ASR Exhibitors Expand Show Beyond Walls
The Spring/Summer edition of the Action Sports Retailer Trade Expo (ASR), to be held Sep. 6–8 in San Diego, has grown beyond the old walls of the San Diego Convention Center, which has undergone renovations to create more than 40,000 additional square feet of exhibition space to accommodate the largest ASR ever.
Court Overin, general manager of ASR, said that while the number of exhibitors at the upcoming ASR will roughly be the same as last year’s figure of 525, the additional space was required to accommodate the growth of business for those same companies, who now represent more than 600 manufacturers and more than 800 brands of the industry’s leading surf, skate, swim, footwear, resort and urban streetwear products.
“Some of the existing companies have either launched new brands or have expanded their existing brands into new categories like footwear or accessories, or they’ve expanded from junior to young men’s,” Overin said. “Sometimes, they fall under the same contract. The actual booth count is up by 120 from last year.”
As examples, Overin named Hurley International, which has young men’s, wetsuits, accessories and a juniors label, and Billabong, which has young men’s, juniors, accessories and wetsuits divisions and has just acquired two companies, Von Zipper and Elements.
Overin said that the attendance for this year’s show is expected to match last year’s attendance of just over 20,000 and added, “Our goal is not increased attendance, but to have the right people there. We can loosen it up by allowing anyone in, but we try to hold it back to make sure that it’s a business-friendly environment for retailers and manufacturers to move around on the floor.”
Maintaining a good mixture of retailers and manufacturers from the surf, skate and snow-sports cultures provides an eclectic mix of youth culture “like nothing seen at any other trade show,” according to Overin.
“It’s like going to a business event and a youth-culture street fair or concert with all the blending of cultures of surf, skate, snow and music,” he said. “It’s urban and it’s street, because most of these people are participants in those lifestyles.
The opening party for ASR will be on Sep. 6 and is sponsored by Dub/Droors, Yupoong and Flexfit and features the hip hop/funk band Breakestra.
Special events at the show will include a street course for skateboarders, constructed in the upstairs section of the Convention Center, featuring some of the industry’s best street riders; a skate jam hosted by the California Amateur Skateboard League (CASL), with amateur riders from CASL’s nine divisions; a vert ramp hosting more dangerous stunts; a billiards room; and ASR’s Internet Cafeacute;.
Seminar topics at ASR will include “State of the Action Sports Industry,” “Strategic Marketing” and “Women in Action Sports.”
ASR, organized by VNU Expositions, produces four trade shows each year in Atlantic City, N.J., Huntington Beach, Calif., Long Beach, Calif., and San Diego.
