The Profit - Windward Boardshop (Windward 82/W82) Update

Tonight on The Profit, Marcus Lemonis is in Chicago, Illinois with hopes of making a deal with Windward Boardshop. Windward Boardshop is a local snowboarding shop that was established in 1982.  The current owners Chris Currier, Tony Anasenes and Jess Bell bought the business in 2010 and expanded to add another store.  The business is suffering due to the expansion as well as communication issues between the owners.  Also, while Marcus Lemonis is there, the store staff is resistant to change.  Windward Boardshop went from making $81,000 in 2015 and to losing about $250,000 in 2016.

Let's take a look at some information related to Windward Boardshop as well as what kind of deal was made on the show.

News and Links Related To The Company:

• The filming of this episode happened from December 2016 to February 2017. (Link)
• In January 2017, there was a liquidation sale at the Chicago location. (Link). At the beginning of February, the Chicago store closed and the inventory was moved to Highland Park to continue liquidation. At the end of February, the renovations at the Chicago location were complete and the store reopened. (Link)
• Windward Boardshop was slightly renamed to Windward 82 or W82 for short.  This is because the store originally opened in 1982.  The new website URL is www.W82.com and their old website now redirects to this one.
• The mission statement from their website states, "Our mission is to build a community and transform the snow, skate, surf-sup retail industry by revolutionizing the standard of customer service, retail innovation, and unmatched sharing of knowledge of the products we believe in. Outstanding customer service and keeping focused on our values listed below guide us along this adventure."
• Here is the Windward 82 Facebook Page.
• Windward Boardshop sells over 1200 items from their store on Amazon. (Link)
• Their feedback is 97% positive with 368 ratings at the moment.

The Deal From The Episode Plus Post-Show Updates (this will be updated continually):

• The Deal - $500,000 for 50% of the business.  Plus an extra $100,000 if they can liquidate $200,000 worth of dead inventory in a month.  The equity structure was updated to give Jess an extra 5% (10% total) and Marcus now owns 40% of the business.  Chris has 30% (up from 28%) and Tony has 20% (up from 17%)
• In March 2017 a juice bar opened inside of Windward 82. (Link)
• The Highland Park location is currently closed.  Yelp says it is scheduled to reopen May 2018, but I am not sure how accurate that is. (Link)
• Inkkas shoes (season 3 of The Profit) are available for sale on the W82 website.
• On the show, Marcus Lemonis said he bought the Highland Park location from the landlord due to the unfavorable lease.  Marcus Lemonis said he bought the building for $1.5 million and Union 73 (one of his companies in the Marcus Lemonis Fashion Group) is in the building. (Link)
• Jess is now a buyer for W82 and Chris no longer does the buying. (Link)

*To see how all of the businesses from The Profit are doing, go to the The Profit Updates page, and also Like us on Facebook or Follow Us on Twitter to stay up to date with all things involving The Profit.