Blue Planet Surf Shop on Kapahulu Avenue, known for its sand-covered floor, is closing on Jan. 8 after 13 years at the location.
Blue Planet will continue to operate its shop on Ward Avenue.
The 1,000-square-foot shop at 813 Kapahulu Ave. has faced a "difficult economy" on top of a 25 percent drop in surfboard sales from two years ago as more customers move to stand-up paddling, a growing sport, said owner Robert Stehlik.
"Even though a lot of die-hard surfers still surf, they’ll often choose a new stand-up board over a new longboard when it’s time to buy a new board," he said. "People who have never really surfed or been water people are getting into stand-up. A lot of them are not interested in surfing with the board; it’s more for the exercise."
Blue Planet will move its inventory from the Kapahulu shop to its store at 540 Ward Ave. The company’s seven workers will be retained at the larger 4,000-square-foot Ward store, which opened in 2009. At the time, the company moved its stand-up board inventory to Ward and kept traditional surfboards at the Kapahulu location.
"We have better sales at our new location and four times as much space," he said. "It’s easier to have just one store. It’s a lot less overhead and less management issues."
In addition, the lease for the Kapahulu store expires Jan. 15, and rent was set to increase, he added.
Stehlik started the business as a clothing wholesaler out of his Waikiki apartment in 1993, then began selling his products at the Aloha Stadium swap meet. He opened the first Blue Planet Surf Shop in Paia, Maui, in 1995 before operating a kiosk at Aloha Tower Marketplace. Three years later he opened his first Oahu shop in Kapahulu.
The growing popularity of stand-up paddling is "a really good trend," Stehlik said. "There’s more room on the water for people just paddling for exercise or fitness. There’s only so many waves to catch."
