(Photos by Julius Kellar) The Sure Store is the creation of one Steele Saunders … For those that don’t know, Steele was one of the original driving forces behind PSC back in the mid to late 90’s when it grew from one pretty ghetto store (let’s admit it) on the Nepean Hwy in Frankston into a national chain that featured some world renown shops… Swanston St. in Melbourne for one. In 2001 Steele left PSC to pursue his own label and to bring some of the cooler, harder to get, skate and street labels into Australia – brands like Alife, 10 Deep and HUF to name a few. The Sure Store on Manchester Lane in Melbourne is an ideal showcase for the best of these labels and a tonne of new gear – read on for more from the man behind it.
Knowing your history and how you are, I know you will have a clear vision for what Sure Store is going to be… Can you let us in on what you’re thinking?
Just a clean store really… Hard to find limited edition type stuff sitting next to timeless classics. A place reliable for “good stuff”.
The location for the store was pretty much the biggest challenge you seemed to have before opening… You had a pretty specific idea of what you were after. It seems like you got the perfect spot! Are you happy with where you ended up? And why was the location so vital?
The location is vital because the majority of people are not prepared to go out of the way for stuff… that’s why the entire state of Victoria will end up a giant Westfield. Yeah finding a location was brutal, right now there are a fair few empty stores in the city but the rents are crazed. The spot previously was where the Provider store used to be so it made some sense to go there as it was fitted out and had a history with Melbourne’s sneaker buying types. The store is a little hard to find but is pretty central once you have sussed where it is. I know when I go into the city I have a route of stores I go to so we just have to get our store on people’s route.
It doesn’t seem like the kind of store where you are going to have raw bleeding hands from gripping a hundred boards a day. How does skateboarding fit with the shop? Is there going to be a shop team?
It’s not a skate shop, but it’s a store that definitely pays homage to skating. HUF, one of our main labels, is obviously deeply rooted in skating with Kieth’s background. We also exclusively stock in Australia the Cease & Desist limited edition boards, these guys at Hot Rod (LA store) make these pretty exact replicas of classic 90’s era decks limited to 50 or a 100 decks. Good way to get that Natas Satan 101 deck without dropping $4000. It’s more of an “after skate” shop, clothing and footwear to kick it in at the bar after a sesh. The washed up skater market is a growing demographic!
You’ve always taken retail way more seriously than most people I know. I remember shoe lacing work shops, books and all sorts on how to run things right at Frankston. Is everything running as it should at Sure?
Hahaha… I take shoe lacing more seriously than retail or almost anything. I freak out seeing shoes laced “wrong” it for real makes me itchy. I have harsh OCD over that type of stuff. To be honest we still have a lot of work to do getting everything up to my instore OCD. Doing the shop has been a lesson in time management running the normal stuff at Spire and doing the Shop… this was going to be my first non work weekend of the year… except for doing this!
You obviously get a say not just in what goes into the store, but in what Australia sees from a lot of amazing brands. Are your choices based on instinct, on what sold the previous season or something else? What’s going to be the next big trend in your opinion?
It’s a mix, being the self centered person I am, I have to like it. We don’t have anything in the shop where a friend will pick up and I have to reply “yeah, it’s wack but it sells well”. Most skate clothing has been so milked that the more particular consumer wants something new. We’ve tried to pick the most unique brands from the new batch that not only have great product but a compelling story to tell.
I noticed some pretty rad Incase bags (including the board bag!), some muse headphones and a few other amazing brands in there. What else have you lined up to carry? What does it take for a brand to make it into Sure?
Incase yes, that stuff is so sick, my iPhone’s screen owes it’s life to those cases. Muse is a new local headphone brand that we got in at the start of the year and have killed it, great prices and great product. I burn through headphones traveling and stuff and I’ve found they’re way more reliable than earbuds I’ve coped for twice the price. I use and love both those brands product so that’s a good indication of what it takes to get into the shop, we have to be down with what they are putting out. We’re just about to introduce Undefeated and Dave’s Quality Meat’s into the store. We’re also talking to a few more of the major footwear companies about what they can offer our customers that’s a little more unique.
Opening a physical shop right now is a big move with all the worries about online retailers. What made you do a physical store as opposed to an online store?
“Well, why go to a fine restaurant, when you can just stick something in the microwave? Why go to the park and fly a kite, when you can just pop a pill?” – Cosmo Kramer. What Kramer is getting at is that while the web offers endless choice, nothing to me really beats going into the store, having a chat, trying on something your stoked on, making sure it fits right, then walking out with it in the bag.
You’re a busy guy – aside from being a writer for Pop you’re doing a lot of comedy gigs, running a distribution business, overseeing Sure and keeping a million social network accounts up to date. Have you got any other projects on the horizon you can let us in on?
Learning to handle doing all those things at once and well… that’s my project. We’re hoping to give the store a remodel before Spring to more fit our needs. With the distribution we’re probably going to announce a new project in the next few weeks, something a little different to what we do. We have a great group of brands doing sick stuff so we really just want to push those guys and get them to the level they deserve.
On the comedy side I’ve been doing a column for Inpress over the Comedy Festival and I’ve just starting work on a new show for the Melbourne Fringe Festival so that will take up the next 6 months. My podcast that has all the Pop interview’s on it should be back up in the next few weeks, I’ll hit you back when it’s done.
Your blog has been ‘getting its sexy all the way right’ for a few months now – when are we going to see a polished temple to your self indulgence go live? Ahaha.
That “Getting sexy all the way right quote” is from P Diddy on that late night Proactive infomercial… have you seen it? Simply the funniest most ridiculous thing to come out of a mouth ever… but that should be a couple weeks away also… maybe.
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THE SURE STORE
w. www.thesurestore.com
p. 03.9663.7873
a. 11 Manchester Lane, Melbourne, 3000
Opening Hours
Monday to Thursday: 10am till 6pm
Friday: 10am till 7pm
Saturday: 10am till 6pm
Sunday: 12pm till 5pm
