Surf Expo Increases Buyers
ORLANDO, Fla.—Exhibitors at the Jan. 12–14 run of Surf Expo said they were keeping their heads above water and moving forward with new and exciting merchandise.
At the same time, the show’s producers said this was the biggest show since 2005, with more than 10,000 buyers packing the Orange County Convention Center to shop more than 3,500 brands that showed surf and skate apparel, accessories, swimwear, resortwear, and hard goods.
Surf Expo is a crucial stop for brands to connect with key East Coast specialty-store buyers. Those included 17th Street Surf Shop stores in Virginia, Ron Jon and Maui Nix stores in Florida, and BC Surf and Sport and Heritage Surf and Sport shops in New Jersey, among others.
The surf and skate sections had a boost of fresh brands that were first-time exhibitors, including Brixton and Captain Fin Co. Top brands that had opted out last year, such as Nixon and Volcom, returned.
With more buyers and more brands, the mood of the floor was upbeat. “We were welcomed back by many retailers, so that was comforting,” said Tom Ruiz, vice president of sales at Volcom. “Retailers are in a great mood. Holiday was positive for most of the specialty retailers.”
One of those retailers was Janet Brown, women’s buyer of Farias Surf & Sport. She perused the booths of Insight, WESC, Billabong and Roxy for “new and exciting” pieces. Brown said Farias’ three core surf shops in Long Beach Island, N.J., which range from 3,000 to 8,000 square feet, had a “record-breaking” year in 2011.
“The last few years, with the recession, the first cutback was clothes,” Brown said. “People were anxious to buy again, and that’s why these fashion-forward pieces are what make our money. People aren’t looking to be excessive. They are looking for new, fun, exciting things to supplement, where they don’t feel guilty about buying new things.”
Boutique brands with a unique fashion point of view reported growth. Insight’s edgier and irreverent Australian style has been steadily earning new accounts for the past four years at Surf Expo.
“From a fashion perspective, there’s actually more surf shops that can sell this kind of fashionable apparel on the East Coast than there are on the West Coast,” said Larry Castro of Insight. “It seems like kids appreciate surf fashion.”
Brixton, an apparel maker based in Oceanside, Calif., said its first-time showing at Surf Expo had “exceeded expectations” and it was going home with paper in hand. Brixton’s snap-back caps were top sellers, and its apparel has been gaining traction now that it’s officially filled out to a full collection of knit tees, woven shirts, jackets and twill pants for Spring ’12.
Justin Heit of Encinitas, Calif.–based Raen Optics said the Florida market is “huge” for sunglasses, but the customer has traditionally been behind the trends.
Now, Heit said, “their customer is more ready for progressive, boutique-minded brands,” such as Raen. Buyers that had previously passed were finally committing orders at the show.
In the swim section, Bettinis Bikinis, based in Hermosa Beach, Calif., had an unexpected amount of walk-up traffic. The brand has been featured in Sports Illustrated’s famous swimwear issue. Its teeny bikini bottoms, constructed tops and see-through coverups, which were under $150 retail, were a hit with boutique swim stores and surf shops.
Surf meets the great outdoors
For Fall 2012, surf brands were making a concerted effort on technical cold-weather gear that appealed to the stylish outdoors athlete.
Vans’ popular “Joel Tudor” canvas travel bag, previously seen in an olive army green, was updated in a mustard-yellow color that gave it an earthy spin.
Hurley showed its new “Phantom Protect” series of outerwear, which combines a search-and-rescue clothing inspiration with the brand’s “Phantom” boardshort fabric, which is lightweight and waterproof.
Element’s “Wolfeboro” collection of waxed twill jackets, color-blocked windbreakers, a new hiking boot/sneaker hybrid shoe and “Mojave” classic backpack told a complete head-to-toe “urban woodsman” story.
Dave Rosenberger, vice president of sales for Quiksilver young men’s and winter sports, said the company is making a push to make its Fall offerings as solid as its warm-weather deliveries.
“We’re really strong in warm-weather month,” he said, noting the label’s core and mainline surf apparel does well. “Where the brand needs to be complete is with this other customer.”
In the world of sandals, Reef targeted top influential accounts and pushed its new line of RESRV shoes and fuller apparel line. Strict cutoff dates ensured that buyers were writing ahead of time.
“We’re not trying to depend on at-once business as we did in the past [with sandals]. We want to know about our business far out so we can protect it,” said P.J. Connell, director of marketing for Reef. “[Closed-toe shoes and apparel] give us a reason to be in stores and give the consumer a reason to look for Reef year-round.”
