Mellow Market for ASR and Agenda
SAN DIEGO—Buyers were roaming the aisles, but many exhibitors at the Action Sports Retailer Trade Expo and Agenda trade show, held concurrently Jan. 25–27 in San Diego, reported a quiet market. “There is retailer fatigue,” said Alain Mazer, representative of Costa Mesa, Calif.–based surf brand Hot Tuna. “There are too many shows back-to-back.”
For many action-sports brands, ASR and Agenda followed a busy trade-show schedule that included the Snowsports Industries America show, held Jan. 21–24 in Las Vegas, the Project Global Trade Show, held Jan. 22–24 in New York, and the Outdoor Retailer show, held Jan. 27–30 in Salt Lake City.
Still, ASR drew 18,000 attendees, about 1,000 more than last year, and Agenda, which scaled back its exhibitor list to approximately 100 brands, estimated that about 2,000 buyers shopped the streetwear show.
“January is a challenging time of year, especially when we have so much overlap amongst the shows,” said Andy Tompkins, director of ASR. “It wasn’t by design that that happened, and we’re focused on making sure we’re not on top of each other next year. It’s very taxing on buyers.” Tompkins said if there had been less conflict between dates, perhaps more buyers would have ventured out.
“It’s been a little slow, but we’ve been writing orders,” said Angi Hart, national sales manager of Billabong’s juniors division, which showed Summer goods. “We had appointments on the last day, and we never have appointments on the last day.”
This year, the shows adopted a Thursday-through-Saturday schedule to spare buyers and exhibitors a full working weekend. Exhibitors reported liking the new days but said traffic seemed to be affected. “Thursday was solid, but certainly [the attendance] wasn’t as strong as we normally have on a first day, which is typically a Friday. On the flip side, Saturday, the final day of the show, had much better attendance than we normally have,” Tompkins said.
Agenda organizer Aaron Levant said that despite the smaller show, key buyers walked the show and wrote significant orders. “We had buyers from Pacific Sunwear, Macy’s and Metropark waiting to get in before the doors opened one morning,” he said. The show, which in the past was only two days long, had the added benefit of a third day, during which buyers could stop in.
Lumberjack skater, grunge surfer
Strong trends dominated the show-floor landscape. Alloverprint hoodies, grunge stripes, lumberjack plaids and skatepunk styles were key looks for the shows, which featured Spring/Summer and Fall collections. At Quiksilver, buyers looked at preppy-punk styles such as slim-fit jeans and red-andblack striped polos. Metal Mulisha offered its own take on allover print by opting for a large-scale collage instead of a repetitive small print. Cute jackets at Paul Frank Industries mixed plaids and stripes for girls. And MCD debuted five pocket– style embossed twill pants in greasy black.
Buyers looking for a mix of high and low fashion had no shortage of options. For Fall, Osiris offered a three-piece black pinstriped suit with a black griffinflocked appliqueacute; as well as humorous T-shirts with kitschy graphics. Quiksilver Edition offered a leather safari jacket and crisp woven shirts with fancy modified French cuffs and Mexican wedding- shirt tonal embroidery alongside boardshort-style walking shorts. Roxy debuted a collection of mod knit dresses in rich jewel tones for Fall and showed childlike polka dot–covered hoodies. Ezekiel showed a fitted cherry-red peacoat with brass buttons and adjustable lapels and trapeze-shaped short-sleeve jackets alongside skyblue overdyed denim. Alpinestars showed a bevy of pretty dresses, including multi-colored brassiere mini-dresses inspired by highend designer brand Proenza Schouler, alongside motosport-inspired T-shirts. We Are the Superlative Conspiracy showed comfy cardigan sweaters and grape-colored skinny corduroy pants for guys and girls. Pathway showed T-shirts with artfully rendered versions of gang symbols from Los Angeles’ Echo Park and Silver Lake neighborhoods. Crooks & Castles designer Dennis Calvero said he took inspiration from luxury brand Ralph Lauren for his streetwear brand. Gold chains and crests were a repeating theme on T-shirts, hoodies and accessories.
Not every buyer responds to the more fashion-forward pieces, but it makes sense for brands to have them, said Jessica Rush, national sales manager for Ezekiel. “We have to have them, just in case. The industry is really beginning to figure out that fashion has a part in the stores,” she said.
Buyers from Street Machine, a skate retailer with stores in San Diego, Paris and Copenhagen, bought T-shirts and allover-print hoodies from brands such as 10 Deep and The Seventh Letter for Fall. Art-inspired T-shirts and hoodies from Upper Playground, Rebel8 and Stereo Sound Agency were top of list for John Montesi, owner of the West Side Skate Shop in Tarpon Springs, Fla., but he said he was also looking for edgier pieces as well. “If something is cool, it’ll sell. Price doesn’t matter,” he said.
Dominick Deluca, owner of the uber-hip Brooklyn Projects skate shop in Los Angeles, said he shopped Agenda and ASR for new and obscure brands. Fenchurch, WeSC and Beautiful Society got nods from BP, which sells streetwear and sneakers ranging from $30 to more than $300. Deluca, who said his business this December was unexpectedly strong, shopped for Immediates to fill his thinning racks. “Everything I have is on the floor now. I need something to tide me over,” Deluca said. For Fall, Deluca said he’ll stay away from the big trends—so no alloverprint hoodies or super-skinny jeans for him. “People don’t come to me for something they could find anywhere,” he said. “I did that in November and December, and it turned out great. I sold out of the stuff, and now I’m on to something new.”
Expanding offerings
Several brands debuted new offerings. Hot Tuna broke the news of its latest venture, Map, a newly acquired urban streetwear brand for guys and girls ages 18 to 24, which will bow for Fall 2007 with apparel and accessories. “It’s a full range of tops and bottoms that is very street,” said Bryce Cole, international creative director for the brand. “There will be no surf connection and no boardshorts. It’s a little more upscale, with better fabrics.” Cole said the company hopes to establish the brand as an underground label that will target metropolitan areas.
Anaheim, Calif.–based streetwear brand Orisue showed at both ASR and Agenda and debuted knit cardigans and five styles of denim to complement its T-shirt and hoodie business. The jeans feature roomy fits and raw washes.
WeSC announced that Gregor Hagelin, the Swedish brand’s founder and chief executive, has moved to California to focus on growing WeSC’s stateside presence. “He did it to take a serious approach to our U.S. business,” said Jim Shubin, the brand’s director of U.S. marketing. The brand has also undergone restructuring. In December, WeSC moved its headquarters from Culver City, Calif., to 409 W. Olympic Blvd. in Los Angeles. The new office will focus solely on sales and marketing, and all warehousing duties are being handled by a third party.
Revenge of the nerds
Surf and skate brands got a little geeky for Fall— in a very cool way.
Rip Curl announced plans for a heated wetsuit. Still in the development stages, the wetsuit is being tested in frigid arctic waters by gutsy surfers. The company hopes to bring the suit, which could keep cold surfers warm for approximately two hours, to market later this year.
Quiksilver debuted tech-savvy additions to its performance EQPT brand. Teflon-coated shorts keep hikers dry and stain-free, and a “Hammerhead” jacket has a 10,000 MM waterproof level and features wetsuit-style taped seams to make it completely waterproof. The brand also added its “Soft Switch” MP3-player technology to some garments, allowing the wearers access to their music via soft touch-pads embedded in unobtrusive spots. A new line of Quiksilver luggage, computer bags and backpacks features “Soft Switch” technology, embedded LED lights and built-in speakers.
