Elan Savir launched his namesake company for women’s clothing at Surf Expo in 1991, and he’s been coming back ever since. He can remember when he was 19 years old walking around the show floor, before he had his own company. “Everybody in my circle either had a clothing store or had a clothing business,” Savir said. “Somebody brought me here. I was happy to be here. It was all the brands I used to love.”

Not long after, Savir started his own brand.

Over the years, Elan has evolved. For the first 15 years, it was primarily beach resort fare. Now it’s more of an expanded boutique model.“We don’t show it all here, but we do sweaters, a full-fashion thing,” Savir said.

E-Commerce Push

The business has one brick-and-mortar location, in Aventura, Florida, as well as an e-commerce store. Savir plans to expand the business into more physical stores. “But the e-commerce store does more by 8 o’clock in the morning than the store does all day,” he said. Although the advertising costs for e-commerce are high, it still works for his business. “E-commerce is very exciting,” Savir said. “It’s taken a whole new turn.”

During the pandemic Savir bit the bullet and accepted that the costs for the online store were worth it. “I always wanted to do it,” he said. “But every time I heard the expense, it sounded outrageous to me.” Elan allocated $500,000 to build it up but Savir said he didn’t have to spend the entire amount before the e-commerce site started generating revenue. Right now, e-commerce and retail only make up about 10% of Elan’s business, but it’s where Savir sees potential.

Elan keeps coming back to Surf Expo because they see the same customers over and over that have established businesses, he said. As for new styles, Savir said lately he’s been inspired by his travels to Europe, in particular Greece.A new dress style has the blue and white color patterns one might see in Santorini, for example.