Surf Apparel Seasonality

A direct customer buys boardshorts when the weather turns warm or a trip is coming up. A surf shop buys those same boardshorts months earlier, so they are on the rack before the customer walks in. That means a surf brand is usually shipping wholesale orders for the coming season while its own website is still selling the current one.

Planning both from one inventory is the core challenge. Ship too much to shops and your site sells out in the busiest weeks. Hold too much back and wholesale orders go out short. Read how surf brands sell wholesale for how shop accounts usually work.

Every brand’s curve is different, and coastal climates blur the seasons. Use your own sales history first. This is a common shape to plan from.

Storage that grows and shrinks

A surf brand might need much more space in spring than in late fall. Storage billed on actual usage, rather than a fixed footprint, keeps costs in line with the season. At OC3PL storage is based on the space your inventory uses and pro-rated daily.

Receiving before the rush

Summer lines need to be counted and slotted before demand rises. Late receiving means lost sales in the best weeks. Labeled inbound at OC3PL is received and slotted within one business day.

Returns at the end of each peak

Swim and fitted apparel often come back for fit. Processing returns quickly turns them into exchanges and puts sellable stock back on sale while the season is still running.

Every season leaves something behind: a color that did not land, sizes at the ends of the curve, a style that missed. Leftovers carry storage every day and get harder to sell as the season fades.

• Review sell-through monthly, not at the end of the year.
• Bundle slow items with best sellers or use them as gifts with purchase.
• Offer them to shop accounts at the right moment.
• Use the data to adjust next season’s size curve and color choices.

For a deeper look, read dead stock in apparel and apparel inventory forecasting. If you run a surf brand and want one warehouse for shops and direct orders, see surf brand fulfillment.

The seasonal curve starts long before the first sale. Production lead times decide when a summer line can be on the shelf, and freight adds more time on top. Work backward from the date you want stock sellable.

1. Pick the date your summer line should be live on your site.
2. Subtract a buffer for receiving and slotting, plus a cushion for freight delays.
3. Subtract the freight time from the factory.
4. Subtract the production lead time. That is when the order must be placed.
5. Do the same for wholesale, using the date shops need stock, which is usually earlier.

Brands that import through Southern California ports benefit from a warehouse close by. OC3PL is twenty-five miles from the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports. See apparel imports through LA and Long Beach.

The other half of the plan is restocks. Core styles that sell through mid-season need a reorder point set before summer starts. Reorder points for core apparel styles explains how.