Catchit Looks for New Wave : Surf-Wear Firm Moves From Tustin to Van Nuys

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 the Van Nuys Surf Co., which became Catchit’s sole owner last month when it bought out the 50% interest of Ian Foreman, founder and former president.

And now Van Nuys Surf Co.’s owners hope to revive sales by selling their surf trunks and board shorts to more than just surfers. The company hopes to mass-market its merchandise through Mervyn’s and J. C. Penney.

“We want to have our clothing on the masses, as opposed to the few,” said Mitch Fine, president of the Van Nuys-based company. “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 that both have been contacted and that “they’re receptive to seeing us.” If all goes as planned, Fine hopes to start delivering Catchit’s body shorts, surf trunks and T-shirts to those retailers by the fall.

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. Sine late 1987, at least three one-time industry leaders have experienced financial troubles, including Maui & Sons and Off Shore.

Surf wear--as opposed to swimwear--means the usually sturdier trunks designed for surfing, as well as the casual wear that goes with the surfer look.

Catchit was founded about 8 years ago by Foreman. A South African native and 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 initial investment of $5,000 of his own money, Foreman’s first season sales hit $250,000 in 1980. Within 7 years, the company had expanded into sportswear for boys and toddlers and created Haute Rush, a juniors line aimed at beach bunnies. 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 for a share of the surf-wear market, which was no longer laid-back.

“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.

Reached earlier this month, 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.”

Foreman declined to elaborate.

A Catchit salesman, Darrin Donaho, 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 the surf shops.

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

But Fine expects all that to change with a move into major retailers like Mervyn’s and J. C. Penney. He cites 1988 wholesale sales of $8 million to $10 million, which he expects to be basically flat this year. But by 1990, Fine predicts, whole sales should climb to the $15-million to $20-million range.