California Apparel News

If Agenda is any indication, the streetwear and action-sports industries may have a bustling Fall 2010 season. Key buyers and the standard action-sports personalities (skaters, surfers and hypesters) packed the aisles at the street/skate/surf show, held Jan. 8–9 at the Hyatt Regency in Huntington Beach, Calif.

The show, the first stand-alone edition for the 7-year-old outfit, grew to more than 140 brands and boasted an estimated 20 percent increase in attendance, proving that Agenda has come into its own, said founder Aaron Levant. “This is the first time Agenda doesn’t coincide with a major event. That’s a big statement,” Levant added.

In the past, Agenda was held at the same time as the Action Sports Retailer Trade Expo in San Diego. Last season, during its first show in Orange County, Agenda partnered with the Hurley United States Open of Surfing.

A satellite show no longer, Agenda grew this year to include The Berrics Agenda, a skate-focused special section for approximately 40 brands, and Primer, an incubator section for the type of art-driven T-shirt brands that first populated the show. “Agenda started out with independent, art-driven T-shirt brands, and as the show evolved, those brands were alienated,” Levant said. “Primer is a way to bring them back in.”

Participating in Primer were brands such as Arka Clothing, Casualty, Bloodbath, CXXVI, Gost Brand and Ergo. The Berrics Agenda attracted a mix of established and emerging skate apparel and hard-goods brands, including Alien Workshop, Duffs, Emerica, Chocolate Skateboards, DC Shoes, Stereo, Deathwish and Globe.

On its main show floor, Agenda featured a selection of key and upstart brands such as Obey, RVCA, Ezekiel, Volcom, Hurley, Converse, Adidas, Ambiguous, Insight, Puma, Rusty, Vans, Keep and Nike 6.0. Missing from the floor were some key action-sports brands, including Quiksilver, Billabong, O’Neill, Lost, Body Glove and Reef.Going for variety

The mix of brands and Agenda’s aggressive campaign to attract key buyers resulted in a good assortment of retailers shopping the show, exhibitors said. Represented on the show floor were core specialty shops, department stores, mall chains and upscale boutiques including Nordstrom, Jack’s Surf Shop, Sun Diego, American Rag, Laguna Surf and Sport and more.

Jade Howe, founder of the Hause of Howe brand of contemporary menswear, said he returned to Agenda for the first time in many seasons because of the strength of the show’s buyer roster. “I walked the show [last season] and within 10 minutes saw many of my key accounts. The message of the show is so clear and focused. It caught my attention—how could I not do this show?” he said.

“This season we are stoked. We saw our better accounts,” he added, noting that he also had the opportunity to reach buyers outside of Howe’s current distribution.

The early timing of the show was a bonus for the skate footwear brands, whose sales deadlines fall before those of apparel brands. Surf Expo, the Orlando, Fla.–based show, runs Jan. 14–16, and ASR will be held Feb. 3–4 in San Diego. “The timing of the trade show was perfect for us and the retailers. We had a lot of orders written at the show, which is always a good success metric,” said Don Brown, senior vice president of marketing at Lake Forest, Calif.–based Sole Technology. “I didn’t see too many international distributors, but I feel their attendance will grow as the show does. Overall, it was also great to see the energy at this show—retailers and manufacturers all seemed to be in good spirits, which created a lot of optimism for the rest of the year.”

Many of the apparel brands reported being pleased with the earlier dates, saying the timing gave them an opportunity to feel out buyers and debut new products. “The timing of the show provided an early opportunity to debut Volcom’s Fall ’Road Tested’ denim and apparel collections,” said Tom Ruiz, Volcom’s vice president of sales.

Numerous brands brought at-once and Summer goods to Agenda to meet the needs of buyers looking for fill-in buys.Fall buys

Some of the prevailing surf/skate trends are holding strong for Fall 2010. Seen on the floor were buffalo plaid, flannel, skinny jeans, military-inspired outerwear, and T-shirts featuring more fashion-forward silhouettes and almost no graphic embellishment.

A new development on the show floor was a big focus on denim. Several key brands—including Obey, Hurley and Volcom—debuted new denim programs.

Mark Weber—Hurley’s senior vice president of global commerce, merchandising and sales—said the brand put “an absolute focus on denim.” Denim was a success for Hurley in 2009, and 2010 will see an increase in denim offerings. Hurley took a tiered approach to jeans, with retail price points ranging from $55 to $125. “The strategy is that [the denim] can play up or down in the market and go in core and specialty retailers. The sweet spot, however, is $75,” Weber said.

At Obey, denim was divided into three distinct categories, each category featuring its own branding and pricing. Wholesale pricing for denim, which ranges from super-clean and skinny to vintage workwear–inspired, will start at $28 and go up to $46. Styles range from slick, coated-denim skinnies to jeans with vintage washes and complicated treatments that feature sanded and reconstructed patches.