It’s been a busy summer for Huntington Beach-based Future Fins.
The 13-year-old maker of surfboard fins recently moved into its 20,000-square-foot headquarters at 5452 McFadden Ave., nearly doubling the size of its old location, also in Huntington Beach.
It’s also been marketing itself to surfers and fans at the U.S. Open surf competition, a nine-day event held in Huntington Beach in July that showcases products through sponsored surfers, among other avenues.
Future Fins, like most retailers, is coping with slower sales this year.
The company has seen flat sales in 2009 compared to 2008, which is actually a “good thing,” according to Chief Executive Vince Longo.
Most companies in his industry have been in decline, he said.
Future Fins had a strong 2008 after gaining sales internationally. That growth is what prompted the headquarters expansion, Longo said.
“We felt we finally got acceptance as a brand worldwide,” he said.
Future Fins sells to manufacturers as well as Huntington Beach retailers such as Huntington Surf and Sport and Jack’s Surfboards, as well as Australia’s Katana and Saint Augustine, Fla.-based Surf Station. The customer list runs into the hundreds, Longo said.
“We only sell to surfers, which is a somewhat of a small market,” he said.
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Future Fins’ product: company expanding in Huntington Beach |
Future Fins designs surfboard fins on the computer and then tests them in the water. The fins are designed to give surfers an edge in steering their boards.
The fiberglass and composite material designs are geared toward giving optimum speed and strength.
“It’s all in the details,” said Longo. “The refinement of the foil and material all affect performance.”
Discounts Draw Business
It’s been a tough market for sellers of auto parts, but Shrin Corp.,better known as Cover King,is hoping the market might be turning a corner.
The Anaheim-based maker of protective covers for auto exteriors, seats and dashboards has posted recent sales on par with what it was doing last summer.
“Things have started to look a little better,” said Robby Gupta, whose parents founded the company more than two decades ago.
Earlier in the year, sales had been about 20% lower than the previous year. It’s expecting to do about $15 million total this year.
A big part of the recent pickup came from a discount promotion with Costco Wholesale Corp., which has gone “much better than expected,” he said.
Some of its other customers include automakers Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and Chrysler Group LLC, as well as supply stores, including Memphis, Tenn.-based Autozone Inc., Pomona’s Keystone Automotive Industries Inc., Roanoke, Va.-based Advance Auto Parts Inc. and online retailers.
Despite General Motors going bankrupt, the auto maker has kept its orders and payments to Cover King, according to Gupta.
Cover King’s auto covers sell for $100 to $500, its seat covers go for $100 to $200 and its dashboard covers go for about $30.
About 100 people are employed at its 60,000-square-foot factory in Anaheim, where it makes about 75% of its products, many of which are custom-made to fit specific auto models.
The custom work is a major reason why it keeps the majority of its manufacturing local rather than moving to cheaper markets outside the country. It also has a 50,000-square-foot factory in Tijuana.
“We don’t stock much,it’s shipped immediately after it’s made,” said Gupta. “But it’s also difficult to forecast orders, which can make it tough.”
The company has scaled back its orders, but is unsure if it’s ready to ramp up production again.
It also came close to making an acquisition last month, but it backed off over issues with the price. Other buyout opportunities are being looked at.
One of its biggest competitors is Covercraft Industries Inc. in Oklahoma. It also competes with Wet Okole Hawaii in Costa Mesa.
Coupon Collector
Albert Ko is using a local edge with its Internet business that specializes in pooling together discount offerings from retailers.
Ko is the creator of three-year-old CheapCheapCheap LLC, an Irvine-based company that does the legwork to find discounts offered by retailers such as Amazon.com Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Best Buy Co.
His newest creation, CheapIrvine, focuses only on local businesses.
Ko has gathered more than 100 Irvine companies, such as Kaya Restaurant, to post deals with him by touting paperless coupons as an environmentally friendly incentive.
He’s been working with his team of four employees to have it fully operational this month.
The company gets a small share of each sale made through its Web site. His mainstay site funneled $1 million through it last year.
“We’re working primarily with small businesses,” he said. “People can save money while the businesses can boost sales.”
Ko says he prefers to work with smaller businesses because it’s been more of a challenge working with larger “sluggish” companies.
So far, he said he hasn’t had much opposition from local companies wanting to participate.
Driving traffic is his real challenge, he said. He’s tapping social networks such as Facebook and Twitter for leads.
