Splinter Trade Show to Debut During January '03 ASR

Agenda, a Los Angeles–based organization dedicated to art, music and fashion, recently announced plans to launch a trade show for smaller streetwear lines to run concurrently with the Action Sports Retailer Trade Expo (ASR) in January 2003, in Long Beach, Calif.

Agenda has been presenting one-night art shows in downtown Los Angeles for six years, focusing on art, music and beer, according to Louis Pulido, one of its co-promoters, who said that he and co-promoter Aaron Levant decided to take their art and music party format and “change the beer focus to fashion” for the Agenda Show.

Pulido and Levant are also the owners of three emerging men’s streetwear lines, Grnappletree, Leche and Matador. The two participated in ASR for three seasons and decided to create a splinter show after seeing that their portion of the market was not being properly serviced.

“We even won ’Best Booth’ at ASR, with Grnappletree,” said Pulido. “ASR will always be around and we’ve done good business there, but they aren’t bringing the customers we need. There’s a whole new batch of up-and-coming customers, but for some reason, that market is not reaching ASR.”

Pulido said a splinter show called 432F was launched for similar reasons in the mid-1990s. But after a few seasons, ASR responded to the needs, and 432F folded back into the bigger trade show.

“432F came in, got younger companies and made a more affordable show,” said Pulido. “We eventually went back to ASR, because they started taking better care of us. At some point we’ll reconnect with ASR, but at this point it’s not affordable to go there and spend all that money and not get the return.”

The Agenda Show will target new buyers who are not being serviced by ASR, in addition to attracting current ASR buyers who will already be in town, said Pulido.

“Hopefully, we’ll get some of the buyers who are disillusioned with the lines they buy [at ASR] and want something new,” he said. “We talked to a few skate shops who are looking for more fashion-forward lines. A good skate and surf store that we’ll target is the Closet in Huntington Beach— they’ve been carrying Diesel and have elevated above the regular skate and surf shop.”

The format of the Agenda Show will be very simple, emphasizing the freshness in approach, said Pulido.

“There won’t be any booths, just a rack for each line,” he said. “No one will have a bigger space than anyone else. What will sell is the product, and there won’t be any extra expenses.”

The Agenda Show will target smaller boutique lines, including Groop, Twentyfive, Seasons, Matador, The 7th Letter, Massappeal, Vapors, Eyewhitness, Nesta, Leche, Emortal, Milk, Filter, Scifen, Masters Collection, Apxemuseum, Savier, Technics, 614, Grnappletree, Socialstudies, Ummah, Nc Collective, Ok47, Ummah, Nuflo, Xthreadz, Truck and Lithium. The show will be sponsored by Mass Appeal magazine and Vapor magazine, both of which are launching new clothing lines at the event.

The Agenda Show will be held from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Jan. 23 and 24. In addition to the clothing lines, street art will be on display and for sale. Throughout the day and afternoon, deejays will provide music and each night will feature local hip-hop groups, including Jurassic Five and Styles of Beyond.

The venue for the Agenda Show, Naga Restaurant, is a few blocks from the Long Beach Convention Center, where ASR will be held. For more information, call (213) 622-6523 or go to www.agendashow.com. —Darryl James