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Surf Wear Firm Hopes to Appeal to the Masses : Catchit Rides Big Wave to the Valley

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Times Staff Writer

Catchit--once one of the hippest surf wear companies on the West Coast--has moved its surf trunks and body shorts to the San Fernando Valley.

The move from Tustin to Van Nuys this week was part of a shake-up by Van Nuys Surf Co., which became Catchit’s sole owner last month when it bought the 50% interest of founder and former President Ian Foreman.

Now Van Nuys Surf Co. hopes to revive sales by selling Catchit’s surf trunks and board shorts to more than just surfers. The company hopes to market its merchandise through Mervyn’s and J. C. Penney.

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“We want to have our clothing on the masses, as opposed to the few,” said Mitch Fine, president. “Catchit itself has a big name . . . and we want to merchandise to as many folks as we can.”

While Fine and his partner, Bill Snyder, have not yet signed agreements with Mervyn’s and Penney’s, Fine said both have been contacted and “they’re receptive to seeing us.”

The sale of Catchit--whose worth was estimated by industry sources at $1 million--is the latest sign of a shakeout in the $1-billion surf wear industry. Since late 1987, several one-time industry leaders have experienced financial trouble.

Catchit was founded eight years ago by Foreman. A native of South Africa and a former distributor of rival Gotcha, Foreman was a self-described “one-man band,” who began by manufacturing a line of five stretch trunks, two walk shorts and a T-shirt out of his beach house.

From an investment of $5,000, Foreman’s sales hit $250,000 in his first season. Over the next seven years, the company expanded into sportswear for boys and toddlers and created a juniors line. Later, it added SK8 (pronounced “skate”) and Skatehardware to appeal to a new group of customers who ride skateboards instead of waves.

In an interview with The Times in early 1987, Foreman predicted sales that year of $20 million. But at the same time, Catchit--along with 300 to 400 competitors--began struggling in a surf market that was no longer laid back.

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“It’s no secret that Catchit’s business had been off considerably before this time,” said Steve MacBaisey, president of Cycle Industries, Catchit’s T-shirt licensee.

Foreman said he left Catchit because he got a good offer. “The timing, the price, the conditions--everything was right,” he said. “Sometimes the best-laid plans of men and mice change. . . . It was time to move on.”

Darrin Donaho, a Catchit salesman, said the split came because “Ian wanted to stay real hard-core surf and it’s past our time. It’s time to go to the department stores.”

That time may have come because Catchit had wiped out in trendy surf shops.

“Catchit ran its course about 3 years ago. It’s bad news,” said Tom Noble, manager of Newport Surf and Sport in Newport Beach. “Most retailers like us wouldn’t touch it with a 10-foot pole.”

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