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Spanish Market Insight: Summer Boardsports Surge Set to Continue into Autumn

Shops are open and vaccinated Spaniards have enjoyed their summer spending their saved euros on staycations by the sea. Boardsports stores have cashed in a lot of these euros, and everything indicates that the trend will persist.
By Rocio Enriquez.

The shy bounce spotted early in the year gained traction during the second quarter. The positive outlook of the global economy and the high vaccination rate liberated the pent-up demand quicker than expected. Spaniards are out and spending, throwing an estimate of 6.3% of GDP growth for this year. Construction has benefitted the most from this flush of euros in the economy. It is no surprise that, after having spent months in confinement, Spaniards have chosen to spruce up their houses. But with bars and clubs still closed, the outdoors sports industry is getting a big chunk of the entertainment budget. “Most choose to enjoy the nature resources that the Iberian Peninsula has to offer, from mountains to woods, deserts and, of course, the sea”, says Ben Wesseling of Duna.com distribution.

Boardsports are experiencing unprecedented growth. The new discipline of wing foiling has boomed right from the start. Surf, kiteboarding and SUP remain in high demand. People want to learn properly, and this is driving hordes to the schools. There is a trend of technification, influencing the high demand for surf-skates, which allow you to learn the moves out of the water before you brave the seas. Amongst product categories, hardware and accessories remain best-sellers. Users are more concerned with getting the right equipment to do the sport than about how they look. Lockdown brought about the shift to online shopping in Spain and most stores made sure their e-commerce sites were up and running. This produced good enough sales but not comparable to the ones in their brick-and-mortar spaces. Special offers and accessories get most of the clicks. However, when consumers need to spend larger amounts on equipment, they’d rather go to the store. They value the professional advice and the peace of mind of knowing the person behind the sale. “In other industries, the online shop is a parallel business, but in ours it is just another door to our physical store”, says Jaime Portas of Pop Kite in Castelldefells.

International travel restrictions did not impact the boardsports scene as much as the regular tourism industry. There were less foreign tourists, but still some made it over the border. In combination with the masses of national tourists who opted for staycations, they crowded beach spots to levels that some claimed were almost unmanageable. Summer sales were unanimously good, not only better than last summer but also the one before. Autumn looks good too. Hotel occupancy is high, and schools keep getting bookings. Many professionals from cities who keep working remotely have opted to move to their favourite spots. “They can work from 9 to 5 and then go surfing or kiteboarding”, explains Carlos Manrique of Surfer Tarifa. Mainly, board sports are a year-round business, so prospects are good.

Supply has been the only cloud in the otherwise sunny boardsports sky. At the peak of the surge, stock ran out, and even though it’s getting better, some categories are still suffering. Surfboards and wetsuits are scarce; wingfoiling and kiteboarding equipment have very long delivery dates. Stores are stocking up for Christmas, fearing they won’t be able to re-order. Pre-orders have become the norm, and they are being requested much earlier than usual. SS22 pre-orders had to be submitted in July and August, when stores were super busy and did not have accurate information about their summer sales yet. Many stores feel brands transfer the pressure to them. They wish they could do some re-ordering, instead of having to pile up one year’s worth of goods in their back rooms. With factories in China overbooked, vendors who place orders in Autumn will not be able to deliver in Spring. Ben Wesseling has bought stock of accessories for 2022 one year in advance; he will also offer pre-selected packages of clothing to the stores. The boldness of some distributors could make a difference to stores and shine a light on the important figure they once were and surely remain to be.