. There have been positive aspects: on-time deliveries, Spring/Summer collection sales above last year with surf clothing stronger than skate clothing and good weather has helped a lot. On the other side there’s a big stock overload of surf and skate hardgoods. The economic situation in the country is very uncertain and stores still have tight cash flow. Growth in tourism is masking the impact of rising interest rates and inflation.”

For POP Skate Shop, one of the most important core skate shops in Portugal, located inside Parque das Gerações skatepark, things haven’t been easy. “Despite prices of all the products we sell instore increasing, we had a decrease in turnover compared to the same period last year. This situation is also connected with the lack of events in the skatepark compared to previous years due to issues with Cascais City Council and our partners. Still, we managed to hold an amazing Flow Bowl in the skatepark and we’ve hosted the launch of the new Solo Skate Mag issue along with Globe’s skate team (Austyn Gillette, Val Bauer and Alex Furtado) who were launching a new shoe model, The Gillette. Regarding products, we had a decrease in sales of hardgoods but saw an increase in footwear. Inflation has had a big impact as life becomes more expensive. A minority of our customers have above-average purchasing power and have not felt inflation so much, but in general the cost of living has risen a lot and unfortunately people’s wages have not increased at the same pace.”

Happy summer everyone! Enjoy.