California Apparel News

ASR Back2Skool, a new trade show from Action Sports Retailer Trade Expo (ASR), debuted in Huntington Beach, Calif., March 19–20 and got off to a brisk start, with many buyers using the show to finish Spring orders and designers showing Fall apparel product in the areas of surf, skate and street.

Several attendees said the show, presented in a beachfront resort setting at the Waterfront Hilton Beach Resort, had more of a buyer-friendly feel than ASR’s two larger annual Southern California shows, held in the spring in Long Beach and in the fall in San Diego.

“There’s more of a retailer atmosphere instead of little kids coming to get stuff for free,” said Keith Muraoka, rep for FourthWorld Suppliers of Huntington Beach, a year-old menswear line that launched at the February 2001 ASR show. “There is more business getting done.”

Buyers shopped among more than 90 apparel lines, including 26 Red, O’Neill, Stussy, Porn Star, Fresh Jive, Op Classics, Paul Frank and BC Ethic.

The show drew 406 buyers, including 24 international buyers, according to organizers.

Michael Spencer, a buyer for Atomic Garage in Los Angeles, was trying to finish immediate orders that he had yet to place and “begging for [designers] to give us some extra incentives on deadlines.”

Bob Abeyta, owner of the River Clothing Outlet in San Diego, was on a similar mission, but was also looking for something new.

“We’re looking to complete some orders that were already started from the last couple of [trade] shows and looking to maybe pick up a couple of new suppliers,” said Abeyta. “We’re looking for whatever grabs us, [especially] more shirts, because we have a lot of pants on order.”

The show opened strong, with busy aisles and booths in the ballrooms-turned-exhibit halls of the hotel. Several exhibitors said they booked appointments early to keep a steady flow of traffic at their booths during the show.

“So far my buyer response to the show is great,” said Kevin Spencer, a rep for Los Angeles-based men’s and junior label Ben Ryan. “Buyers like these smaller shows because they like to take their time and concentrate on learning more about the lines they’re interested in.”

Nikita, an Iceland-based girls’ streetwear clothing company whose product is distributed out of Squaw Valley, Calif., had several appointments booked in advance. Atomic Garage, United Board Shop in Pasadena, Calif., and Exit Real World in Portland, Ore., were just a few of the retailers interested in the line.

“We feel this is more of a Southern California show, and we really want to penetrate California’s action sportswear market,” said Annie Robillard, the company’s U.S. sales rep.

Still, other exhibitors reported a lack of appointments, chalking it up to the nature of the event.

“The smallness of the show doesn’t really lend itself to appointments,” said James Manasen, a rep for Dragonfly Clothing in Anaheim Hills, Calif. “I’m looking to get some new business from people who are trying the show for the first time and want to try a new concept.”

Dragonfly’s new concept is licensed rock ’n’ roll boardshorts and button-front T-shirts, which Manasen said no one has ever done before.

“We’re offering something brand new to the market in licensed product,” said Manasen. “T-shirts have been around for forever, but we’re one of the first companies to adapt the concept to a high-quality microfiber shirt with an engineered printed image on it. It’s all official licensed product. We have Jimi Hendrix, the Grateful Dead, AC/DC, Iron Maiden and the Doors in both men’s and juniors.”

With a limited exhibitor list and smaller crowd, ASR Back2Skool was considerably smaller than the spring and fall ASR shows. As a result, Back2Skool organizers were able to provide more amenities during the event, including free coffee and a complimentary lunch spread on the hotel’s pool patio, with a prime beach view. Exhibitors reported that such perks added to the intimate environment.

“I think it’s more intimate with the people who are buying your product,” said Frank Delgadillo, founder and president of Ambiguous Industries, a surf and skate line in Irvine, Calif. “Its more hands-on than a big, chaotic party. I expect more serious business. The buyers are here to see the line, not just party. They [ASR organizers] flew in some key accounts that we’re definitely interested in showing the line to.”

Delgadillo reported meetings with Zumi’s and Buckle’s to show a Fall line built around a denim program.

“We’re doing a lot of engineered stripes,” he said. “We’re tailoring the fit down—slimming it down a bit—bringing back a bit more of the antique look and updating it.”

Not everyone was sold on the smaller show. Assistant buyer Suzy Waters of Villains, a counterculture boutique in San Francisco, said she preferred the freewheeling action sports demonstrations and the exhibitors’ efforts to reel buyers into the booths at ASR’s February show in Long Beach.

The upside, said Waters, is that Back2Skool is not as crowded and there’s more time to view the exhibitors’ lines.

Kimberly Bigham, marketing director for Irvine, Calif.-based junior label Sugar, said her company decided to attend the show because it wanted buyers to see a completed Fall collection.

“Our line wasn’t completed at last February’s ASR in Long Beach,” Bigham said. “This show is perfect for companies that don’t have their collections ready earlier in the year, and buyers seem better prepared to place orders for Fall.”

Other exhibitors, including New York-based Triple Five Soul, which just added a Triple Five women’s line and a new men’s line called LRG, were showing both a Back-to-School collection for Fall and a pre-Back-to-School collection for Summer. Steven Sais, a rep for Triple Five Soul, said that the pre-Back-to-School collection was checking well because it was price-point-driven and denim- and fleece-based.

“We have fleece pieces in there because Triple Five Soul is known as the ’Fleece Guru,’” said Sais. “All of our fleeces are very nice weights, with contrast colors, matching sets, piping, and mock zip-up or hoodies.”

Lucy Ramirez, a sales rep for Canadian men’s and junior T-shirt line Itsus, said her company came to the show because it wants to appeal to a sportier customer. The line, which was recently updated with a plethora of Hawaiian and retro prints for Fall, is currently sold at Nordstrom, Urban Outfitters, Delia’s and Fred Segal Santa Monica. On the show’s first day, the company was hoping to score an order with Hobie Sport, Ramirez said.

“We’re working hard on catering to the surf crowd,” said Ramirez, who said she saw about 15 buyers before noon on the first day. “We just opened new accounts with boutiques in Hawaii. Now we’re trying to work our magic in Southern California’s surf market.”

Buyer Clinton Curtis of Total Chaos, a surf-oriented retail store in Melbourne, Australia, said he was a newcomer to U.S. trade shows but thought ASR’s Back2Skool show seemed diverse with its vast selection of Fall apparel.

Kajsa Ekblad, a buyer for Avenue Boardshop in Fountain Valley, Calif., was ordering Back-to-School at Triple Five Soul and reported that she was focused on key brands at the show.

“I knew what accounts I wanted to come and see,” said Ekblad. “Basically, I came for Mooks, Triple Five Soul and Paul Frank, and then I will check out some other accounts. We have more streetwear and some surf-oriented clothes in our shop.”

New denim fabrications at the show included Ben Ryan’s men’s and junior washable paper denim, a denim-style pant made with microfiber.

Back-to-School trends for women included ruffled-collar tops and “scrunchy” ruche-front tops made with cotton/Lycra, mini denim shorts and skirts with novelty treatment by Ben Ryan, Nikita’s stretch-terry zip-up turtleneck, corduroy snap pants, polar fleece jackets, Asian-inspired army dresses and separates made with cotton/Lycra.

Varsity looks, especially lightweight acrylic and cotton sweaters with stripes, raw-edge muscle tees and hoodies, were hot sellers at Sugar’s booth.

ASR’s next show is set for September 5–7 in San Diego