Agenda: Business Buzzing, Vendors Growing
Once a satellite trade show for skateboard and hip-hopdudes, Agenda solidified its gains as the dominant actionsportsand fashion trade show on the West Coast during itsrecent Aug. 1–2 run at the Long Beach Convention Center in Long Beach, Calif.
Agenda grew into a biannual trade show carrying fashionbikinis and consumer electronic vendors, as well asboardshorts and T-shirts designed to outrage parents. Theshow's current preoccupation is considering how to manageits growth, said show president Aaron Levant."It is getting big," Levant said of the 9-year-old tradeevent.
"It is the goal of Agenda to keep that organic vibe and not become a corporate show."
The recent show marks thesecond time Agenda has beenproduced in the Long BeachConvention Center, located adjacentto the port city's waterfront.At the first Long Beachshow, in January, 450 vendorsexhibited. There were morethan 500 vendors at the recentshow, covering nearly every category,ranging from premiumdenim, men's fashion, underwear,skateboarding sneakersand performance athleticwearto leather jackets to every kindof boardshort to make a splashat the beach.
A broad range of retailers shopped theshow. High-profile independent specialtysurf shop Jack's Surfboards of HuntingtonBeach, Calif., sent a delegation of buyers,along with mall-based surf and skate retailersPacific Sunwear, Zumiez and Tilly's, whichcurrently dominate the market for activewear.Karmaloop, one of the biggest names instreetwear retail online, surveyed the showalong with buyers from contemporary fashione-commerce emporium RevolveClothing.com, as well as Amazon.com.
Department stores Macy's, Nordstrom and JCPenney also shopped the trade show,as well as Urban Outfitters; Fred Segal boutiques Ron Robinson and Conveyor;and East Coast retailers such as DTLR Inc.,a 70-store chain based in Hanover, Md. Inaddition, the show drew retailers and distributorsfrom Canada, Dubai and Japan.
Big surf and activewear labels Billabong and Oakley produced big booths atthe show, which marked the first time thoselabels made a big splash at the show. Alsoexhibiting were Agenda veterans Vans,Obey, Etnies, Converse, LRG ClothingCo., Quiksilver and Roxy. Toms shoes,Under Armour, Ambig, bikini lines Tavik and Beach Riot, eyewear label Von Zipper,smartphone-accessories company Incipio,and consumer electronics label GenevaSound Systems also exhibited. The recentshow also marked the debut of a new fashionwing, where contemporary brands suchas Publish, Kill City and Deus ex Machina exhibited. One of Agenda's new efforts willbe increasing its contemporary and consumerelectronics vendors, Levant said.
Also at the show, Paul Frank Industries co-founder Ryan Heuser debuted new labelAthletic Recon. American Apparel, whichhad famously bore no graphics on its basics,also debuted its first line of imprintedT-shirts, called The Graphic Collection, atthe trade show.
Surveying the buzzing crowds of retailerswalking through the sprawling tradeshow, active-sports retail analyst Cary Allingtonsaid Agenda will have to manageits success. "It's great to see more peoplewalking around. It's busier than I thoughtit would be," said Allington, co-founder ofAction Watch, a market-research companyheadquartered in Grass Valley, Calif. "But Iwas hoping to see more activity directed atthe small brands. It seems like the action isgoing around the larger brands. It's feelingmore like ASR." Action Sports Retailer,the once-dominant action-sports trade show,closed in 2010.
Across the board, vendors were pleasedwith show traffic and business, but therewas a range of opinion on whether it was ashow for writing orders or a show for marketing.
For Gus Cawley, Agenda was a showfor business. "In the past, shows have beenabout marketing; people were not as readyto write. But this show is a return to peoplebeing ready to take the business side seriously."Cawley is the U.S. creative directorfor surf and lifestyle label Rhythm, whichruns an office in Irvine, Calif.
For Richard Vaughn, chief executiveofficer of Orisue Clothing, a Santa Ana,Calif.–based streetwear company, the showwas about showing the brand, not aboutselling. "Agenda is targeted and focused topeople we want to talk to," he said. "But it'sa marketing show, not a writing show."
Most retailers dropping by his booth prebookedSpring 2013 fashions, but he also sawa significant contingent of flash-sale retailers,the members-only discount e-commerceretailers similar to Gilt Groupe. "Five yearsago we wouldn't have conversations withoff-pricers," Vaughn said.
There are more challenges for retailers,too. Before the Great Recession, retailershad a much easier time of placing high-profilebrands in the stores. Now retailers mustprove they are worthy partners, said AnthonyRandazzo Jr., action-sportsbuyer for LeftLane Sports in SanLuis Obispo, Calif.
"They are more cautious of jumpingon the bandwagon," Randazzosaid of vendors. Retailers often findthemselves pitching shops-in-shopfor brands both at bricks-and-mortarstores and online.
Trend watch
For trends, women's fashionswere seeing more pastel colors,and more men's tees were designedwith humorous graphics, not big logos,said Greg Garrett, brand directorof surf label Lost Enterprises,located in Irvine, Calif.
Another burgeoning trend was the disappearanceof once-rigid divisions betweenskate, surf and other active sports, said JohnnySchillereff, founder of Element Skateboards.He debuted a capsule collection with Kelty, acamping-gear company. Schillereff said consumersare not loyal to one lifestyle anymore.Rather, they want to bring elements of manysports and brand experiences into their lives."We are witnessing the beginning of a fusionculture," Schillereff said. "It's the new consumer."
