Right... This topic has always been a hot potato. Before you click the red thumb just bare with me and read my thoughts.

The major surf sites Coastalwatch and Swellnet right now both have as feature stories tales of the Aussie Industry doing it very tough and major manufacturers closing their doors. This topic deserves a mention here purely that I would estimate that 70-90% of shortboards in the water are Aussie made. SUP's on the other hand are probably 2-5% made in Australia.

I will make no tirade of Anti Asian rhetoric here, this is pro Aussie not Anti Import, there is a difference. Also those that know me also know that I work for a company manufacturing in Asia, we export from Australia 70% of our sales value to our producer in Asia in raw materials. We import to Australia 5% of sales and export manufacturing materials to domestic producers globally who also compete with completed imported products. It's a global economy and I am not ignorant to this fact.

To my point, I know that people need to make money to survive, this includes importers, distributors and retailers. These people are Aussies and feed Aussie families, they are regular good hardworking people spending their money in Aussie businesses. On the other hand there are Aussie manufacturers that share the same goals, many make as good or better product than what is imported yet struggle based on marketing and distribution to really get their product into peoples hands. EDIT: I am suggesting selling both, import and local, not one or the other!

The consumer I believe given an equal option of price, availability, quality and recognised design would happily purchase Aussie made products.

SO...... Here's the challenge: If the very clever people working in our amazing retail stores, distributors and wholesalers were able to work together in agreement with Aussie manufacturers to sell their product and each benefit from a win-win situation is it not possible that we could at least improve the situation for the Aussie manufacturing industry to at least supply 10% of the market???

The margins do exist for this to happen if it is structured correctly, if the consumers support it (very important!) the wholesalers and retailers actually increase sales as they do not access this market presently.

These are just thoughts of course but I know far too many people losing jobs already. If you are a local business owner as well these people are now not spending money in your business, it has a knock on effect and there is a solution to help each other in these times.

Are we prepared to help??


P.S. I have been ill and not surfing, my energy needs to be directed somewhere. Sorry about that.