May 5, 2009

Surf and skateboard shop in San Clemente needs to stand outBy Cyndia ZwahlenLATimes.com

DBC Ride Shop in San Clemente hit some rough waves in recent years as competition, the loss of a longtime location and an expensive experiment with snowboard gear drowned sales at the once-thriving skateboard and surf shop.

Co-owner Greg Armer, who has been keeping the business afloat with personal savings from his full-time job as a healthcare executive, recently gambled on a pricier new location in a prime retail spot on the beach community’s main drag to restore his kid-friendly small business to its glory days.

“Last winter was a big decision point, and I was considering my options, including closing down,” said Armer, president of the shop founded in 1997. Instead, he started over in a location he’d long coveted.

“If we can establish ourselves at this time and get a foothold, we can be there when it turns around,” Armer said.

To accomplish that, he’s looking for ways to help him and George Beard — the co-owner, vice president and an industry veteran who runs the store — find success in 1,300 square feet, less than half the size of their former site.

Neither man is taking a salary or other money out of the store, in an attempt to shore up its finances. They want to spend any profit on packing the shop with gear that will attract their target 12- to 18-year-old customers. Armer, a longtime surfer and Hermosa Beach resident, figures they have a year to roll the dice.

To succeed, the struggling business has to sharpen its focus, says industry expert Tommy Knapp, an adjunct professor at USC, surfer and onetime owner of a successful chain of action sports stores.

DBC Ride Shop’s small size means the owners need to craft an especially profitable product mix. Lack of funds means they need to rely on creativity in marketing and merchandising. They also must sharpen expense tracking. On the plus side, Armer and Beard, both 56, understand the industry and have built relationships with vendors, Knapp says.

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