Store Closure for Beach Bums, Active Considering Leases
Chino, Calif.–based Beach Bums closed its 4,000-square-foot store in the Westfield Mission Valley Shopping Centre in San Diego on Jan. 7. Beach Bums Principal Cliff Haddadin said there are no more closings planned for the 11-store chain. However, he conceded that times are tough.
“We’re still paying vendors. We’re cutting expenses. We’re renegotiating leases. We’re working to weather the storm,” Haddadin said.
Beach Bums plans to increase its profit margins by building sales of its self-named private-label line. Haddadin said the customer has been different since the holidays. “They shop out of necessity. The want to see value on everything they buy,” he said.
Rumors of store closures—at Beach Bums and Active—were circulating the show floor at the Jan. 14–17 Surf Expo trade show in Orlando, Fla.
Shane Wallace, president of Mira Loma, Calif.–based Active, said the skate fashion chain had no immediate plans to close 10 stores. “We are definitely looking at every single lease at every single store,” Wallace said. “We are prepared to do what is necessary to survive this storm. Closing 10 stores won’t happen, but we may close stores.”
In December, Active opened a flagship store at the recently debuted The Strand retail center in Huntington Beach, Calif.
Erin Barajas contributed to this story
