07/10/2017
Time to say goodbye,
It is with great sadness that on Saturday 7th Oct 2017 Granite Reef will close its doors at 3:30pm for the last time.
I started my business in May 1993, a small shop in the Castlegate in Aberdeen. A dream to open a surf shop and develop and promote Surfing in the North-East, a dream that became a reality. I had a passion for the sports of Surfing, Skateboarding and found a love for the new sport of Snowboarding back then!
The ethos of Granite Reef has always been to provide the best equipment, inspire and encourage people to get the right product to help them grow and improve at their chosen sport. We have always believed in giving back to the sports, supporting and running events and competitions. We were always on the lookout for talented young local Surfers, Skaters and Snowboarders. Building a shop team of Riders to support and assist in developing them through their sport journey. It has been a great honour for me personally to see you all become the best at your sport. I have had the privilege of supporting and promoting British Olympian Ben Kilner, it has been a great honour for me personally to have been part of your journey. We have supported many other Shop Riders and many have gone on to being sponsored and competed at national and international levels. We have had the best, talented and coolest team riders with a passion second to none! We wish you all every success in your future sporting career and if any of you require help and guidance i am always available to help.
To our customers and friends, i would like to thank you for being the people you are! We have watched you become involved in the sports we love and to see the passion and evolution of you as riders has been amazing. I have met some awesome people because of Granite Reef and many have become great friends over the years. Your loyalty to the store over the years has filled me with great pride and a sense of achievement. The community that has formed and grown around us has been a privilege to be part of.
I do have sadness for the sports and community that we have grown over the past 25 years. We live in an ever changing and fast paced world. The increasingly competitive markets of large online stores are drowning out local grassroots small independents. This store like many other small stores have tried to compete in difficult times. The largest competitors in our market space are our largest supplier’s, brands that we have helped grow and build. Brands that have gained loyal customers via stores like Granite Reef. The lack of support and loyalty to the businesses that helped build them is sad, as the brands are all about the now and have no longevity. The sports they profess to love and support will suffer at grassroots level. The business model unfortunately has not been sustainable for us to continue. So ends an era of a business that is more than just a shop to many people.
I feel that we live in a consumer world where people seem to think it is acceptable to pop in store and get the information and product knowledge from highly experienced staff. Try on product and take up staff time, which is obviously free! Leave the store with all the experienced information required to go shop elsewhere or online! The showroom shopper looking for free advice and not supporting local shops and its community is a sad state of affairs. We have always tried to give great value for the best products and be a competitive store in the market place! Think of the future and as we say .
I would personally like to thank all of the Staff over the years as it has been a privilege and an honour to work with you and see many of you go on to other greater things in life. I have some great memories and unbelievable fun times that I will cherish. To those of you that helped me through some very sad times in my life I will forever be in your debt. You have been truly an inspiration and your commitment and passion for Granite Reef and to the sports you also love has been awesome!
To my Family, Staff, Friends and Customers of Granite Reef it has been my great privilege to have met you, worked with you and been a part of getting you into the sports of Surfing, Skateboarding and Snowboarding. I will remember all the adventures and journeys we have taken and stories told. I hope that your stories will not end and hope to hear of your future boarding adventures!
Gordon – Granite Reef
