Piping Hot (surfwear)

Piping Hot is an Australian surf and street clothing brand and was established in 1975 in Torquay, Victoria. On March 24, 2015, it was announced that Saban Brands Lifestyle Group had acquired Piping Hot.^[1]

Corporate Information

Piping Hot is a privately owned Australian surfwear brand, founded in 1975 in Torquay, Victoria, Australia by Fred Pyke. Today the brand operates under a licence model, and is predominantly sold through major discount department store, Target Australia. The company’s headquarters are in Brighton, Victoria, Australia.^{[2][3][4][5][6][7]}

Business Model

Initially Piping Hot operated a traditional wholesale model. As Piping Hot’s brand awareness and popularity grew amongst Australians, the company's current owner and Managing Director, Mark Johannsen made the decision to move to a licence model in partnership with Target Australia in 1998. Piping Hot’s focus is to provide quality, authentic surfwear at a more affordable price than top tier surf brands. This comes from Mark’s observation that as surfwear became more popular in the Australian market, it subsequently became less attainable to the wider population due to the sharp increase in price point.

Company History

Piping Hot was founded by Fred Pyke in 1967, and initially produced bespoke surfboards and wetsuits sold out of their small Torquay based factory, under the name Dive and Surf. In 1975 the company began trading under the name Piping Hot, which sat alongside a strategy for growing the brand from a local surfwear label into an Australian surfwear icon.

Piping Hot was known for their wetsuits, high profile surfers and progressive attitude. The brand quickly grew to become a household name as it took ownership of new product categories.

1967 - 1970’s

• Piping Hot moves from trading as Dive and Surf to the same name in 1975
• In the late 70’s many world class surfers such as Larry Bertlemann, Nick Carroll, Nat Young, Joe Engel and Simon Anderson appeared in magazine ads and competed internationally, further promoting the brand.

1980’s

• In1981 Piping Hot sponsored surfer Simon Anderson, wins the Bells Beach Surf Classic in the 30 ft category. Simon’s ride and support for Piping Hot solidified the company’s position in the market.
• In 1984 Piping Hot released the ‘Smoothie’, the biggest selling wetsuit in Australia
• Later that year Piping Hot opened Australia’s largest surf shop at the surf coast plaza in Torquay. This saw an extension of products created in the areas of clothing, headwear and surfing hard goods.
• Piping Hot released ‘Strike Force’, a cutting edge surf video that included some of the hottest surf talent at the time, including Gary Elkerton, Richard Cram, Ross Clarke-Jones, Mark Sainsbury, Gary Greem, Rob Bain and Vetea David.

1990’s

• Piping Hot continued to maintain momentum through a time when surf fashion and the surfing lifestyle had found its place in the main stream market. The company started developing a broader range of product categories and increased their distribution network.
• Piping Hot announced the sponsorship of surfing world title holder’s Barton Lynch and Pauline Menczer, bringing the brand increased exposure through printed and television media.
• Piping Hot increased their support of younger up and coming surfers.
• Piping Hot was sold to the current Owner and Managing Director, Mark Johannsen.
• The company’s model transformed dramatically, as it moved away from its traditional wholesale arrangement to an exclusive licensed arrangement with Target Australia.

2000’s

• The relationship between Piping Hot and Target Australia grows, and the business continues to produce positive results despite challenging market conditions
• Piping Hot rekindles its grass roots dedication to sponsoring young up-coming surfing talent through sponsorship, including pro-surfer Georgia Fish.
• Piping Hot executives Mark Johannsen and Danielle Lowe make the decision to expand the brand into global markets via a licensing model, and subsequently becomes a member of the Licensing Industry Merchandisers' Association (LIMA)

References

External links

• Official website
• Piping Hot on Twitter
• Piping Hot on Facebook
• Piping Hot on Instagram