Big Surf Expo
photo by Sharif Hassan Photography
The numbers are officially in. Surf Expo in Orlando, FL had a big show. The biggest in 7 years. Over 14,000 attendees big. Over 2,500 brands big. Tom Brown of 17th Street Surf Shops in Virginia Beach wished he had more time than the two days they planned. “Each buyer came back excited about different aspects of the business. We made a commitment next year that we’ll definitely do three days,” Brown said.
In addition to going deeper with existing brands like Quiksilver, Element, Volcom, RVCA, Hurley, Billabong and O’Neill, 17th Street picked up some fresh blood too at the trade show which ran from Jan. 12-14. One of those brands was Brixton out of Oceanside, Calif.
“We’ve never carried [Brixton] and my men’s buyer came to me and said you gotta come over there and see this. They were on point,” said Brown, president and owner of 17th Street.
Specialty stores were the VIPs of the show and Brown commented that the consolidation of stores like Pac Sun only makes their business stronger.
“There was a lot of positive energy in the aisles. People were really working. As far we’re concerned, we’re not having issues that maybe some of the larger national companies are having. There was some conversation about the consolidation of Pac Sun and that really affects the vendors more than it affects us,” Brown said. “We’ve always been with the Quiksilvers, the Hurleys, the Billabongs, the O’Neills, the RVCAs and if [those stores are] going in a different direction and trying new things because they are saying surf and skate is hard nut to crack in some of the malls, that’s great. We never got off of that.”
photos by Sharif Hassan Photography
Full coverage in the print paper here. And to see what 14,000-ish bodies walking throughout 240,000 square feet of convention center carpet and skate park looks like in time lapse (and maybe spot a few friends), check out Surf Expo's Vimeo Channel.
Here’s a peek:
Surf Expo Day Three from Surf Expo on Vimeo.
Surf Expo Timelapse from Surf Expo on Vimeo.
