
SOURCE Issue 125 OUT NOW!
BoardSport Source Issue #125 May/June 2025
On the cover: Leonard Blondeel, DC Skate Park 162 Coordinator : Photo David Manaud
Times they are a changing. faster and faster
Listening to the radio this week, i heard all about the coming Quantum computer revolution. This new computational technology will solve complex problems in minutes rather than years, with this new step change from current super computers to quantum computers being far greater than the change from the abacus to the super computer. So just as we beginning to feel at home with AI an equally as disruptional technology will affect our businesses as well as all aspects of our daily lives.
The boardsport market is having to deal with change in a way it has never faced before, combined with the instability of the daily tariff decisions and the war in Ukraine. Good news is in short supply with consumers struggling as much as businesses to deal with this new reality. Tried and tested methods are no longer the sure bet they used to be as we all need learn on the run. But there will be winners out of this maelstrom, there always is.
Opportunities will be there they will just be more difficult to identify and as the business cycle speeds up, they will not last as long as they used to. Talking of opportunities seized, then our big wig personality fits the bill. Jan Grootswagers found himself in the position to take over the business he was running following the demise of Liberated brands. Jan is now one of the proud owners of the Volcom and Spyder brands in Europe, his destiny is now in his own hands. Our retail buyers guides are full of information on trends in the market and on what products brands are designing to take advantage of opportunities. Likewise our brand updates in this issue; Ocean & Earth, Bosiny, Lip Sunglasses, Wave Hawaii and Blackriver are a combination of newer and older brands looking to take advantage of the opportunities they have found in the market. Last but not least our National Market intelligence reports give a closeup account of what is and what is not working in the market, what is a good opportunity in one country may not be as good in another.
Knowledge is king, the more you know, the better your ability to spot those opportunities and as the business world speeds up Source is there to give you the information to make the right decisions and grab those opportunities.
Always sideways but now at Quantum speed
Clive Ripley