When Dennis Jarvis opened his firstHermosa Beachsurf shop in 1983, he didn’t have much inventory. So, when a customer asked for something he didn’t have in stock, he’d call a neighboring surf shop. If they had the product, he’d send his customer down the street.
Since that time, when Spyder was just the third surf shop in theU.S.to carry Billabong and Volcom, the surf industry has grown big enough to attract big box retailers.
Jarvis credits his success in competing against the big boxes to a staff that lives the lifestyle it sells.
“Target may sell snowboarder Sean White shirts, but its employees probably don’t know who he is,” Jarvis said. By contrast, his staff includes recurrent lifeguards, and top local surfers and snowboarders.
Jarvis and partner Dickie O’Reilly have helped earn the community’s loyalty by hosting Snow Fest over the holidays, Surf Fest in the spring, and the South Bay Boardriders contest series final. This year’s SpringFest on April 7 coincides with the Hermosa Surf Walk of Fame induction. The SBBC contest final is May 19.
“When customers come in we don’t just want to make a sale. We want to make friends, because we know we’ll be seeing them later in the water or at the skate park,” Jarvis said.
Spyder Surf: 65 Pier Avenue 310-374-2494 and 2461 Pacific Coast Hwy 310-374-8276, Hermosa Beach.
Runner-up: ET Surf, 904 Aviation Blvd., Hermosa Beach. 310-379-7666.
