bandeau business model

Business Model

From producer to consumer

Our Staff has over 200 years of SurfShop experience! Back in 2008 selling a board online seemed impossible, but it was obvious to us. We had to get out of the traditional system.

The first reason is that nobody can talk more in depth about their products as the one who created them can. Giving you access to precise, and honest information is a priority.

The second is that we want a close relationship. How can you get closer to so many people than by being available in only two clicks on the mobile phone in your pocket! This very intimate relationship allows for rich exchanges, informed choices, and a positive relationship.

The third is that we do not support leaving people on the beach for lack of money. Making good boards comes at a cost, but by reinventing the sales method, we could significantly lower prices without reducing the quality.

Since then, GONG’s audience has become global with over 100,000 followers and almost as many customers.

GONG doubles every year. This is proof that our method satisfies and that our products work. It also means more usage and financial means at your disposal.

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Low prices

Price of sale Our prices are low only thanks to the elimination of the middle men. There is no slight of hand or cheating involved. We’ve simply done away with the services of distributors (importers) and resellers (shops) and take care of all that ourselves.

At GONG you economize on two separate margins up to 30 to 40%, and the calculation is done quickly. At a minimum, divide the price by two for a product that would come out of the same factory!

The rule between GONG and the factories is simple: we share equitably. We believe that by designing products and industrial processes; realizing the logistics, the sales, the com, the SAV; our work is half the value of a product. The production of the products by the factories represents the other half. The definition of prices is very simple: suppose 100 for the factory which means 100 for GONG and 40 to 50 in taxes for the state.

At the same time most of our competitors sell 4 to 8 times more than the factory price! At 4 times the factory price, you pay a distributor and a dealer in addition. They provide a service that costs you this price. They have everything in stock 20km from you and provide immediate service. At 8 times the factory price, you pay in addition to a team of elites, a superb com, and heavy marketing strategies. The products shine on the beach and the associated prestige is maximum.

GONG never makes low cost. Our products come out of the best factories, respectful of the rules in force and sensitive to your user pleasure. We simply have a modern margin structure and economical operation.

Service before everything

But the job of proximity must be done: to advise you one on one, to deliver to you, and to assure an impeccable service. This is where GONG proves that its organization is economical and efficient.

Because we are the experts of our products, no one can advise you better than us. And because we are confident and transparent, we provide you with a free and uncensored forum. You have the advice of all users.

Because we are experts of the logistics, we assure deliveries everywhere in the world your boards in good state and without hassle. We take care of it!

And because we are all surfers like you, we give the best possible service. Listening to you is the basis of our business and it offers the best solutions. You have at GONG interlocutors that you call by their first name and who will give everything to enable you to live your passions.

Shared stock

GONG delivers its 100,000 clients in 24/48h, maybe longer if you are very far.

By having only one stock, we can put at your disposal more than 500 shapes and sizes, thousands of accessories, and can answer all your desires in record time.

1,500 boards in stock, thousands of paddles and leashes, all year round we put this stock at your service.

We have all the current FCS references in stock, but also those of many “Partner” brands, such as Creatures of Leisure, Billabong, Dakine, Gorilla, Vissla … These items are delivered to you at no cost, to your home, in 24 / 48h.

We also offer our shaper friends like JVB to produce and distribute their best sellers. The confidential production has its advantages, but opening up to a wider market is very much deserved for many shapers who do not find their place in traditional shops.

Major brands choose to join GONG in its direct sales approach using the GONG logistics system. They delegate the worldwide distribution of their products to our know-how, allowing them to concentrate on their own ranges and letting us apply our strategy of lowering prices by reducing intermediaries. This is the case with Ullman in kite and wing for example, and many more will join us in offering our customers our delivery and pricing services, with their product quality and branding.

GONG, therefore, proposes a vast but unique referencing for each of your desires.

High quality production

Our products come out of the best factories, in which you can find up to 40 of the most well-known brands. The difference in price at GONG can only be explained by direct sales without intermediaries.

We are also training new producers, often on new types of products. We were the first brand to fully digitize our work. At the same time on the sales, but also on the creation: shape 3D, design, process, everything is virtualized to be at the same time ultra precise in its mass production, and to simulate the whole life of the product.3D board shape

While many brands buy finished products designed in Asia, GONG deploys its methods to the nearest gram. All this virtual pre-production makes it possible to anticipate the worries, to precisely target the objectives and to guarantee performances. Clearly, when you arrive in a factory, everything is explained in infinite detail, the costs are calculated to the nearest penny for each step.

Local employment

GONG has about 1000, direct and indirect, employees in the world.

But it is also about fifty qualified local jobs, whether technical or commercial. Our French factory produces two hundred boards per year, prototyping and industrial process lapping. Our website has webmasters, sales people, logisticians, graphic designers, copywriters, and more because we double the numbers every two years!

Our local contribution is very strong with more than 4 000 000 € of various taxes paid in Europe in 2020.

Unlike most majors in our industry, we do not optimize our tax system. We do not have an office in Hong Kong for example that would absorb our European profits to escape the tax.

We do not run after money, which is just a way of doing things for our customers. Earning is a must, but it can be done without renouncing the values of sharing that we hold dear.

An extremely bright future ahead thanks to you

The success of our Direct Sales concept allows us to strengthen our Home Base in France by developing our local surface area for better exchanges with you. We have big projects in progress:

  • an immense meeting place, a true crossroads of life around the surf culture.
  • the largest shop in Europe with 1,500 boards in stock.
  • a factory as it will grow strongly in the coming years.
  • a surf / kite / SUP / foil club with its itinerant schools to introduce you to the best spots.
  • a physical preparation room to progress or talk between sessions.
  • a conference and training center that will be open to all to share our knowledge.
  • a place to live around a restaurant / cafe because we live here and the Kitchen is where the heart is.
  • a skate park to make tone muscle and fine tune tricks.
  • Camping Car parking spaces for our friends who come from far away.
  • a large logistics area to work efficiently and safely.
  • large modern offices to give our Staff an inspiring work place.

The goal is to welcome you in the best conditions and to make you want to stay and discover our region and understand who we are and what we do and strengthen our bond with you.