51
Who do SUP Inflatables work with?“ The key brands are Red, Starboard, Shark and Gladiator. We also retail many other brands, but these are the main quality brands we work with.” Gary is keen to offer a range of premium, well-made boards. They are retailers for Red and Starboard but distributors for Gladiator and act globally for Shark, advising on development and design. I asked about conflicts of interest; Gary is keen to stress it’ s all about feeding back to all the premium brands and ensuring development and innovation.“ There is no real difference, at the end of the day, the customers choose, and it’ s our job to try and show them options which match their needs.” He also notes that as a distributor“ we have more influence than a simple retailer so can feedback from many thousands of customers what developments and innovations are needed which benefits the whole industry.”
Gary, Emma, and the team are on webchats and meetings two or three times a week with all their suppliers to discuss ideas, provide feedback, and address any quality issues. Having a choice of premium, reliable, and dependable brands is key. Gary says,“ Customers are advised on length, width and profile, but, at the end of the day, brand and colour choice is down to them!”
Plans and thoughts Would there ever be SUP hardboards sold by SUP Inflatables?, Gary quickly answered“ No.” The key differentiator for inflatables is ease of storage, ease of handling, transportability and all of this makes retailing hardboards difficult,“ besides, there are great suppliers out there.” SUP