What happened to all the excitement over Surf City products?

It's funny, I posted and then later on TV - Speed Channel, Truck U, had a big infomercial for Surf City. I guess they got a deal or something. But, I'm old and jaded and lost faith in "as seen on TV" ever since my Veg-a-matic broke.
 
The retail chains are where the money is being made and there it's based on price point to keep it on the shelf. At my PB's Surf City has a little cardboard endcap with about 15 bottles of various products. From a retail standpoint they aren't selling lots.
 
I would echo other statements , that the "hype" of many new product lines tend to die out rather quickly. It isn't the fault of the respective brands, but product overload and limited resources. I, like others, fell into the try the "new" thing bug, but quickly resorted to the products I keep using. The real sales for any company is retail. Think about it, AutoGlym is selling very well now in the States now that its products are in the aisles of Walmart /PepBoys. For me, it comes down to being relatively cautious with my money and I have to justify buying a new product to replace an already proven existing product.
 
the two SC products that many seem to like were the glass cleaner and grime destroyer. never tried them, but maybe if they go on clearance at some time i will...
 
I visited Malaysia recently, and attended their annual car show, where Surf City products were promoted in a huge booth owned by SC's distributor in that country.



The were just pushing the Detailing Kits (expensive) and expected a layman to know what SC is, and fork out loads of money to buy a Detailing Kit from an "unknown" brand.

Classic symptom of a company who doesn't understand the market.



I hanged around the booth and saw virtually no interest and no purchase of SC products.

This was hugely different in the Meguiars booth, where hundreds of cartons of stuff were selling like hotcakes.



Bottom line: You need very strong USPs and loads of money to create and build a strong brand image. And then, the proper distribution channel to rake in the big $$$.
 
gigondaz said:
I visited Malaysia recently, and attended their annual car show, where Surf City products were promoted in a huge booth owned by SC's distributor in that country.



The were just pushing the Detailing Kits (expensive) and expected a layman to know what SC is, and fork out loads of money to buy a Detailing Kit from an "unknown" brand.

Classic symptom of a company who doesn't understand the market.



I hanged around the booth and saw virtually no interest and no purchase of SC products.

This was hugely different in the Meguiars booth, where hundreds of cartons of stuff were selling like hotcakes.



Bottom line: You need very strong USPs and loads of money to create and build a strong brand image. And then, the proper distribution channel to rake in the big $$$.
Click to expand...



"strong USPs"? What is that?



But, they have to start somewhere. It is all about marketing $$$ and building a brand following. They do not need "great" products.
 
i was at walmart today and noticed they had a big display of all the surf city products including there towels, applicators, etc.
 
I haven't seen the line at Walmart yet. That's news to me. The one Pep Boys I went to only had a few of their items and the other Pep Boys I went to had the display but didn't have the Road Trip stuff left that everyone raves about.
 
I just picked up some SCG products straight from SCG. I can't wait to try them out! I tried finding them locally but no one carried them. I used SCG dealer finder and none of the places I called seem to know what I was talking about, one of the options was a Wal-Mart 20 miles away.
 
The local Advance Auto store here in Roanoke carries several of the SCG products. I have only tried Beyond Black--both my wife and I like the look it gives. Some of their products seem too expensive.
 
The Pep Boys here in Grand Rapids is the only place I know of that sells it. I've only used

the Hot Rod Detailer and the wash. Nothing else.
 
akimel said:
The local Advance Auto store here in Roanoke carries several of the SCG products. I have only tried Beyond Black--both my wife and I like the look it gives. Some of their products seem too expensive.
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One here does too. The nano wax combo is expensive for OTC but $15 per bottle is just average for boutique pricing.
 
BigAl3 said:
i was at walmart today and noticed they had a big display of all the surf city products including there towels, applicators, etc.
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and holy hell is it expensive. It won't sell at Walmart.
 
WaxManRonnie said:
The Pep Boys here in Grand Rapids is the only place I know of that sells it. I've only used

the Hot Rod Detailer and the wash. Nothing else.
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Napa in Hudsonville sells it as well. Just a few of their products, but it's Surf City nonetheless.
 
I'm guilty of getting excited about whatever new product gets brought up but I've gotten better at searching for past posts on them now before I get out the credit card. That way I can see if they are the hot new flavor or just being mentioned more again (like Collinite) With so many products out there it seems like one person mentioning one gets more people to reach a bit more back on their shelf and drag out the product again so it gets written up more.

I too remember when Surf City first started selling retail they were the talk of the boards.

I was also wondering the other day what happened to Americana wax as I don't see much of anything on it anymore.

I still see UPGP mentioned occasionally but for a while it was all over the place and seemed to be the go-to product in most replies.
 
Just got my shipment in, everything looks great. I'm waiting for some better weather before I try everything out.
 
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