A Wipeout for Surf Business Magazine

Surf Business, a 3-year-old magazine that covers Southern California’s surfing industry, published its last issue Wednesday. The glossy 24-page tabloid, which distributes 10 issues annually, provided “excellent information that was truly appreciated in the market, but wasn’t widely supported on the advertising side,” said David Loechner, vice president of the magazine’s owner, Miller-Freeman Inc., based in Laguna Beach. Surf Business cost $30 a year and had about 4,500 subscribers. The magazine’s five employees have been laid off, Loechner said. The closure comes as the region’s surf apparel and equipment industries are enjoying a boom not seen since the late 1980s. Loechner said Miller-Freeman is eyeing alternative ways to deliver news to the industry--and retail buyers. Among the formats under consideration are a Web site, e-mail, newsletter and fax.