PayPal Stories Archive

"These days, people want more than to just walk into a box that sells clothes,” explain Jake Patterson and James Wright, co-founders of surf lifestyle retailer Watershed. Which explains why customers at some of the company’s stores – their first opened in Newquay in 2012 – can not only browse its products but also enjoy a coffee, have lunch or even get their hair trimmed.

 

It’s not the only thing Watershed’s founders are doing a bit differently as they ride their very own crest of a wave. While other retailers focus on conquering the world of e-commerce, Jake and James are equally clear about the vital role of physical sites in their future success. 

 

“When you buy one of our surfboards, you have to touch it, put it under your arm and talk to knowledgeable staff. Letting people come in and see the quality is a massive thing for us.”

 

Yet this commitment to retail’s brick and mortar traditions doesn’t come at the expense of innovation. Far from it, whether that means working with industry-leading surfboard shapers in Newquay or using PayPal Here card reader and payment system to manage the money coming in each day.   

 

“When we started, we were using traditional merchant banking, but in a business like ours where cash flow is very important, waiting three days for the cash to go into our account was having a really detrimental effect. So, we decided to try the PayPal Here card reader.”

 

It didn’t take long for the benefits to become clear.

 

“Setting up the PayPal Here card reader is so easy it’s ridiculous! Everything gets processed quicker and because all the payment information is real-time, you can track everything happening every day, wherever you are. [Accepting] Apple Pay works straight off the bat and since using PayPal exclusively, we haven’t had a single fraudulent transaction.”

 

Watch their story here: