Ben G skateshop faces toughest times in 21 years

Benny Komala, owner of the Amsterdam skateshop Ben G, says running the shop is now harder financially than it has ever been. “We’ve been open for twenty-one years now,” he said in an interview with Josh Sabini published on 25 September.

“We’ve had good times and bad times, but to be honest, the way it is now, I’ve never seen anything like it.” He says he has had to cut costs on staff, rent and “everything basically” to keep the shop going. The team in the store is now just Komala and two others, Aaron and KC.

Competition online and on the high street

Komala says the shop depends on sales to people who do not skate. Skateboarders tend to buy shoes on sale, and most serious skaters get products free or at a discount.

He estimates that 70% of the brands Ben G carries can be bought online, where big webshops order in large quantities and put items on sale. Some offer discounts as small as 8%, just enough to show up as the cheapest option.

In the city itself, he points to Carhartt WIP’s three flagship stores and Obey’s flagship store. Ben G does not sell Stussy because that brand also has its own flagship store in Amsterdam.

He says not every shop is struggling, and some are doing very well, but many he has spoken to are feeling the same pressure.

A boutique shop from the start

Komala says he never planned to open a shop. Patta already had the first floor of the building and the ground floor was empty, so he asked Gee from Patta, whom he knew from working at a bar, whether he could open a skateshop downstairs.

Ben G opened in 2005 as a boutique, importing brands from the US and Japan that were hard to find elsewhere.

Among newer labels, he says Limosine and Hardbody do really well. Village PM has also done well, but not in large volumes: its shoes sold out quickly, but nothing like a Nike Janoski or Dunk.

Weekly sessions at Olympia

With POP Trading Company, the shop runs weekly B.Y.O.B skate sessions at Olympia, which Komala calls the only square where skaters from all over the city meet. The sessions bring curbs and small obstacles onto the flat area, because he thinks the existing skatepark is very poor.

Over the past year, skater Pontus Alv paid for many new obstacles. Komala says the city plans to redo the whole park next year and that everyone had a say in the design.

He also says the shops in town help each other out and send customers on when they are missing a size. “It’s not like we are rivals, we’re all in this together.”

A Nike Dunk and a joke team

Ben G has worked with Nike SB, including a Dunk with no main swoosh, covered instead in small embossed swooshes. Komala says he had the idea for years, and the shop pitched a photoshopped version to Nike, which liked it.

The shop’s team list, which includes well-known professional skaters, is a running joke, he says. Eric Koston often wore Ben G hats and tees, and Keith Hufnagel once listed the shop in his Instagram bio.

“I want to show a kid who comes into the store how cool skateboarding is,” Komala said. “It’s an experience that can’t be recreated online.”

Source: monsterchildren.com