A beautiful and inspiring brand will eventually win the premium niche in the multi-billion-dollar global surfwear market. We simply ask: why couldn’t that be us?

The global surfwear market currently presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to redefine what it means to be a surfer. Once dominated by large corporate conglomerates founded decades ago, surfing’s storied heritage and current progressive movement yearn for a beautiful and authentic premium brand with a strategic focus on quality and design.

Indeed, surfing demographics have evolved, resulting in a larger proportion of surfers who are older, more educated, and increasingly affluent. This large and sophisticated market desires a brand that presents a stunning reflection of their passion for surfing – an ultra-premium lifestyle brand that reflects their upscale design ethos and modern core values. 

There has also been a transformative shift in the behavior of consumers who now want brands to not only exceed their expectations, but to add value to their lives by being inspiring, purposeful and seamless. We are uniquely positioned to deliver on these new expectations and are developing world-class partnerships to connect the steps of our customer’s journey in a cohesive, inspiring and service-focused manner.

As a digitally-native modern luxury company, we focus our efforts predominantly on one goal: creating the world’s finest performance surfwear, surfing apparel and accessories. We are a young, innovative startup. Founded by highly experienced retail leaders and passionate surfers, we plan to elevate the surfwear market to levels never seen before.

We have accomplished a significant amount to-date, including strategy definition, trademark acquisition, team building, branding and product designs. We now seek investment partners that share our passion for the ocean and align with our values and mission to create the finest brand in surfing. 

Jonathan Rath
Founder & CEO

Our opportunity

The global surfing apparel market is projected to grow from $7.1 billon in ‘18 to $10.3 billion in ‘24. Once dominated by younger participants, surfing demographics are evolving, and the majority of surfers in the U.S. are now adults. Most surfers are 30+ years old, college students or graduates and 36% earn $100,000+ per year. 

Globally, the surfing apparel market is dominated by five major players: Quiksilver®, Billabong®, Rip Curl®, Hurley® and Volcom®. Each of these brands, however, shares a common target market focus: youth. For mature, passionate and more affluent surfers, however, a brand that inspires, excites and effectively addresses the premium segment simply does not exist. 

Source: "Rising Popularity of Surfing as a Recreational and Sporting Activity Drives Growth in the Global Surfing Market,” Global Industry Analysts, 2019.

Inspiration and values

"Localism, always, was defined as a return to purity." Matt Warshaw, The History of Surfing

Surfing is one of the world's most beautiful sports, and LOCL® embraces and celebrates the freedom and passion unique to surfers worldwide. With a timeless aesthetic, we honor the history of surfing, while innovating continuously and pushing the limits of modern surfing apparel design. We value integrity, innovation, passion, purpose, quality and design. We're taking these values and applying them to one of the most inspirational and perhaps misunderstood pursuits in the world. 

Outside of the surfing world, several well-known brands also give inspiration and encouragement. These companies include: (1) Rapha®, whose high-quality cycling apparel and customer experience help them earn approximately $100 million in annual sales and a recent acquisition for $260 million; (2) Patagonia®, whose iconic mountain brand and well-known commitment to the environment helped them achieve 2018 sales of $1 billion; and (3) lululemon®, the now iconic yoga apparel brand that earns over $3 billion in sales per year and boasts a market valuation of $20+ billion (Nasdaq: LULU).

We simply ask: if lululemon® could do it for yoga and Rapha® could do it for cycling, why couldn't LOCL® do it for the growing global surfing apparel market? 

Customers

Our target customers include educated and affluent men and women aged 25 to 54+ who understand the importance of living an active and passionate life. We believe our customers pursue surfing and other ocean activities to achieve physical fitness and inner peace. We expect to meet our customers’ needs by incorporating style along with comfort and functionality into our products and by delivering them through our direct-to-consumer retail strategy. While we will initially address the unique needs of men, we will also design products tailored specifically for women.

Brand and products

The LOCL® brand is quietly assured, unassuming, and world-class, and stands for leading a passionate and inspired surfing-focused lifestyle. We believe customers will come to associate us with premium quality stylish apparel that incorporates technically advanced materials, innovative functional features, and a casually sophisticated and forward-thinking aesthetic. While the majority of our competition (e.g., Volcom®) focus on trend-oriented teens, we decidedly concentrate on passionate and affluent adults.

LOCL® products represent the finest in apparel quality, and are designed for performance, functionality, comfort and style. Our offerings will be tailored specifically for men and women, and will include innovative technical and casual jackets, pants, shorts, shirts and sweaters, in addition to premium surfwear, wetsuits and accessories. Designed by world-class performance apparel designers, and responsibly produced by partners in the U.S. and Europe, the LOCL® range will be on par with the likes of Rapha®, Herno® and Orlebar Brown®. 

In addition to our Foundation Collection (please see attached), which we intend to fully develop over the coming years, we also intend to create complimentary product lines, such as luggage and skincare, and limited edition offerings, including art inspired clothing and photography books and prints. We plan to launch with a focused assortment of five to seven styles, which exudes the inspired, quiet confidence synonymous with our brand.

For more insight on why we chose our name watch some Tahitian locals charging here. 

Retail experience

Engaging directly with customers and creating a beautiful and inspirational customer experience is a core component of our business strategy. We will develop a world-class "direct-to-consumer" customer experience that seamlessly connects the LOCL® brand with passionate surfers throughout the world. 

In addition to a best-in-class cross-platform eCommerce experience, we plan to introduce integrated retail locations called LOCL® Ocean Clubs in strategic global surfing locations, including California, Hawaii, Australia, Bali, Brazil, South Africa, France and Japan. Inspired by Rapha® Clubhouses, our Ocean Clubs will be a combination of premium shop, local art gallery, professional surfing broadcast center and café – an upscale hub and gathering place for international surfers and ocean enthusiasts.

Our website will embody the core tenets of our brand and reach a global audience with a unique and thoroughly modern digital experience. Our “Inside” features will take our audience to locations throughout the world, and uncover authentic local stories. Our “Behind the Scenes” features will document what really goes down during primetime at some of the world’s greatest waves. Our “History of Surfing” features will illuminate the surfing heritage of world-class locations. “Giving” and “Shop” sections will showcase our social and environmental commitment, and product innovation.

Marketing

We plan to present our audience with rich, beautifully produced original content, which inspires and excites, and reaffirms their commitment to surfing. With lifestyle photography, films, writing, travel, products, and LOCL® Ocean Clubs, we intend to embrace our customers with both surfing's storied heritage and its current progressive movement. We have begun to partner with world-class photographers, filmmakers, writers, and branding, PR and social media influence firms.  

Leadership and advisory team

LOCL® is led by a world-class team of passionate surfers and retail veterans from Deloitte Consulting, TPG Growth and lululemon®. Our Founder and CEO, Jonathan Rath, has 30+ years of global surfing experience, and is a leader in retail and consumer goods consulting. With 20+ years of post-MBA business experience, Jonathan has led transformational change for clients including Nike®, Levi Strauss & Co.®, Design Within Reach®, TOMS Shoes®, and Carter's® among others. 

Our executive advisors include several exceptional leaders in the business community, including David Mossé and Darrell Kopke. A retail veteran and investment executive, David is currently Partner and General Counsel at the private equity firm TPG Growth. As General Manager of lululemon® from start-up through IPO, Darrell led many facets of the yoga brand's explosive growth. Darrell is currently Founder and CEO of Ædelhard®. 

Organization and financials

We intend to become a Certified B Corporation® and to partner with bluesign®, TerraPass®, Surfrider®, Oceana® and others. 3% of our sales will be donated to the local ocean non-profit organization of our customers' choice. We strongly believe in doing well by doing good, and in giving back to our local communities in an exceptional manner. 

While we seek $1.5 million in Seed Capital to execute our business strategy, we believe we could start the business with as little as $250,000 in additional capital. As a direct-to-consumer brand in the performance apparel space, we expect to achieve particularly strong gross margins similar to the levels experienced by lululemon®. 

Once again, we welcome you to join us on this exceptionally exciting journey.