OCEAN CITY — Beverley Gill didn’t intend to sell beach chairs, umbrellas, carts and accessories for the past 16 years, it just kind of happened.
Gill said she and her husband, Thomas, and son, Patrick, operated TackleDirect from a building they owned on Pleasure Avenue that was under threat of being taken by the state via eminent domain.
In 2006, they bought the former Eckerd Drugs store at the corner of Ninth Street and Bay Avenue with plans to move the fishing gear retailer there. Instead, they found a great location in Egg Harbor Township and decided to open Island Beach Gear at 2 W. Ninth St. to help pay taxes until the property could be sold.
“Fast forward five years, the state finally takes our building and now I have a thriving business and my husband is over at Tackle Direct,” she said.
Island Beach Gear sells beach chairs, umbrellas, toys, carts, bathing suits, hats, bags, towels, sunscreen, sun glasses, books and more.
“We have everything you need for the beach and everything you didn’t think you needed for the beach,” Gill said.
The store has fantastic visibility, with everyone who enters the island via the Route 52 causeway passing out front, as well as off-street parking and 10,000 square feet of retail space.
“Ocean City is one of those unique places where more people are actually commuting into Ocean City to go to work then commuting out, which is rare for a coastal town,” general manager Brent Burke said.
Burke said 80 percent of the business is beach chairs, which is why they pay so much attention to quality.
He said the typical customer is going to the beach for the day and needs an item or two and stop by, while others are looking for high-end products and great selection.
Gill said they cater to different categories of shoppers — weekenders, who don’t want the most expensive beach towel or toy; those looking for a beach chair that is going to last 10 years (“We can take care of them, too!”) and rental property owners buying in bulk for their tenants.
Prices range from $60 “all the way up,” Burke said.
“We have learned over the years that the real cheap stuff that you get is disposable. Especially in this environment, we don’t want to sell disposable product. We want to sell something that has quality and represents what Island Beach Gear represents,” he said. “We have a chair for every bottom.”
Burke said the average price is about $100, with the low range being $60 and the high $150.
Some of the brands include Telescope Casual, which Burke said has been around since 1903 and is completely made in America.
“We have the largest selection,” he said, calling it a classic beach chair that comes in several heights. “Everything from real low to mid-height to up to 20 inches from seat to sand.”
They cost between $125 and $150.
Those looking for a more elegant design should check out Lafuma. The French manufacturer’s product includes “phenomenal back support” and a five-year warranty.
“If you don’t want an umbrella, a lot of these products have canopies offering personal shade,” he said, noting their compact size and low weight make them easily transportable.
They cost $110 to $150.
Another brand, which Burke called his “personal favorite” for its conservation efforts, is Low Tides.
“It’s a coastal New Jersey brand, out of Bellmawr in Ocean County,” he said. “They take ocean-bound plastics, turn it into pellets and make the arms and other plastic featured of the chair.”
The chair includes a cellphone slot, dual cup holders and backpack straps, and costs $140.
Among the new products is a the Sun Flow, whose owners were features on “Shark Tank.”
“I’m really excited to have them this year, we are the only one in the area who has them,” Burke said, noting the company will be holding a vendor night to detail its product to the staff.
“We train all of our staff on what good customer service means but also product knowledge and listening to the customer to find that good fit,” Burke said.
The thing he likes about the Sun Flow is it’s “super comfortable, convenient and light-weight with fun colors.”
“Little things make a big difference,” he said, noting the reclining is triggered with the press of a button and, like adjusting the canopy, can be performed with just one hand.
Sun Flow offers it beach bundle — a Sun Flow chair, sun shade, drink holder, dry bag and towel for $296.
He said he’s also excited about the new carts.
“You have to haul this stuff to the beach, how are you going to get it there?” he said, noting they sell items from the simple Wonder Wheeler to the durable Alumacart, which makes a kit to convert the tires on the Wonder Wheeler to an inflatable model.
“It you’re hauling a lot of stuff, we have carts for everything,” Burke said. “We have a selection of the best stuff.”
By CRAIG D. SCHENCK/Sentinel staff
