An Interview With Kelly Jablonski from Ultimate Skateboard

Spacecraft’s Canadian distributor :: Ultimate Distribution’s Kelly Jablonski talks about the state of the industry.

retailcommon - How did you get started in the business?

Back in about 1989 when I was in grade 11 I starting working for Kevin Harris at both The Richmond Skate Ranch and The Boarding House retail store. After high school I ended up managing the park and the retail store for a short time until its closure in 1992. Soon after I was offered a job at Ultimate which Kevin also owned. 16 years later its hard to believe I still get to work for both a company and culture that I truly enjoy.

retailcommon - Tell us about your company. (Who are you & what do you represent?)

Ultimate Skateboard Distributors is currently in its 24^th year of business representing and distributing various skateboard brands and related companies. Ultimate has always focused on core brands and has concentrated on the hard goods aspect of skateboarding with a huge belief in putting back into the industry and the culture in Canada thru the creation of Canada’s first Skateboard magazine. We also do as much as we can to help support the up and coming batch off Canadian am’s. We also try to support the Canadian retailers as much as possible for playing such an important role in keeping the scene alive across such a vast country.

retailcommon - Who or what inspires you?

Inspiration can be found in the most surprising ways. Charity work and seeing the affect we can have on those less fortunate or suffering from many different things really inspires me. Inspiration and opportunity is there in so many forms, most people just choose to overlook it as it is dressed in overall and looks like work!

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. - Thomas Alva Edison

retailcommon - How is business? Did the economy smack you around this year? How are you feeling going into next season?

This last year has been a lesson on how to run a lean business with focus on overhead and cash flow and finding unique ways to protect our margin with such a fluctuating dollar exchange. The biggest road black we had to deal with this past year was the huge dollar exchange that happened towards the end of 2008 and beginning of 2009. It really created a situation for about 3 to 6 months that saw our gross margin nearly vanish. This is difficult as the overhead and the expense to operate a successful business continues to climb. Sales overall have been decent this year, luckily we are a distributor that sees the majority of sales come from at once orders. Prebook seasonal business has been affected much more, so I think we have a bit of an advantage with such a hardgoods at once focused. If a store sells 10 boards this week they need 10 more for next week. That’s where we come in. This winter I think retail is still going to have a tough time but going into spring of 2010 as long as we don’t have any dollar exchange surprises I think distribution should be pretty stable.

retailcommon - Which trade shows can we expect to see you at?

We usually partake in Know?Show but in 2010 not sure yet what direction we will take with tradeshows. I do believe tradeshows have a place but there may be some new unique ways to interact with our customers that need to be explored.

retailcommon - How does your company stay in contact with suppliers/buyers?

Ultimate has a strong focus on direct human connections with both suppliers and buyers. Online ordering has its place but nothing will ever replace the importance of a phone conversation to catch up with either a supplier or retailer. Of course email is still a great way to quickly connect and communicate. Many of Ultimate’s employees are really involved in the grass roots of skateboarding as well so it’s not like at 4:30, the day ends. I am currently writing this in a hotel in Irvine as I sit on the IASC (international association of skateboard companies) board of director where I get to meet and interact with some of the industries biggest players (George Powell, Frank Messmann, Don Brown, Tod Swank, Per Welinder, Steve Van Doren, Bob Denike, Bod Boyle, Jamey Stone etc). The goal is to help bring our industry together to work towards a common goal of increasing the success of our industry and the participation of those who skateboard. It also is a great way to extend our relationships deep within the industry.

retailcommon - How do you market your business? Are you involved in online social networking? If so, what community groups do you belong too?

Most of the brands we carry are pretty selective to the retailers we deal with so really its more a matter of keeping connected with the dealers we currently sell to. A few brands such as Spacecraft have a bit different retail base but overall we have our customer base pretty nailed down. Also the reps we work with are really another great tool to make sure each brand is in the proper retail store. We do some facebook stuff and minimal online stuff other then our own website and blog to keep the retailers up to date with any news regarding the brands we represent.

retailcommon - Does your company have an online presence? If so, what’s your web address?

www.ultimateskateboarddist.com www.concreteskateboarding.com

retailcommon - Does your site have ecommerce capability? If so, tell us what it’s like running an ecommerce site.

Ecommerce is something we are just starting to look at. I think it’s coming but at the distribution level I think we still have some time to make sure its done properly to make sure the human connection to our retailers is not lost. Ecommerce I think has to focus on what is the most convenient for our buyers, not what’s convenient for us as I still believe personal communication is still one of the most affective ways to maintain relationships with buyers.

retailcommon - What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned in business?

These past few years the thing I have learned most is always be ready to change. Brands, retailers, staff etc are ever changing and you have to be ready to adjust your business accordingly. It’s kind of like that book, “Who Moved my Cheese”. If you do not change you become extinct!

Special Thanks to Kelly Jablonski for the interview!