Not my area, but I've stumbled on this shop's website a few times:Originally Posted by njsurfer42
http://www.mckevlins.com/
http://www.mckevlins.com/no%20pops.html
Not my area, but I've stumbled on this shop's website a few times:
http://www.mckevlins.com/
http://www.mckevlins.com/no%20pops.html
Hollister is the most profitable "surf" brand in the industry. why you may ask?
the same reason small companies stand no chance in this corporate fight for greed and exploitation. DISTRIBUTION! it's simple really. whoever makes more of a product gets it cheaper. which means they sell a higher quality product for cheaper.
which puts the press on brick and mortar surf/skate shops to only carry the "top 5" and will continually be harder and harder to open. while zumies and pac sun will continue to thrive. unless there is a supportive community that takes a conscious choice to support local. or else we all f*cked.
by the way...cancel your Fuel TV (owned by rupert murdoch) subscriptions.. that bad boy is sinking quick. that soon is going to be a regular sports channel that fox is positioning up against ESPN.
and DVS in now owned by Justin timberlake...and his parents...
just read http://shop-eat-surf.com/ for you daily depressive dose on the fight of good and evil.
however on the bright side, we will probably get some nike wave pools popping up places because if there was a pocket deep enough for that dream to become a reality they would be the ones to do it. the only action sports that really make good money is moto x among some other race sports. the skate industry is all jumping ship because there isn't enough money in it. but thanks to street league hopefully that will change.
amen.
so you think all this is a new phenomena huh?
You have some valid points and obviously love crony capitalism. I just find it ironic that your avatar is from the movie Fight Club which is basically against everything you seem to spew out of your mouth. This is America and people love great deals at convenient big box stores. If you give them money, most would tatoo the nike logo on their forehead Charles Manson style.
This country is a scary place now. There aren't any manafacturing jobs here because companies want to make higher profits. The current business model for the country is soft fascism. It's when the country is run by corporations which is why we have a soft version of fascism here. I just don't want it to escalate. It would be great if the country got back to its roots or at least comprised. We would no longer import all this merchandise but create it in our country. People would actually take pride in their work, their community and respect their neighbors. People would buy goods in their community from locals in their community and the local econoomy would thrive. Basically, we just need morals and principles again. Instead of just ****ing the guy in the ass next to you for the almighty dollar.
This is not just a surfing issue but a problem with all industries. We are losing our way. Eventually, there will no longer be mom and pop shops. We will be bought by the big companies for advertising too. I hope we eventually don't see people with permanent tattooed Hollister shirts.
Last edited by motivated2surf; Jul 31, 2012 at 04:48 PM.
you are aware that Nike started out as a very small operation about of Phil Knights car don't you?
an walmart started as a small mom and pop store and Ford started as a small shop.
Just about every company based in the US started out small. They just did it better than every body else and grew. So all these evil 'corporations' are really mom and pops who made it big.
Last edited by aka pumpmaster; Jul 31, 2012 at 04:56 PM.
I see what your saying but there are too many other factors. They might have done it better in business terms but ****ed up in bunch of other areas which have direct impacts of all of us. Why can't they be honest and run their business with high morals and ethics. They might have started that way but they are defintiely running on a non-moral platform now. They ship jobs oversees which directly affects people without jobs and we pay higher taxes to give unemployment benefits to these people directly affected by the outsourcing of jobs. They receive corporate welfare when times are tough because they gave compaign contributions. Where's my check?
When a company gets huge, the decisions it makes affects everyone in our country and they actually shape the laws in this country through their influence in Washington. Now, that is crazy ****. There is a ripple down affect just from the outsourcing of jobs that affects a huge amount of areas. From unemployment benefits, to local businesses going under (more unemployment and bankruptcy liquidation), to higher taxes for social services for people who lost their jobs, etc. etc. etc. Then, they get too big and they receive corporate welfare from our pocket. Give me a break. We need a fair marketplace. Not just a monopoly. Everyone can complain all they want including me. If we really want to make a difference. Don't go to Walmart, Target, McDonalds, Home Depot, Lowes, grocery store chains and other big box stores. Don't buy big name brands. Buy whatever you can from local shops including produce from local farms not corporate produce from chain grocery stores.
Until people start buying locally, we will always see corporations spreading their logos in every aspect of live and in every corner of this country's landscape. Local goods may cost more but it's not that much more. Maybe you give up buying some **** you don't need at a big box store (sneakers with lights in the sole) and buy some other stuff locally.
There's nothing wrong with making it and I'm the sort who believes that if you don't like something, fine don't buy it. Vote with your wallet, but giving any entitiy a pass just because "that's business", is a problem.
Nike did start small. Walmart did too. H-e-double hockey sticks, most people forget or don't know that up until Sam Walton died in the mid-90's, Walmart prided themselves on being one of the largest distributors of goods "Made In America". Walmart was one of the direct reasons that the 89-91 recession wasn't nearly as bad as it could have been, no bull. Sam made a commitment to buy American goods and sell them cheaply. His kids, who are some of the richest people in the world, most certainly don't follow that credo now and Nike never did (I'm not knocking being rich or making it or any of that, just pointing out that their commitment to profit is greater than their commitment to the ol' U.S. of A.; G-D, Family, and Country above all else is a credo that has been lost in my life time).
That's why I'm wearing New Balance shoes and socks right now, because they're a company that has made a commitment to keeping and bringing back manufacturing jobs. The NB socks I'm wearing right now, the label they sport cost me 2$ more a 3-pack. It ain't the NB on the back either, it's what's woven into the weave on the inside of the collar that counts. In big, block, bold letters it says, "MADE IN THE USA" and they were. The last car I bought my wife was a Ford. Three reasons, quality control improvements, assembled in America (I know a great many of the parts say "Hecho en Mexico) and they didn't take TARP money. When Ford stock plummeted in March of 2009, I put even more money where my mouth is and bought every share I could, because I believe in the company and their ideals. From the New Balance website:
"We made our first pair of running shoes in 1938 and hold the distinction as the only company that still manufactures athletic shoes in the USA. One out of every four pair of shoes we sell in the U.S. is made or assembled here. Where the domestic value is at least 70% we have labeled them "Made in the USA"."
I guess my point is, in the U.S. a corporation has the same rights as an individual. We as surfers talk about educating people in the line-up, community focus and informing ourselves on local issues. When we go to other places, we talk about respecting them, acting properly and giving as much as we take (don't be a wave hog). These are kind of hallmarks of "good citizenship". If a corporate entity is a person, why do they get a pass on being poor citizens? If a person you know kept children in miserable conditions, in indentured servitude with no hope of anything better in this life; would you give that person your hard earned money? I try not to.
Last edited by zaGaffer; Jul 31, 2012 at 08:05 PM.
i dont see a big issue with these corporations. How is a big company lobbying any different from labor doing it? I would prefer that they all buy stuff in this country but as long as labor rates are so high, they cant and survive. from what I am seeing, there seems to be some movement to bringing production back to the US (mainly the southern states) due to the corruption in China and other areas so hopefully that trend continues.
Getting back to the topic, it all goes back to adaptation. Those shops that adapt to changing conditions will be fine. those that cling to the past will not regardless of Nike or any other big player.
Last edited by aka pumpmaster; Jul 31, 2012 at 05:48 PM.
This is very true. Adapt or die. This whole thread is one of the most interesting in a while and something that you posted earlier has given me a potential business idea. Thank you.
I want a cut!!
Reply With Quote
