OCEAN CITY, Md. (AP) - What started as one surf shop in Ocean City is now celebrating 50 years of business with its eye on the future while keeping its roots firmly in the ground.
Founded in 1968 by Frank Gunion, South Moon Under was a business that started by selling board shorts and surfboards and evolved into a lifestyle brand with clothing, shoes and accessories. The business was purchased by JPB Capital Partners in 2016 and has the previous owners of White House/Black Market at its helm.
Two years later, Michael Smith, chief executive officer, and Patricia Darrow Smith, chief creative officer, are keeping South Moon Under’s bohemian free-spirit, but are focused on making that mentality national.
“We always saw this as a national brand,” Michael Smith said.
The company celebrated its 50 year anniversary with sales from June 21-24, including the announcement of a new initiative supporting the Surfrider Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the protection of the ocean, waves and beaches, according to a news release.
South Moon Under designed a commemorative 50th anniversary T-shirt featuring the company’s Ocean City storefront and starting June 21, a portion of proceeds from each T-shirt sold will be donated to the Surfrider Foundation, according to a news release.
In the last 12 months, South Moon Under has expanded to eight new locations, he said. Some of those were existing sites that were given expansions, such as King of Prussia Mall in Pennsylvania or Washington, D.C.
But other new stores went outside the brand’s comfort zone to Raleigh, North Carolina, Atlanta and Birmingham, Alabama.
Until the Smiths were at the helm, South Moon Under primarily kept to a regional area ranging from Connecticut to Virginia. But now, the brand is eyeing the entire U.S., starting first with the east coast and southern region until eventually reaching the west coast.
“But we’ve kept the essence of the beach, the free spirited, easy dressing, casual dressing, but we’ve made it exciting that we’re rolling it out (nationally),” Patricia Darrow Smith said.
Patricia Darrow Smith founded the women’s clothing brand White House/Black Market in the 1980s, originally named White House. She and Michael Smith sold the company to Chico’s in 2003, staying a part of the business until about 2007.
The pair have known Gunion since the 1990s and in 2010, the trio began talking again, but this time, about having the Smiths come in to run South Moon Under, Michael Smith said.
The couple finds the two brands to be more similar than different as they both involve finding your customer and building an experience around that customer, he said.
With expansion, Michael Smith said finding South Moon Under’s demographics in new locations isn’t the issue, but building that brand awareness is key.
South Moon Under carries a variety of brands including Free People, Blank NYC and Sanctuary Clothing. The company also designs some of its own garments under its own label.
“It’s a nice combination of having something unique to us and then brands that she (the customer) knows and loves,” Patricia Darrow Smith said.
While the key demographic for South Moon Under is men and women around the 30-year age mark, Patricia Darrow Smith said their customer base ranges. She knows numerous stories of women who came in as teenagers or young adults to buy their first swimsuit and continue to come back, bringing their daughters, too.
“I love that story and the fact that we span all sorts of ages,” she said.
After 50 years in business, Michael Smith said the brand now sees three generations of families shopping in the store.
The Smith family also pride themselves in wearing South Moon Under’s clothing. While visiting the Ocean City store, the couple were looking around at merchandise for themselves and their children.
“It’s a lifestyle brand and it’s about the attitude and the clothing and how easy it is,” Patricia Darrow Smith said.
The South Moon Under customer gravitates toward bohemian styles, but polished and put together. Patricia Darrow Smith said the customers appreciate how easy it is to shop for every occasion at the store and go from day-to-night with a simple shoe or jewelry change.
But the South Moon Under customer isn’t trendy, Patricia Darrow Smith said. Instead, they’re looking for wearable trends.
While the Smiths have only been a part of South Moon Under’s history for about two years, the pair are serious about keeping the business’s legacy intact.
“I think in some ways it’s an honor because it’s taking a business that has been respected by the respective people, but also respected the customers,” Michael Smith said.
Looking toward the next decade, Michael Smith said he wants to see the brand continue to grow to a national platform while offering customers the same respect and customer service they’ve always received.
Patricia Darrow Smith agreed and emphasized the need to make people want to come to brick and mortar stores to shop. While South Moon Under has an online boutique for customers, she believes the in-person shopping experience is still a fun one.
“It’s also a big responsibility I think just to make sure you always honor the brand and you know what the roots are, you know where it comes from,” she said.
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Information from: The Daily Times of Salisbury, Md., http://www.delmarvanow.com/
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