Adrenalina Surfs into Malls
By Tom Ryan
If retailing was a sport, Adrenalina, a new action sports concept, could easily be considered an “extreme” store. It’s the first retail store to include a FlowRider, the indoor-surfing attraction more commonly found in water parks. That’s not only attracting core enthusiasts looking to try the FlowRider but also many spectators to gawk at the spectacle.
“People always stop and look,” Adrenalina president, COO and CFO Jeffrey Geller told Shopping Centers Today. “It brings a true form of entertainment to the store, and appeals to people of all ages, including those outside the target demographic.”
But the concept will only succeed if it’s able to sell merchandise around action sports. Merchandise accounts for 85 percent of the store’s revenues; the rest from FlowRider participation.
Indeed, what else is unique about the concept is that it embraces all action sports. The store caters to well-known activities (surfing, biking, skating), the adventurous (Moto X, BMX, skydiving) and niche sports (kitesurfing, skimboarding, paintball, wakeboarding). By comparison, other action chains focus around surf (Pacific Sunwear) or skate (Zumiez), and largely sell apparel. About 19 percent of Adrenalina’s mix is hard goods.
The concept was inspired by Adrenalina, an extreme-sports TV show eventually acquired by Mr. Geller, formerly president of discount fragrance retailer Perfumania, and some of his former associates. Noticing that many action sports had gone mainstream and the excitement over extreme sports on TV, Mr. Geller saw a retail opportunity around action sports.
But the main traffic magnet will likely always be the FlowRider. A 20-foot-by-50-foot sloped padded sheet pumps a stream of water upwards at 20 mph to create a 4-inch riding surface. Costing $20 for a half-hour session, eight riders can go at once.
Mr. Geller believes the concept reaches three different consumer segments. These include the “hard core” customer looking for gear to participate in the sport, as well as the many members of the Gen-Y generation embracing action sports brands. Finally, the store attracts older people and families attracted to the FlowRider but frequently buying something for themselves or their kids. The store also hosts birthday parties with the FlowRider.
The FlowRider traffic is also attracting landlords seeking to have Adrenalina serve as a mini-anchor to their malls. With only two so far in Miami and Orlando, stores are undergoing construction in Tampa, FL; Denver, CO; Alpharetta, GA; Plano, TX; and Houston, TX.
“For one thing, the FlowRider raises the bar,” said Mr. Geller. “It exceeds what shoppers expect to find in a store, and that carries over into their perception of the merchandise. Furthermore, it’s a prime example of viral marketing. It’s going to resonate with everyone. Some people will see it and want to try, and those that aren’t inclined will nevertheless tell their friends and family. It gets noticed by everyone.”
Discussion Questions: First, what do you think of the use of a FlowRider as a retail traffic driver? Second, how would you rate the retail opportunity around action sports? Is the U.S. ready for a chain embracing all action sports?
Consumers need a reason to come to a retail outlet. This certainly provides a reason for the novelty and/or fun factor. The problem might be that if this becomes a fad can you easily change from the water attraction to something else? While the attraction lasts, this is a great idea as long as sales of products come along with it. Offering products for a variety of extreme sports is a good idea because it will help consumers who are easily bored move from one attraction to another.
The FlowRider should attract crowds and the $40 an hour price point should keep loitering teens from monopolizing the machine but the issue is do all extreme sports consumers want to shop together? My guess is no–that niches are niches and aggregating them goes against the core principles that create them in the first place.
I love the concept of exceeding expectations of shoppers!
Also love the multi-functional mix of sports, and the mix of hard goods vs. soft. Given careful planning on appropriate locations, they should have a successful business. They just need to be certain that the shopper base in the mall areas actually participates in the sports they cover. I also hope they hire people who actually participate in the sports they represent, so there is a measure of authenticity. Buzz and fun can only keep them going for so long. The name rocks!
For most, a trip to the mall has become downright boring! So, the addition of any entertainment that creates a better shopping experience will be a welcome relief.
Whether or not they can convert the ‘lookers’ into buyers remains to be seen. In the end, retail is still a product dominated business. Action/extreme sports would still appear to appeal to only a narrow segment of society. Will the emotional ‘wave’ of being in the store be enough to crack open a few wallets? Let’s hope so because shopping centres everywhere need this type of concept.
What is for certain is that the adjoining merchants have a chance to capitalize in the increase in foot traffic expected in the mall. And that’s always a good thing.
Attractions like the FlowRider are a great way to create in-store excitement and buzz. We’re talking about it aren’t we? 90+% of the battle is getting the customers into the stores which is getting tougher especially with online shopping.
With all of the popularity of X Games, Skate Parks and Fuel TV, Action Sports are not only here in a huge way but our kids are all growing up on it and they are the future.
In addition to all of the sports gear required, the success of branded apparel, hats, stickers, etc, is creating a massive extended business.
With regard to sports icon celebrities who promote the sports, gone are the days where our only sports heroes were NBA, NFL, MLB stars. Today’s superstars also include the likes of Tony Hawk, Shawn White, Ryan Sheckler and Travis Pastrana.
Get on board because this train is well out of the station.
Using entertainment and/or sports to draw consumers into stores is nothing new. This is simply a newer, more high tech version. It will be interesting to see how many people that come to watch wind up buying products.
Though extreme in a variety of ways including cost to build and upkeep, this is well beyond the “retailtainment” and “shoppertainment” of the 1990s. Xanadu in the Meadowlands (NJ) and Patriot’s Place in Massachusetts are two new centers that focus on “experiential retailing.”
Xanadu will have indoor skiing and a NASCAR type indoor race track (F1) among approx 100 new shops in the Giants/Jets sports complex. These centers are focusing on the forgotten 50% of the shopping community…MALES!!! Some are saying “at long last” and others say “good luck!” I say, watch and learn.
Specialty shops that engage and interact with their customers like Apple and Lululemon are currently the hottest in the country. A typical Apple store has customers taking classes, customer with technical issues, customers have fun just playing with iPods and iPhones, and customers buying product. People go to most stores to buy product and get out as quickly as possible. Apple and Lululemon are showing us there are better ways to do business than “grab and go.”
Retailtainment isn’t easy to sustain. Novelty and exclusivity don’t usually last long. Adrenalina’s use of the FlowRider is like the life cycle of a hot nightclub: people flock to it initially, but the peak interest isn’t easily continued after a few years, when folks go on to something else that’s new. Look at the difficult history of the Disney and Warner Bros. stores, Rainforest Cafe, and Chuck E. Cheese. In other words, Adrenalina may get some traffic via the FlowRider, but it better have great fashions, because if the clothes aren’t terrific, the business might not be sustainable.
With the growth of Xtreme sports and the expansion of old standards I can see no reason that an REI couldn’t expand their arena from hiking, Kayaking to surfboards. Anyone ponying up $1000 for a new Kayak would love the opportunity to “try out” a boat as would a surf boarder.
I’ll go you one better, why not evolve this into a custom outfitter? With CAD, foam shaping, and roto molding it might be possible to show and build custom boards and boats on the spot. Yakers and Boarders could get exactly what they want in record time. You might be able to do this with bikes too. Laying graphite on a shaped foam frame might just make this possible.
The fact is that a certain segment of the population is getting more active and there are major bucks to be made making them happy. Adrenalina is on the right track but I don’t know if they are looking at enough market.
“Retailtainment” is not a new concept, and attracting shoppers with action/sports is a good way to draw traffic. Indoor Rock climbing comes to mind as an example. The effectiveness of this strategy must be measured in the impact on sales of merchandise and the space/people resources/cost and liability to manage the retailtainment venue you use to attract shoppers. This concept would seem to be high in space/cost/resources to operate so it will be interesting to see what the ROI outcome is and how that ROI is measured. Any “cost effective” retailtainment venue that drives traffic and sales and differentiates you from competitors is great as long as you remember the reason you are in business–to sell more merchandise and drive greater sales and profits per foot of store real estate.