That is incredible

Surffx need to up their game

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kobo said..
Surffx need to up their game

that's a worryingly optimistic store will we get to revisit it again in a year or so?

but it is awesome

Truly impressive.. But I would hate trying to keep it clean.

They only sell Gong

It's good to be rich! Where is this store located? How far from water?

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Haircut said..
that's a worryingly optimistic store will we get to revisit it again in a year or so?

but it is awesome

A while back they were rated as one of France's top 100 fastest growing companies. I think they were like 37. And that was before they added 50 more employees...

If I remember correctly, thier sales was just over 35 million Euros for 2021 and about doubling or more from every year before. So unless the location is really bad, I'm pretty sure they got the sales part covered. (I can't find the article anymore but I think that sales number was for 2021 but it could have been thier 2020 number)

The new shop is at Pornichet / La Baule . About two kilometers from the beach. Not far from where he first started shaping boards.

It's a pretty impressive setup. I think there must be a lot of GONG inflatable toys sitting in apartments and garages throughout Europe, not getting much use. However, I think their gear is now starting to put a few of the bigger players to shame.
The new neutra wave wings look great and I'd love to see them bring out a downwind inflatable sup foil board! The GONG brand and Patrice seems to promote honesty and inclusivity in their gear and the sport and I think the more success they have better the sport will become. One day I'll have to visit the space centre next time i'm in France.

My only concern (if I were an investor) is that the vast majority of foil sales are likely done online.

For example, in USA the one of the biggest sales/distributor for foil gear is MacKiteboarding and it's almost all online orders. I doubt they are investing huge in their brick-and-mortar shop but instead investing in better online infrastructure (which ain't cheap).

This shop looks absolutely epic, unfortunately the internet has ruined the concept of awesome esoteric sports shops.

Another cool shop is Real Kiteboarding in Outer Banks NC USA, great shop on the water with live music and food etc

The French take their watersports very seriously, especially the windsports. My friend from France doesn't understand why our local spots are not overrun with wingers and kiters every windy day. 'If this was at my spot in France, there would be 50 people out, instead of only 5' is the type of thing he says.

Good on em'!

Well I can say from my personal experience that I purchased a Gong board used, I contacted the customer support for some info about foils and wings, they were really polite, helpful, interesting and quick to reply - I was impressed by that and I live in Japan where customer service is extremely high, does anyone know why they called themselves Gong, doesn't sound very French and I wonder why the logo is a flaming sperm? or maybe it's a tadpole I don't know

OMG!!!! That is awesome! Perfect! Wish it was in my local area.
One local little city 20 klms from where I live in NSW Australia is called WollonGONG.
Maybe they should set up a branch store there.??
With available stock of course.

Looking at the setup and having seen his marketing approach over the last few years I would say this is not necessarily a "high risk" investment and one that has been cleverly calculated. It is a massive facilty and has a huge staffing capability.
The fact that it is not only a retail outlet for surf/sail gear but also a restaurant, bar, training facility and board production seems to tick many different boxes. Gong must be positioning itself to push further into the global market. Looking at the office space, I would assume the direction would also be heavily into the online market as well and that he would be perfectly positioned to address the European demand.

I have never used any Gong gear and can only assume it is of decent design and quality. It is great to see him "putting it" to the big brands and chasing market share.

I,m not sure if this is a big risk, like Shi Thouse wrote, it has multiple functions and it takes also way the stigma that they are an "web only" brand. Now they have a way to display there gear to customers.

Overall a very cool and impressive shop and when i,m going to Bretagne pretty sure I will drop in to visit it.
I just bought an 14ft inflatable raceboard from them for the holidays (roof is already stuffed with hardboards) and it's just a good board. Its not as stiff as a Naish, but they cost almost 3-times as much of of what I pay for the Gong, and that is what imo the case with most of there gear: just not up to the absolute top, but a LOT cheaper making it a pretty good deal (and I prever there SUP-paddles over quickblade and Naish).

G.O.N.G is. Galaxy of New Generations.

Not sure where the Flameball logo originates, but flaming sperm is funnier!

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Jeroensurf said..
I,m not sure if this is a big risk, like Shi Thouse wrote, it has multiple functions and it takes also way the stigma that they are an "web only" brand. Now they have a way to display there gear to customers.

Overall a very cool and impressive shop and when i,m going to Bretagne pretty sure I will drop in to visit it.
I just bought an 14ft inflatable raceboard from them for the holidays (roof is already stuffed with hardboards) and it's just a good board. Its not as stiff as a Naish, but they cost almost 3-times as much of of what I pay for the Gong, and that is what imo the case with most of there gear: just not up to the absolute top, but a LOT cheaper making it a pretty good deal (and I prever there SUP-paddles over quickblade and Naish).

I think Jeroensurf hit on the number one thing that makes Gong truly stand out, good quality gear at an almost impossible-to-beat price, by selling direct without any dealers. Actually a pretty well established business model for lots of businesses. I can't speak to the hand wings or boards, but I've been buying their foils since Sept 2019 and I think they basically match the performance of brands like Axis and SAB at a fraction of the price . I've owned/ridden Axis and SAB, which are both great choices, just a lot more expensive. Like every supplier out there Gong still has its flaws.

Regarding the new facility, I would agree with Shi Thouse about it being way more than a retail shop. It has lots of other functions, and in a lot of ways very different than on-line resellers that many of us are familiar with.

Someone mentioned Real Watersports, which also has a pretty cool business model centered around their main facility. I've lived right down the road from them not long after they first opened (when kiteboarding started to takeoff). Big retail store that probably sells as much surf clothing to tourists, as it does in-shop sales of Kiting/foiling/surfing gear. Pretty sure the on-site restaurant generates way more revenue (also from tourists) than the kiteboard/wingfoil lesson center. They also figured out how to cater to the wealthy "hedge fund" crowd wanting to get into these wind sports. Very different from Gong, but it tends to create a similar, almost cultish sort of following centered around the main facility. I never thought the Real business model would last, but it has done quite well.

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Camarillo said..
They only sell Gong

Actually, no.

Any brand can make a deal with Gong to become their reseller.
Gong is for instance the #1 reseller of FCS gear in France, and they sell wetsuits by Billabong, St Jacques, Vissla...
And they can also distribute competitors to their own gear such as the South-African Ullman wings, Corsica's JVB surfboards, Creature of Leisure leashes, etc...

Gong details its history in www.gong-galaxy.com/en/history/

And yes, the original logo is a sperm (the "New Generations" part of the "Galaxy Of New Generations" acronym, but officially a "flaming ball" to stay less offensive.

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Icebergmansion said..
My only concern (if I were an investor) is that the vast majority of foil sales are likely done online.

For example, in USA the one of the biggest sales/distributor for foil gear is MacKiteboarding and it's almost all online orders. I doubt they are investing huge in their brick-and-mortar shop but instead investing in better online infrastructure (which ain't cheap).

I think the vast majority of their sales are likely online - their business model seems to be mostly direct to consumer sales through their very efficienct website.
You are right, hugely capital intesive undertaking, but I imagine the restaurant and retail could pay for itself and the logistics and R&D space was all necessary given the range.

I ordered a board (Lethal 4'4 pro), excellent price, quick EU delivery, responsive team when I queried logistics - hope the board lasts as I guess the price means less carbon, but so far it is the most rigid (and first new..) board I've owned.

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cornwallis said..
I think the vast majority of their sales are likely online

Yes, Gong business is online.

Actually, the "shop" should be seen as a part of the online business and leveraging it, in many ways:
- enhancing the brand image and visibility
- providing a nice work environment for the staff, important to attract and retain talent
- building and maintaining a team spirit, critical for people working online (so many ideas happen at the coffee break), and also the team riders that are spread on the planet. The video for instance talk about bringing them in for training/coaching sessions together.
- developing the locally shaped line. A custom board made in France in the Gong center is currently sold 3 times the price of an oversea production one, it is important to show how it is done and why it is more expensive.
- an incentive for people to meet face to face, be it customers/customers to strengthen the community, customer/business to put faces on online transactions, or business/business for commercial deals...

What I really liked about the Galaxy video was that l'Ours didn't boast about his product he just presented it, he didn't make any stupid hype speech he just showed us around, he addressed his staff by their first name and even in the packaging section there wasn't as much as a scrap of paper or cardboard on the floor anywhere - the place was nickel chrome, and the all those plants

I guess some didn't really read the subtitles. 1500 square meters of warehouse space on site at the facility and that is enough to cover 2 days worth of orders. They are clearly doing quite ok with the online side of their business.

I really like the vision, philosophy, and mission Patrice presents for his business in this video.

it's really awesome to see something like this.... definitely would visit the next time I'm in the area. I wish them a ton of success so they can be able to sustain this.

Good on him for having a go.
I think there'd be a squillion people like me who would happily work for him in that sort of environment. Seems like a very modern work culture.

This has given me a totally new perspective of the brand. Add my name to the fan list. How can you not be after watching that? Good on them for creating that place.

He mentioned "100s of dispatches daily" and a total warehouse size of 6 000 m2 (of which 1500 m2 is housed in this new building. Ninely full time employees. The headline is a bit misleading, this is more than surf shop!

Guy has built an empire, he saw wingfoiling's potential clear as day and had the guts and ingenuity to go for it.

IMHO he has a bit of a megalomany, Like 8 wingboard shapes(in different constructions&sizes) and 5 wingsail models (not counting the Ullman).Have not bothered to count the foils.
Logistical nightmare ,confusing for the customer and with no clear gain.Three models of each would be plenty enough.
Hope this huge shop is not overreaching.

I have used their stuff (in fact i just ordered a discounted Neutra wing) but i have a mistrust for the brand, when they screw up they will 90% of the time not admit it,blame it on you and let you burn.
Has happened to friends of mine,clear quality control mishaps that they did not bother to admit much less correct.Very,very arrogant.

But like RyanAir and EasyJet, you know what you are getting into,right?.

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mcrt said..
Like 8 wingboard shapes(in different constructions&sizes) and 5 wingsail models (not counting the Ullman).Have not bothered to count the foils.
Logistical nightmare ,confusing for the customer and with no clear gain.Three models of each would be plenty enough.

The problem is: which 3 models?

Every customer is different, the sport is evolving every month, you need this wide range to cover all practices.
This is why they are so advanced, both to tackle the logistics, and having a pool of staff to help customers, as well as a huge community (forum + facebook) to help people choose.

Once the dust settles, and the practices stabilizes, the production lines can be collapsed into few models. This is what happened with SUPs, at some time Gong had more than 20 models, but now less (but still 9, not 3, not counting different constructions). Same with Windsurf gear, etc.

However, this collapse may never happen. Nobody would dare say "Why are there so many surfboard models? 3 would be plenty enough..."

PS: On my experience, support is stellar if you act in a civil way. But as we say "sow the wind and reap the whirlwind", act aggressively and human beings are not going to want to help you more than necessary. You can see plenty of cases where Gong helped nice people even though the issue was outside warranty (e.g. transport damages discovered after signing the delivery, gear broken by a customer error but admitted upfront)...

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colas said..

mcrt said..
Like 8 wingboard shapes(in different constructions&sizes) and 5 wingsail models (not counting the Ullman).Have not bothered to count the foils.
Logistical nightmare ,confusing for the customer and with no clear gain.Three models of each would be plenty enough.

The problem is: which 3 models?

Every customer is different, the sport is evolving every month, you need this wide range to cover all practices.
This is why they are so advanced, both to tackle the logistics, and having a pool of staff to help customers, as well as a huge community (forum + facebook) to help people choose.

Once the dust settles, and the practices stabilizes, the production lines can be collapsed into few models. This is what happened with SUPs, at some time Gong had more than 20 models, but now less (but still 9, not 3, not counting different constructions). Same with Windsurf gear, etc.

However, this collapse may never happen. Nobody would dare say "Why are there so many surfboard models? 3 would be plenty enough..."

PS: On my experience, support is stellar if you act in a civil way. But as we say "sow the wind and reap the whirlwind", act aggressively and human beings are not going to want to help you more than necessary. You can see plenty of cases where Gong helped nice people even though the issue was outside warranty (e.g. transport damages discovered after signing the delivery, gear broken by a customer error but admitted upfront)...

Colas, believe me it was not a case of being impolite when pointing out there was a huge problem with the product (Matata PVC board self disintegrating).

Your friend the Bear is surely a great friend but he does not take any kind of criticism well at all.Warranty claims, gear reviews, forum posts...charges like a bull.
Anyway, i wish him and Gong a good future, they have earned it.

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mcrt said..
the Bear

Well, he got his nickname in contests because he wasn't socializing easily :-)