California Apparel News

The Action Sports Retailer Trade Expo, the biannual trade show for the surf and skate business, has canceled all future events, according to sources close to the show.

Show organizer Nielsen Expositions could not be reached for comment, but Jason Bates, founder of the Class trade show and its satellite Class@ASR show, held in partnership with ASR, confirmed the news.

“It’s crazy!” Bates said. “I feel sad for the surf and skate industry. But the surf, skate and shoe industry all wanted different [show] dates and different things from ASR. I understand why ASR could not serve all of those people. I understand why they have to call it a day.”

Bates said the trade show model has changed in recent years, shifting from a “big-booth marketing concept” to something simpler and more affordable. “No one wants to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars for a trade show,” he said. “Now, they can spend $2,000 to $3,000 and go directly to market.”

The 29-year-old action sports trade show was the biggest for the action-sports market on the West Coast. Owned by San Juan Capistrano, Calif.–based Nielsen Expositions, ASR routinely united 800 surf/skate, swim, moto and snow brands and nearly 6,000 retail buyers twice a year at the San Diego Convention Center.

The show has been in flux for the past several years. The high cost of participating in the marketing-heavy show and conflicting dates saw the exodus first of the footwear brands—a key category for the industry and the show. In 2009, Hurley announced it would no longer participate in ASR, and that same year biggies such as Quiksilver, Roxy, Reef, Rip Curl, Matix and others began to opt out of some editions of ASR.

In response, ASR took a more business-oriented attitude to its show floor and began offering cost-effective turn-key booths. Some exhibitors began to use other non-traditional trade show booths, including RVs and tents, and culled the list of employees at the show to save money.

To add excitement to the show floor, ASR branched out. Mixed martial arts, a growing sport with some action-sport connections, began to crop up on the ASR show floor. Show organizers attempted to dial in on that demographic and in 2008 debuted Virtue, a short-lived MMA-focused trade show that was around for one season.

In 2009 the action-sports show giant narrowed its focus back on the core market, striking a licensing deal with the contemporary Class trade show for Class@ASR, which showed swimwear and surf/skate crossover brands as well as emerging brands. Crossroads, a rough-and-tumble skate trade show from Northern California, joined ASR in San Diego in 2010, showing concurrently with ASR in the Petco Park stadium parking lot. Sacred Craft, a consumer surf board show, also joined ASR in 2010.

The changes weren’t enough to breathe life back into the show, however. Buyers and brands alike complained about show dates and a lack of excitement on the show floor. At the most recent ASR, however, exhibitors and retailers continued to do business.

Bates said the news means the end of the Class@ASR concept but not the central Class show.

“Class will go on,” he said. “We won’t have ASR as a partner; they won’t exist. We may pick up a lot of brands that will be in that world. Class will open its doors to surf and skate companies that push boundaries with fashion. Hopefully, we can provide that platform for them.”

For many in the industry, the news means the end of an era.

“It doesn't really come as too much of a surprise,” said Gregory Weisman, an attorney with Los Angeles-based Silver & Freedman and chair of the firm’s apparel industry practice group. “The show, which had steadily grown each year since I started attending about 15 years ago, really took a hit in the past few years, and in 2009 and 2010 was a shadow of its former footprint. To that end, you could see the writing on the wall.

“In the early days, it was a launching point for start-ups, with the bigger brands trying to flex a little marketing bravado on their competitors, who were always looking over their shoulder to see how fancy the booth could be, how much money they could spend on a band for their party or how many girls in bikinis they can squeeze into the booth. What used to be a place for legitimate retailer appointments and paper-writing morphed into spectacle and showpiece, and what was intended as a sales event became a marketing event and video-launch premiere.

“When you add in the belt-tightening that came with the global economic crisis of 2008 and the success of polished new formulas like rival Agenda, the demise of ASR doesn't sound that surprising. To its credit, ASR had worked hard to re-invent itself, and the Crossroads and Class shows were each a welcomed addition to the mix that each achieved some good traction.

“Personally, I am saddened for my friends who work for ASR and for the loss of such a storied cultural event, such as it were, for the Action Sports industry. Part Woodstock, part family reunion, it was emblematic of all that is the action sports community, both good and bad, and will be missed.”