Riding the Wave into Retail
How the heck did we make this dream happen? If you're walking along Alki Avenue SW near 59th and see this sign, come up and say hi! Alki is Seattle’s favorite beach, and although thousands of visitors flock here each year, branded items have been hard to find. We saw an opportunity to fill a need, and that's when we decided to move from online to brick and mortar. Today Alki Surf Shop has a ton of Alki-branded merchandise (clothing, souvenirs, consumables), with more Genuine Alki shirts and hoodies than anywhere else on Earth. Due in part, to a little bit of luck. In May of 2014, thanks, to our neighbor, Sandi Bender, we came upon a rare opportunity to rent a retail space right in the heart of Alki Beach. And so the birth of our store began. We change up this display to show different merchandise. It must work because customers buy things right off the mannequin. Neither David nor I have a lot of retail experience. I worked at several stores in high s...
