Hey all,

Quick note that everything I wrote above was originally together, but this blog wouldn't accept it all at once. It put up the first part yesterday, and then the rest this morning...just to clarify. And SamBoy, I don't know if I'll correctly or completely address your question concerning why Billabong and Hurley partnered with us, but I really do think it is a win-win for everyone in this situation. Santa Monica has evolved into a prime surf culture area in the years since we opened (when we had drug dealers living in a van in our parking lot!). The neighborhood has become upscale and a hotspot for domestic and international tourists. Large brands and retailers including The Gap, Anthropology, Urban Outfitters, Quiksilver, Rip Curl, Active, REI etc have all moved in over the last few years. At the same time, ZJ's has NEVER really been able to carry enough of any one brands line to really showcase the brand. Square footage is limited and Todd and I have always wanted to give our customers a multi-brand experience and choices in the store. It has always been a dogfight for rack space. At the same time, as Paul Naude very eloquently said to me, the best formula for a surf brand is to share space with a legit hardgoods store as opposed to just being a single brand store. And at the same time, hardgoods margins are THIN and we have always struggled to offer great customer service, pay our employees well, make rent while trying to pay our bills on time! And also realize that the brands margin is much higher than ours, so the right strategic partnership makes lots of business sense. They get more floor space, they get a showcase in the right neighborhood, they get more marketing opportunities, we get a financial model that helps us survive and thrive, we get new retail stores to market in our neighborhood, we get to employ great passionate people and we both theoretically do more business. So all the way around I see it as turning lemons into lemonade. We didn't need the square footage with the decrease in snow and business in general, they wanted more retail space, we have the crew ready and excited to do the job. Win-win when you look at this way! I'm not at all married to just buying into my own bullshit and there are still lots of other ways to look at it and I’m glad to discuss anytime!