This is a dam good read. Probably too long for Scotty and a few others but worth it. Perhaps we just buy a small piece of land in a far away island and get a couple of Airdogs and retire
Anyone else keen?
The surf industry isn't dead
“Billabong is trading at $0.69 a share, down from $18.30 in 2007. Quiksilver is trading at $1.80, down from $16.80 in 2005.”
Reports of the surf industry's demise have been greatly exaggerated. Sure, the surf fashion companies are hurting now the man on the street prefers the splendour of Tap Out and Affliction, but it's not like surfers are getting any fewer or that we're getting any poorer. Recently pro surfing's new overlords, ZoSea, conducted research into the traits of the average surf fan. He's 34-years old and male, the good researchers at ZoSea told us, and he earns in excess of $75,000 a year much of which gets spent on surfing. Plus, a portion of surfers are reportedly “very, very wealthy people who will fly anywhere for a good wave.” Apparently the surfing dollars are still flowing somewhere at a good clip.And two places they're flowing are surf travel and camera hardware.That surfers are spending more money on travel only seems logical.
Whether you believe ZoSea's research or not, surfers are a relatively cashed up cohort exposed to a stream of idyllic imagery. The Fear Of Missing Out is felt keenly and there's an ever growing range of surf travel companies to service our desires. In the late 1980s there was only one surf travel company in Australia – King Surfaris, which later became The Surf Travel Company – yet now there are upwards of forty surf travel companies in Australia all vying for the disposable chunk of our income.The rapid spread of surf camps has only aided the surf travel companies cause - many camps can only be booked via their offices. Same with boat trips, except for one or two independent operators surf travel companies are their sole representatives and booking agents.Surf travel data is nigh on impossible to find but the Australian Bureau of Statistics offer some info on the wider community. In the 12 months leading up to 2010 Australians took 6.8 million short term overseas holidays. Two decades earlier – when King Surfaris were running budget 2” x 3” ads in Tracks but surf fashion was booming – Australians took just 2.1 million holidays.The proliferation of surf travel companies and associated businesses – booking agents, specialised adventures, independent charters – are testament to the flourishing industry, and as the travel industry grows a subtle transition is happening, one that manifests itself in the advertising sphere. The banner ads on websites and double page spreads in the magazines formerly reserved for the clothing companies are now being encroached upon by travel companies.
The other sector of the surf industry enjoying boom times is camera technology. Of course cameras have been around for many years but they weren't considered products of the surf industry until a recent change. That being the advent of the self-operated camera. The modern action cam makes the surfer both subject and object, and ironically it had its genesis during a surf trip. Whilst holidaying in Indonesia Californian Nick Woodman lamented the lack of a camera to adequately film himself surfing. Narcissism being a wonderful foundation for commerce, Woodman spotted a gap in the market and subsequently created the first GoPro camera in 2002.The effect Woodman's cameras had on surfing was little short of seismic. For a couple of hundred dollars surfers could film themselves in high quality and broadcast their minute-long Skeleton Bay barrel or their clodhopping style to the world. The amateur surf clip became ubiquitous, as did the GoPro surfboard mount.GoPro's success was noticed by other entrepreneurs who created accessories to service our streak of vanity. First were the straight GoPro copies, such as Sony Action Cam, and Contour, and then the more inventive, such as the SoloShot, which allowed the surfer to be filmed remotely from the beach. To operate, unclip a tripod, screw the SoloShot and camera on top, strap the receiver around your arm and paddle out. Standing unattended on the beach the SoloShot tracks your movements and films the whole session.
Never mind thieves, on their FAQ page SoloShot recommend chaining your tripod and expensive camera to a piece of driftwood. Presumably a very heavy piece of driftwood.Recently SoloShot-style tracking technology has taken off – literally – with the production of the AirDog, which combines the idea of the land-based SoloShot with drones. Just launch it, strap a receiver on your body, and like a loyal Labrador the AirDog follows you hovering directly overhead for the duration of your session. The grumbles from fellow surfers will surely be outweighed by the bird's eye footage of your bald spot. The AirDog will be available in December.Whether the SoloShot, AirDog, or any similar future inventions, endure the way GoPro has remains to be seen because it's GoPro that has driven this new market. They conceived the idea of the action cam, produced it, and have led the way with technology such as higher frame rates. Their popularity is reflected on the share market.In late June Woodman floated GoPro at $24 a share. However, the share price has risen steadily since then, boosted in part by the recent release of the Hero 4. GoPro's share price currently stands at $94 and the company's market capitalisation – the net worth of all outstanding shares – is an almighty $11.82 billion. In comparison the combined market cap for Billabong and Quiksilver is less than $1 billion.Despite the gloom the surf industry isn't dead, it's simply evolved. To get a correct prognosis of the surf industry the scope of the examination needs to be widened, the definition expanded, because in some quarters it's looking very healthy indeed.
Ted the Kiwi
> 9 months ago, 9 Oct 2014
