NORDEN SURFBOARDS 2025 PREVIEW

Retail Buyers Guide: Surfboards 2025 Retail Buyer’s Guide
Brand: Norden
Interviewee: Andy Wirtz CEO, Product Designer

If you were to draw a quick assessment of 2024, how would you describe the current state of the surfboard market?
I would say we recovered from the post corona product overflow, to a healthier market, though sales are still slow.

We see a resurgence of a trend consisting of (literally) no-name brand, with boards retailing at very aggressive prices (under 300 €). Are you concerned by this recurring phenomenon?
It´s questionable if this opens the sport to a wider audience, that eventually also buy premium products, or do we loose customers that don´t want to spend that much money. I guess a bit of both but there is little we can do about it, unless we copy their distribution system. I think surfboards still belong in the surf shops and there has to be realistic price to them, selling over price is not very sustainable.

The good news in the surfboard market is that sales are quite evenly spread between very different designs (perf shortboards, summer boards, midlengths, longboards, beginner funboards), unlike other activities which rely on a single design. Have you adapt your range to offer a mixed bag of boards or do you rather specialize in one segment?
We´ve always been a mixed back in the funboard sector, never really into High Performance Surfboards though. Our main focus since we started in 2002 was always the beginners and intermediates, never the Pros and this is still the biggest market.

In the past, beginners had go through the walk of shame, forced to aim for “fugly” looking shapes. In 2025, a novice board can be sexy as well: what do you have in stock for the newbies?
Like I said above, this is our main product since we started in 2002 and the key to our success. We made polished polyster malibus with beautiful spray design for beginners back then, today we offer a big variety of shapes, in different constructions, all beginner and intermediate friendly. It´s surprised me, that it took the industry that long to come to this point. Remember, when Clark Foam still existed, the 7´6 malibu blank was their most sold PU blank, if I´m not mistaken.

The so-called Grovelers dominate the shortboard category (even if used in overhead surf), yet options are very unalike, from twin-keels to stubby tri-fins. What is your take within the Groveler category?
This is what we had in stock, since the beginning, when it came to shorter boards, we never believed in the high performance shortboard. After the so called “Grovelers” became very short and very thick, we now see them becoming longer, a bit more stretched out and more refined shapes, at least that´s what our customers are asking for.

Midlengths are everywhere as well. What are the latest developments in this design within your range?
Midlengths can be anything above 7 ft, it´s not only the Single Fin Egg type shape, it can also be a fish, a big boys shortboard or a simple Mini Malibu. We offer all of them and we see a trend in making surfboards longer again.

The longboard reach is unprecedented in surfing history, as even die-hard shortboard brands offer classic Logs. How have you positioned yourself? If you have been a long-time promoter of 9’+ boards, do you think “the more the merrier”?
Longboards are our DNA, always has been, always will be. People come to realize that bigger boards mean more waves and more fun on any given day but that is nothing new. This is where the biggest crowds of consumers sit. Also remember, that customers are getting older at least the once that are willing to spend money on Equipment, there is a big demographic change happening.

The Groveler infused the High-performance Shortboard, yet the extra foam has been streamlined so that High-perf shapes still bear a racey look. Please unveil your secrets!
Make them a bit longer, a bit narrower by maintaining the same volume and they will look a lot raceyer…as simple as that. A little while ago the Grovelers looked like Boogie-Boards with a surfboard outline, that luckily is changing now.

While the alternative constructions/materials towards the eco-friendly surfboard have never been so plentiful, we are far from a massive adoption (whether from manufacturers or end-users). Any solutions out there that seem viable to you?
We are still far away from a sustainable solution to the surfboard construction but at least there is things happening. The problem still is the labor intensity of making these boards and at the end we need customers that are willing to pay the price for it. Everybody wants to save the planet but at the end not everybody is willing to pay for it.

Key Products:

Time Machine grape:

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Pig Whale glacier blue:

norden-surfboards-PigWhale-glacier blue

EGG blue:

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