California Apparel News

Huntington Beach, Calif.–based surf giant Quiksilver Inc. will not participate in the January edition of the Action Sports Retailer Trade Expo, held biannually in San Diego.

Sitting out the show will be Quiksilver, Quiksilver Men, Quiksilver Women, Roxy and Raisins. Only DC, the company’s skate shoe brand, will remain at ASR. ASR broke the news late Dec. 16 in a statement, which was first reported on Transworld Business’ Web site.

“With the current economic landscape continuing to negatively impact the cash flow for all brands and stock prices for public companies, some brands are being forced to miss selling opportunities that ASR has provided them for many years. Today Quiksilver told organizers that the brand will miss the January event for the first time since ASR was held in Long Beach [Calif.],” ASR’s statement said.

A spokesperson for the publicly traded Quiksilver confirmed the news but didn’t elaborate on the unusual move. The company hasn’t said if it will have any presence in San Diego during the show or how it will reach out to buyers who historically have written Quiksilver’s lines at ASR. The company will still exhibit at Surf Expo, the East Coast action-sports trade show scheduled for Jan. 14–17 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. “As of now, all of Quiksilver’s brands are set to exhibit at Surf Expo,” said Vicki Vasil, the show’s exhibitor marketing director.

ASR organizers pointed out that Quiksilver’s absence from their show floor is expected to be a one-time anomaly.

“With retail sales off 30 percent to 60 percent, including action-sports specialty, the entire market is feeling the reverberating effects. This includes manufacturers and, in turn, trade shows. But even in hard times, brands know to go with what works first, and for 27 years, ASR’s been proven itself as the place for brands and retailers to connect,” Andy Tompkins, ASR group show director, said in the statement.

Torrance, Calif.–based Podium Distribution, which sat out the September 2008 ASR, will return for the January show, bringing its stable of brands—including Matix, DVS and Lakai—with it. Retailers who attend the show will still find more than 400 skate, surf, swim, streetwear and hardgoods brands at ASR, including Billabong, Volcom, O’Neill, Rusty, Element, Vans, Reef, Rip Curl and Zoo York, organizers said.

ASR is taking steps to keep prices down for both vendors and retailers for its January and September shows in 2009. Exhibitors can opt for pre-packaged booths that could reduce their exhibiting expenses by as much as 30 percent. “To further ease the financial burden on retail, ASR is buying down hotel rates to unprecedented levels and offering free parking for retailers driving to the show,” the statement said. The trade show will also present a seminar series with a focus on offering businesses advice on how to survive the economic downturn and how to position a business for the future.

Quiksilver’s stock jumped 14.1 percent on Dec. 17, closing at $1.78 per share. The company’s stock has taken a beating this year, falling well short of its 52-week high of $10.67 per share.

The news instantly prompted online chatter from industry insiders on the Web site for Transworld Business, an action sports–related monthly trade magazine, on just what the news means to ASR, the industry and trade-show culture. —Erin Barajas