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SIMA Seeks a New Tide

May 28, 2007
SAN JOSE DEL CABO, Mexico (May 28, 2007) — After a decade of yearly gatherings of the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association here, the waves still crash, the sun still shines and tequila is still acceptable currency.
But as the surfing world’s most successful companies congregated last week to vet the issues facing the industry, one couldn’t help but notice the party animals were considerably tamer. Gone are the days when CEOs skipped the seminars for the surf or got ousted from panel discussions for reckless revelry.
Instead, most of the nearly 400 attendees showed up for each conference panel to hear lectures that addressed the buying habits of Harley-Davidson riders, the power of grassroots marketing in the world of organic yogurt, and the ongoing need for environmental initiatives.

Perhaps the evolutionary sentiment was best summed up by surf legend and Gotcha founder Michael Tomson: “We used to be the youth that was against the establishment. Now we are the establishment.”
Dick Baker, who serves as SIMA’s president, compared the maturation of the conference to the industry’s own path of progression. “Watching this thing unfold over the last ten years is almost a direct reflection of the surf industry’s growth and sophistication. It’s a real business now,” he said. And as retail sales of surf goods hit $7.48 billion last year, according to a SIMA study, it’s obvious that “the majority of product is not even sold to people that surf.”

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