No Europe for ASR
Action Sports Retailer has canceled its 2005 European trade show because it failed to secure a date and location that would satisfy retailers and manufacturers in the surf and skate industries.
ASR, the Laguna Beach, Calif.–based unit of VNU Expositions, said it doesn’t have definite plans for returning to Anglet, France, where it held its show annually since July 2003.
“The divided timing and geographical needs of the European market left ASR’s mission of creating a unified summer show out of reach,” ASR Show Director Kevin Flanagan said in a written statement.
One issue that needed to be resolved was settling on a date that would work for both large and small companies and wouldn’t conflict with the holidays that many Europeans take in August, an ASR spokesperson said. The large companies preferred going to a show in June because they didn’t want to leave their stores during the big sales in July, she said. The small companies, on the other hand, asked for a show in September.
It was also difficult and expensive traveling to the beach resort town in southwestern France where the show was held. While an attraction for surfers, the Basque coast town three miles from Biarritz didn’t have a large airport and many hotels to accommodate the show’s attendees, the spokesperson said. The skate culture in Anglet was also lacking, she said.
—Khanh T.L. Tran
