Innovation & Job News

TGM Skateboards moves to larger HQ, doubles staff

Thursday, May 19, 2011

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Entrepreneurship, Internet, Macomb County, Sales, Sports

Steve Kynaston opened TGM Skateboards a decade ago as a skateboarding supply shop and quickly realized he also had the makings of an Internet retailer.

TGM Skateboards also did some product design work in the beginning. That evolved into the creation of its own brand and product sales on eBay. Today, the downtown Mt. Clemens-based business sells 99 percent of its products outside of Michigan and employs 22 people.

"We're selling hundreds of skateboards a day now," says Kynaston, general manager of TGM Skateboards. "We just want to give them a high-quality option over the garbage that is sold in big-box stores."

TGM Skateboards recently acquired a competitor and now has a wholesale distribution channel, Keystone Skate Supply. The retailer also moved into a much bigger facility last year, the 32,000-square-foot Dopp Furniture Building. That allowed the company to double its staff and push its sales up 20 percent. Kynaston believes his shop is now the largest skateboard shop in the Midwest.

Source: Steve Kynaston, general manager of TGM Skateboards
Writer: Jon Zemke

Read more about Metro Detroit's growing entrepreneurial ecosystem at SEMichiganStartup.com.