Surf Shop Crossing the Sea 'K-Surfing' Announces New Challenge with Reservation Platform

Surfholic, Korea's first surfing franchise company, after making its first overseas expansion last year as a surfing brand, is preparing to launch the country's first marine leisure tourism specialized reservation platform, embarking on a new challenge.

Shin Sung-jae, CEO of Surfholic, met with Busan Financial News on the 29th and said, "Surfing is not just a business of making and selling products well, but a task of utilizing the public sea to establish a culture," emphasizing, "While continuing the business, I met various people and conveyed the growth potential of domestic surfing, such as Songjeong Beach. Now, I will further expand the Korean surfing industry by entering overseas markets and launching a dedicated surfing platform."

Surfholic started in 2014 from a small surf shop of about 49㎡ (15 pyeong) at Songjeong Beach in Haeundae-gu, Busan. Initially selling surfboards and related products, it grew into a brand operating surfing lectures and surfing tourism programs, establishing itself as the first surfing franchise company in Korea.

Currently, it has expanded to a total of 9 locations in Korea, including the main branch in Songjeong, Busan, and branches in Songjeong, Dadaepo, Jinha in Ulsan, New Port in Pohang, Samli Beach in Namhae, Yangyang, Gyeongpo Beach, Geumjin Beach in Gangneung, and Woljeong-ri in Jeju Island.

The main branch located in Songjeong, Busan, is considered one of the best beaches for surfing. CEO Shin said, "Songjeong has the highest frequency of waves throughout the year among domestic beaches, making it ideal for surfing. On days when many surfers gather, it is evident that this place is a specialized surfing beach," advising, "However, on days without waves, it's hard to tell if this is a dedicated surfing beach, so there is a need to strengthen the branding of Songjeong as a surfing beach."

CEO Shin also started surfing at Songjeong and was captivated by its charm. In 2014, he accepted a proposal from a friend who was running a small surf shop in Songjeong to take over the business. Since then, he has grown the business by creating a surfing customer management system with the mindset of 'doing it right' once he started.

He explained, "The surf shop I took over from a friend was managed manually by recording in a notebook at the time. The first thing I did was revamp the website and develop a customer management program," adding, "As I set up digital marketing and operational systems, the number of customers began to increase tenfold, twentyfold every year."

However, in the early days of the business, there was a significant concern about the off-season after summer when surfing enthusiasts stopped visiting. This is also why most surf shops close at the end of October and go abroad or engage in other businesses for a living.

But CEO Shin thought differently. He said, "The winter water temperature at Songjeong Beach is not very cold, so I judged that surfers could visit this place again in winter. Therefore, I prepared winter surfing suits, gloves, hoods, and other winter equipment to actively promote winter surfing," adding, "As a result, in the first year of business, we had a 6-month profit and 6-month loss, but by 2019, the profit ratio changed to 10 to 2. Now, most surf shops are open even in winter."

Buoyed by this, Surfholic was selected as the first 'Busan Tourism Star Company' certified by the Busan Tourism Organization, representing local tourism, and is conducting its final 5th-year business this year. The Star Company certification served as an opportunity to promote the Busan surfing industry and the growth potential of Songjeong Beach surfing.

The following year, it participated in Busan City's workation project, achieving the designation of Songjeong Surfholic as Busan B Startup Workation No.1. CEO Shin said, "The Haeundae-gu workation that Surfholic participates in is a resort-type model. We operate sunrise and sunset surfing programs utilizing the sunrise and sunset," explaining, "Workation participants have official working hours. Instead, they can enjoy surfing amidst the scenery of the rising and setting sun."

Last year, through the matching support of the Busan Tourism Enterprise Support Center, it participated in the 'Vietnam Da Nang B2B Meetup Day' and signed a franchise contract with the local surfing brand 'Surfro', marking its first overseas expansion. CEO Shin focused on the active surfing at My Khe Beach in Da Nang and signed a final contract with the local representative running a surf shop there, providing Surfholic's lesson programs and tourism products.

Surfholic's challenge is ongoing. In July this year, it plans to launch 'Holic Jam', the first surfing leisure tourism specialized reservation platform in Korea. It is a subscription-based membership platform that offers discounts when purchasing among local brands, in conjunction with surfing programs and Busan's main tourist attractions.

CEO Shin vowed, "Through new challenges, Surfholic will advance to become a company that builds a marine tourism ecosystem based on a digital platform, beyond just a surfing brand," adding, "Furthermore, we aim to grow as a representative marine tourism brand of Korea, connecting the ocean and the city, the local and the world."


lich0929@fnnews.com Byun Ok-hwan, reporter