Beach shops riding wave of women's wear surf shacks

By Cindy Butler Focke

Correspondent

Twenty years ago, would Pinky Drew have envisioned selling Roxy lamps in her surf shop?

Never, said Drew, as she glanced at the racks of summery dresses, adorable jewelry and a wall filled with colorful sandals. The owner of Corner 24 Juniors and Girls said the days of selling only wetsuits, surfboards and surfing supplies are no longer.

In 1989, the avid surfer and her husband Don transformed a former 1924 firehouse on the corner of 24th Street and Pacific Avenue into their surf haven - Corner 24 Surf Shop. At first, they catered mostly to male wave-riders and carried a few bikinis and cover-ups. In the early '90s, as the ladies surf brand Roxy entered the market, their female customer base began to increase.

"We saw that the ladies' stuff was moving," Drew said. In 2001, the couple opened the all-ladies surf shop Corner 24 Juniors and Girls in Great Neck Square, and last year, they added tanning services to the store's retail menu.

Freedom Surf Shop owner Dave Shotton said sales to females make up about 30 percent of his business.

"The women's market really blew up about 12 years ago," Shotton said. He attributed much of the surge to the onset of MTV surf-specific reality shows and movies, such as "Blue Crush," featuring female surfers.

Shotton said his Hilltop area shop is modeled after the old classic surf shops of the '60s, offering wetsuits and surfboards, some sporting splashes of feminine colors. A portion of the showroom is devoted entirely to females, selling fashions in toddler, junior and ladies sizes.

His buyer, Nicole Orsargos, said many of the surf companies are expanding their target markets as the female customers celebrate more birthdays. Quiksilver for Women was launched last fall, catering to females in their late 20s.

"They're more conscious of customers getting older," she said.

According to local Roxy sales representative Brad Harrell, whose company is owned by Quiksilver, women have made a huge impact on the surfing world.

"The women's surf industry has come from a pair of board shorts and a bikini to a fashion statement and a lifestyle," Harrell said.

Ross Summerall, manager of Surf and Adventure in Sandbridge, said the shop's ladies department has grown tremendously over 10 years in business. Surf and Adventure now offers summer Billabong Chica Surf Camps at Little Island Park for young girls and teens.

"They're our biggest spenders. They dominate the dollars," he said of the surf shop's female clientele.

Cindy Butler Focke, butler496@aol.com