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UK Market Insight: Its tough out there, Weathering the Storm in UK Boardsports Retail

We lost a friend and a key member of the UK boardsports community. Farrel O’Shea was known to just about everyone in the watersports industry. He was a fantastic all-around waterman and founder of O’Shea International, supplying kit to many retailers over decades. Not only a highly accomplished windsurfer and enthusiastic speed sailor, but he was also an all-around great guy. Life with Farrel was always “rock n roll.” He will be missed. RIP Farrel.

A sobering start to this month’s column. Make every day count.

So how is business? The memory of a good winter has faded fast and feels like a long, long time ago. Here we are faced with the summer – what summer?! – and one of the worst watersports summers in living memory.

We can look for any number of explanations – lack of decent weather, distraction of Euro24, General Election, Olympics – whatever explanation we opt for, it simply does not escape the fact that this summer on the water is simply not happening. (Dare I say…YET) It’s not happening in a big way. Is there a positive? Yes…as one customer said to me, “It cannot get any worse?” That’s about the best we can say “But we said that last year!”

Discretionary spending pressures are impacting almost all aspects of our consumers’ lives. The long-awaited recovery seems to be getting further away. Earlier in the year, overseas travel was buoyant, and the hope was that this would translate to money finding its way to our tills. It did not, and the latest numbers from Ryanair are way off target with forecasts for continuing declines.

Will our new Labour Government make a difference? Who knows? Is there a ‘feel-good’ feeling from a change in the seats of power? Maybe Keir and his troops got some feel-good, but for the rest of us, it was very short-lived!

“Tough,” this is Henry from Shore Watersports. “I had two reps in the shop this week – they both came in with long trousers on.” This may seem like a strange observation to make, but to me, it was clear. What on earth was someone in our industry, in the height of summer (sic), doing wearing long trousers? Where were their shorts? “It was so bloody cold.” [Early July – it has since warmed up at end of July]

So apart from the attire of your reps, how is it? “Tough [again]. But what can we do? There’s no point in discounting because that’s not going to drive the sale. We must keep our heads down; we have to try and stoke demand somehow, and we have to add value to the sale in order to capture market share. But not by discounting – that simple blunt tool is not going to work.” Times are tough, and there are plenty of people trying to find something to fill their days. “The customers are just not here. It was ok until May, but since then, it’s fallen off a cliff. Summer has simply not started. Brands looking for pre-orders are going to be very disappointed – those days have gone – at least for the time being.”

Have you got any good news for me? “Yeah. The good news is that stock mountains with brands and suppliers are slowly reducing. Stock at retail has certainly come down – so hopefully the end is in sight.” I wonder how good his vision is… Long-sighted perhaps? “One bright light is that new(er) brands such as Passenger are going well in-store.”

So is it “new” that is creating a bright spot? I called Chris at Poole Harbour Watersports, which is one of the longest-established watersports stores in the UK. Tracing their roots back to 1978 (sadly, I am old enough to say that I did business with them back then as well), the current owner (Chris) purchased the store in 1993, so he has a long history and has seen it all before – but has he?

I asked Chris to tell me some good news! “I need to go back in time a few years to tell you some good news.” I could feel it coming. “It’s so bizarre. Never known a time like this before – our suppliers are all offering deals, and whilst this can help make the entry to a sport a bit easier, the deals are not stimulating the market as I would hope. It’s not like petrol – it’s not a ‘must have’. Our customers are focused on their mortgage and rent payments. A reduction in interest rates may help, but I’m not convinced; it’s going to take time.” Is there anything going well? “No – nothing really. Wetsuits are a disaster, and we have so much winter stock left over it will see us through. Perhaps winging is a bright spot – but only just. Winging is easier for people to get into than windsurfing, but all it’s doing is robbing from one market to another. It’s not really building the business.”

Where to go to find some good news? The next call did it, and I found some positivity! But this key member of the team from a small chain of skate stores, who have been around for decades, wanted to remain anonymous. Shy in this industry?

“Skate has turned a corner. Of course, it is weather-dependent, and the summer thus far has not helped much, but as soon as we get a small chunk of good weather, the consumers are out buying. Decks are doing well. Completes have fallen back a bit since the pandemic.” Any problems? “There are loads of good deals, so consumers are happy. My slight concern is when we come to the end of these deals, it may be that the customer will be more than a little surprised at the updated pricing – only time will tell – there’s still plenty to go at right now.” Are you optimistic for the rest of the summer? “Yes, I really am. We cannot do much about the weather, but school holidays are about to start. We have a sharp focus on marketing. There are the Olympics – so yeah – I would say I am fairly optimistic. Time will tell.”

Nice to talk to someone with some positivity, even if they are shy! Is it out there? Do we have to go and hunt it down? When will the stockpile finally run out? When will the sun shine, the wind blow, the waves work? When indeed? Crystal balls required – if you’ll pardon the phrase.

Whatever. Currently, it’s not much fun out there! For me, the loss of Farrel puts things sharply into perspective. Focus on today.

“Put the kettle on. Let’s have a cup of tea.” (If you know, you know).

Farrel O’Shea. 3rd August 1963 > 2nd June 2024. RIP

By Gordon Way