70 BCBusiness OCTOBER 2016
14-metre-long half-pipe set in a narrow
brick hall. Fittingly, it's situated in the
building that once housed the Smilin'
Buddha Cabaret, a celebrated venue for
punk rock concerts in the 1980s.
Despite this buzz of local activity,
there are worrisome signs in the indus-
try at large. It's generally agreed that
the sport reached a pinnacle of popu-
larity in the early 2000s, and since
then participation numbers and skate-
board sales have been declining. "It's
a much more fragmented marketplace
today. Brands come and go like crazy,"
notes Ultimate Distribution's Harris.
Increasingly, skateboards are seen
as little more than a marketing tool
for hawking lifestyle products (which
have a higher markup), especially now
that corporate giants such as Nike,
Converse and Adidas have hitched a
ride to skate culture to sell their foot-
wear. As for the hard goods, prices are
close to what they were in the 1980s,
with quality boards (including wheels
and trucks) selling for about $190.
To maintain proˆt margins, a lot
of companies outsource their produc-
tion to Mexico, China and Taiwan, but
Ducommun stubbornly continues to
use 80 per cent Canadian wood (espe-
cially Quebec maple) and Canadian
manufacturers. He feels it's essential to
construct the boards where the wood
grows in order to "seal in the fresh-
ness of the tree." He also believes that
it's important to keep the business in
Canada—although that's becoming
tougher to do: "My manufacturers
keep going out of business."
As for future plans, Ducommun,
married but without children, says he
really hasn't seriously pondered when
he might leave the business and who
would take over Skull Skates when he's
gone; his brother and former partner
Rick exited the business back in the
1980s and died from diabetes in June
2015. Whatever happens with Skull
Skates, Ducommun says he's con®i-
dent about the future of the industry—
and the sport that has inspired him for
four decades.
"I don't worry about skateboarding.
People are always going to skateboard.
You can never take away that special
feeling of rolling down some back alley.
It's a good feeling. It's freedom."
■
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JACOB BROS
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