Zazbot Discount Shopping

Our first featured retailer is a Seattle based skateboard shop (called “skateshop” by skateboarders) called Goods. This article was written by Adam Henry, and was found in a fantastic new skateboard magazine known as Color (based in Vancouver).

Goods SkateShop

We all know how skateshops have evolved in the past 10 years. The traditional model of banners, shoe boxes, stickered-up walls and a slab of practice-carpet is a site rarely seen these days, and perhaps even missed, if only for the sake of nostalgia. For as long as I remember skateshops could be characterized by this clutter model I could send the innocent shopper back the closet or laundry hamper that gave them reason to go the store in the first place.

Fuelling the big change in how skateshops are laid out today is the sorry fact that today’s skateboard shop sales are dominating by clothing and shoes sales. This is something that we as skaters have had to come to terms with. Some sooner than later, and some of little too soon, losing ‘cred along the way.

Walking into Goods near downtown Seattle, Washington, is quickly obvious that the store is not just some poseur skate shop that’s undergone a makeover. Nor is it a pretentious big-wig eager to shake the purses of young skaters’ parents. Run by Nin Truong, Scott Downing, Steve Gonzalez and Paul Williams, Goods is a skater-run shop that started small, but quickly outgrew its original concept. First conceptualized as a front to showcase their own board brand, Manik, the shop idea quickly blossomed from a small retail space to a large aesthetic ideal of fashion, art, and collecting. Embodying their aesthetic is a commitment to supporting the brands that represent what they believe. Focusing on products that they’re passionate about is a model that has served well, and after four years the Goods store has more than tripled their retail floor space, and gone from having one shop to two distinct spaces.

While brands focus more energy on production value, featured designers and collaboration – and shoes and other soft goods drive the marketplace – without spaces like Goods, their efforts would be unjustified. With clean interiors and spacious design, a boutique aspect of Goods has a meticulous quality about it. Nike SB, Vans, Adidas, DGK and others gracefully line the benches and shelves, creating a calm, linear vibe by about store. Alongside the sneakers, displayed on hangers and on wooden shells throughout the store, are t-shirts, denim and other hard-to-find fashion add-ons. The skate board outlet, separated only by a wall, features hats for New Era and decks from companies including Chocolate, Krooked, Manik, and Almost.

You can still find your Venture wides and Royal highs, but Goods is not a store where anything and everything is available. It’s a store where the companies that are sold and shown with dedication and confidence.

Located: 1112 Pike Street
Seattle, WA
Web Site: needgoods.com

Tags: goods skateshop, seattle, skateboards

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