When you walk into Sunset Beach Trading Company, you feel right at home immediately. Located on the left just over the bridge onto Sunset Beach, it’s one of the first places everyone passes on their way to their summer vacation, and the flow of people we saw stop in during “check-in time” while we were in the store taking these photos was constant. They came in with their Sunset Beach straw hat they bought on their last visit and left happily slurping down shaved ice. Smiles were everywhere. It’s just one of those places you hope to find on vacation, or at home for that matter, where everyone is welcomed warmly. And the place fairly screams Sunset Beach with a huge array of items featuring the Old Bridge, the Sunset Pier and the Kindred Spirit Mailbox. It’s a picture book beach store.
My favorite part of my previous job as a beer salesman in Brunswick County was the people I got to meet. This also one of my favorite things about becoming publisher of magazines in Brunswick County, and when I can re-connect with people I loved working with when I was beer guy, well, it just makes me a very happy guy.
When I reached out to John and Tracy Hobgood about this Biz Q&A on their Sunset Beach Trading Company, John asked “weren’t you our Coors/PBR guy?” When he was part owner of the Sunset Beach Island Grocery across the street, yes, yes I was. And I had such found memories of both John and his father-in-law Cliff, that I just couldn’t wait to get to know what they were up to now.
Sunset Beach Trading Company has a long history on the island. Can you tell us a little bit about the location’s history?
Our shop was originally an ocean-front house that was moved to its current location in the late 1980s. Tracy’s parents, Cliff and Lynn, were on vacation in 1990 and saw an ad in The Brunswick Beacon, purchased the previous business in the fall of 1990, and their first season was 1991. In the beginning there was a grill which served breakfast and lunch. As a 10th grader, Tracy would go to work with her father and help him get the grill ready and catch a ride from an island resident to West Brunswick High School. After the 1992 season, they eliminated the grill and expanded the square footage of the business and focused on clothing, souvenirs, beach supplies, ice cream, homemade fudge and shaved ice.
When did you guys take the helm? Can you tell us how that came to pass?
We met in a geography course at East Carolina University in 1994. In 1996 John went to study abroad for a year in Tanzania and Tracy stayed in Greenville and graduated and worked for the City of Greenville as a city planner. From 1998-2002, John taught English in Japan and then went to graduate school in Spain. We kept in touch over the years and reconnected in 2002. In 2003, we went to teach English in South Korea for two years, returning to Greenville to get married in 2004.
During our last year in Korea Tracy’s parents asked if we would be interested in taking over the Trading Company. We returned to the U.S. in the spring of 2005 and the beach store learning process began — nights and weekends. For our daytime jobs, we both worked for Brunswick County government, Tracy as a planner and John as a GIS Specialist. These first few years also saw the birth of our two children, Nathan and Noelle. The 2009 season was our first season as owners/operators.
What is your favorite thing about the store that hasn’t changed since 1991? What is your favorite new addition?
The most important and consistent thing is the relationships with customers. Tracy has memories of kids who were toddlers who are now coming in as parents with their own children, not to mention customers who still remember Tracy as a teenager. Our favorite new additions are more so our evolution with the times and technology. Social media has allowed us the opportunity to stay in contact with customers throughout the year. John does a lot of Instagram stories, posts to Facebook, and even silly little TikTok videos. While there is some selling of products, there are also just posts showing our commute to work, an evening walk on the beach, or family pics of customers in front of the store.
What all can folks expect to find in Sunset Beach Trading Company?
We strive to have the best clothing designs and gift merchandise available. We do a lot of research and planning in the “off-season” in order to feel proud of what we offer in the shop. In addition to what we sell, we expect people to walk away thinking, “Those folks are really nice.” We tell our employees that our visitors who come from far away are choosing us over Disney World. They’re working 51 weeks just so they can spend one week at a place where we live…let’s make sure they leave here happy with that decision.
Do you stay open year-round? If so, is it tricky to manage the swing in island population?
We are a seasonal business, so we are open from just before Easter through the end of September. Sometimes in the fall, we will have a pop-up weekend where we’ll come out and let people shop. We always have a sign on the front door with John’s cell number on there so that if people want to shop we can set up a time to meet them. Of course, there is also the website, SunsetBeachTC.com which sees a lot of traffic throughout the year, but even more so in the months leading up to the holidays. We often get the comment “must be nice to only work six months out of the year” but there are a lot of things that happen in the off season: building maintenance, trade shows, and receiving merchandise which must be inspected, tagged, and displayed.
What sets Sunset Beach Trading apart?
We think the time and effort we put into our choices of merchandise to sell sets us apart from the others. We try to greet every single person who walks into our shop and thank them when they leave, regardless of whether they made a purchase or not. Offering fair prices, often much less than the “box stores” surprises many, but if you rip people off they’re not going to be repeat customers. Thirty-four seasons in business tells us we’re doing something right. Our staff is also a big part of our success. From teenagers working their first jobs to retirees working just for “something to do.” Customers not only expect to see John and Tracy, but often get to know our employees by name. Letting customers know that we appreciate their allowing us to do what we love, because without them, there is no Sunset Beach Trading Company.
What’s the biggest challenge of running the store?
The biggest challenge would be not having enough hours in the day. We’re open from 8:30 am until 10 pm seven days a week and even earlier on the weekend. We are truly owner/operators and work the business, in some fashion, seven days a week.
What’s your favorite thing about owning Sunset Beach Trading Company?
The fact that we get to work together. We taught English in South Korea in classrooms next to one another, worked for Brunswick County 10 feet away from one another, and now run SBTC together. That and the fact that our children have grown up with us in the business and are now working with us.
Any plans for the future you’d like to share?
We’re not the biggest beach shop around, but we look forward to many more years together at the little Green Awning Store!
Sunset Beach Trading Company makes great use of social media, follow them here:
FB: SunsetBeachTradingCompany
IG: @SunsetBeachTC
TikTok: @SunsetBeachTC
