Saturday sales at Skate Connection have been busier than Christmas as people rushed to the hobby

This Gold Coast couple had to deal with four-times as much online trade during COVID-19 as roller skates became the must-have item for families stuck at home looking for a fun activity

Shelley Hedley

Skate Connection

Co-founder

IT has been an unpredictable time. We saw a decline in sales for two months but we increased turnover for online sales. Since wheels sports are individual exercise, the popularity of the products increased.

We’ve also had a few Saturdays during COVID-19 that have been bigger than Christmas and it was completely unexpected.

We provide electric skateboards, scooters, skateboard and scooter hardware, roller, in-line skates, streetwear and lots of fun toys on wheels. We have a team of about 25 that work from the retail floor to administration.

In 2013, Brett and I created Skate Connection. The first store was based on the Gold Coast, then we opened in Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Newcastle, and in the Hunter Valley.

At the time, we owned a different franchise and were on the search to start our own business concept. At the same time, I started to play roller derby. When I was shopping for roller skating gear, I had the challenge of finding a store with a good range on the Gold Coast. The idea stemmed from roller skates but we added other sports such as skateboarding and scooter riding.

Skate Connection founders Brett Vowles and Shelley Hedley have had to work fast to adapt to new conditions. Picture: Jerad Williams

I have worked in retail or customer service positions most of my life and have owned retail stores for over 10 years. I also have a post graduate degree in design. With this experience, I have learned to be a constant problem solver.

I tend to work on the more creative side of the business and enjoy the design and marketing aspects. We also have in-house brands (Coast and Skate Connection), which I end up designing. I take care of promotions, marketing, website management and some orders. I take care of more of the creative tasks.

I like watching people in our community enjoying our products. I frequently drive by and see people on cruiser boards, skateboards, scooters and can tell they are unique to our store and they are having fun riding with their gear.

COVID-19 has created a wave of unpredictability from a business perspective. With only two stores remaining open we had to have the mindset of “what has happened can’t be changed so what can we do in this new situation’’.

An entrepreneur creates a business based on solving problems. Currently, there are lots of problems, therefore lots of opportunities exist.

With all stores closing, naturally customers will turn to online shopping. We utilised this time to ramp up our e-commerce store.

Brett Vowles

Skate Connection

Co-founder

WE are focusing on strengthening our current stores and website this year. We’ve had four times as much trade online during COVID-19 as roller skates and in-line skates in particular have become a trend so we had to adjust very quickly.

We met while we were both working together in Shaver Shops. After a few years we owned shops together and were looking for something a bit different.

I have 18 years experience in retail management and we were just thinking of different business ideas. We saw there was a bit of shortage for roller skates and goods in that area so created the shop on the Gold Coast.

There were hundreds of surf shops but not many skateboard or skating shops.

I take care of the ordering, payments, product sourcing, stock control. I also spend more time on the shop floors with customers and our sales team.

I enjoy seeing the satisfaction on the customer’s face when they purchase an item. We like to promote families getting outside and active together. We often have all family members purchase things together.

Our biggest risk was to start the business signing a five-year lease when we didn’t have supply for stock or anything. We had no choice but to make sure the idea worked. The next challenge was managing stores that opened at a rapid rate.

In the first year, we opened three stores which spread our resources very thin. In response, we had to work day and night to keep up with the workload.