California Apparel News

Buyers attending the recent Surf Expo, held Sept. 6–8 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., had a wide selection of surf and swim merchandise to shop.

There were more than 880 exhibitors in more than 2,000 booths, showing more than 2,500 lines, according to Surf Expo Social Media and PR Coordinator Shannon Park. Major retailers including Glick’s, 17th Street Surf Shop, Surf Diva, Coastal Edge, Surf Ride and Hansen’s and buyers from Dillard’s, Macy’s, Beall’s and Emerald Surf Shop walked the floor.

A new lifestyle section, introduced by Surf Expo Swim and Lifestyle Sales Manager Josh Hunter, featured brands such as Roark, Burkhart California, Wellen, Latitude Supply Co., Mowgli Surf, Tavik, Pidgin Orange and Greenlines. Organizers said the fashion show—featuring brands L*Space, B Swim, Eidon and Volcom and styled by Miami-based online retailer iShine365—drew a packed house.

This season, the boardsports and beach/resort lifestyle trade show co-located with The Boardroom, an interactive consumer event for surf, skate and sports enthusiasts that featured board-shaping demos by legendary shapers and pro surfers.

New Florida-based brand Duvin Design made its trade show debut at Surf Expo. “Their booth was packed each day and [they were] thrilled to be writing a ton of orders,” Park said.

Duvin Creative Director Austin Duvall is the son of professional water-skier and owner Sammy Duvall of Curl, located at Disney’s Pleasure Island. The start-up lifestyle and apparel company officially launched its collection online in 2012 after years of growing the brand slowly while the four owners—Austin Duvall, Cam Martin, Shaun O’Meara and Garrett Watzka—attended college.

Buyers who placed orders for Duvall’s Winter 2013 and Spring 2014 collections were entered in a drawing to win a custom-designed surfboard featuring the same pattern as Duvall’s floral-print shorts and button-down tops.

“It was busier than expected, being that the January show is known for being larger,” Duvall said. “And it was especially [helpful to be] in the lifestyle section.”

Duvall said a mix of small, local boutiques and major retailers visited the booth. “We were booked with appointments the first two days and even had to move appointments back because we were so busy,” he said.

Anastasia Mazula, a sales representative with Los Angeles–based yoga and activewear women’s line LVR,said it was the line’s first time showing at Surf Expo.LVR has been around for about three years and has shown at other trade shows in Las Vegas and Atlanta.

“There is a bit of a crossover with our line where we fit into resort, boutiques and yoga studios, so it seemed like a good opportunity for us to show at Surf Expo, where we would be exposed to all of those outlets,” Mazula said. In addition, “LVR seems to sell well in the Florida region, so it seemed like a right decision.”

Mazula said the first day was slow—she guessed that Surf Expo’s hardgoods section was busier on opening day—but the remaining days were busier, and the company made a lot of new contacts and retailers placed orders. Amazon.com’s yoga buyer stopped by the booth, which Mazula deemed a positive sign for the company.

Brazilian brand Cia.Marìtima Beachwear, which recently rebranded in the U.S. as CM Beachwear, has participated in Surf Expo several times in the past but skipped a few seasons recently. Overall, the show was good and provided a good opportunity to showcase the new 2014 collection, said Candace Alba, CM marketing associate. There was a mix of appointments and stop-by traffic, which was steady, she added.

This season, retailers were looking for new, innovative styles and prints. Buyers liked CM’s bold prints and updated body styles, Alba said.

This was the second time at Surf Expo for Australian brand Tee Ink, which introduced a new collection this season, inspired by the Virgin Islands.

“We wanted to reach the masses,” said company owner Pete De Gail, who said there were about 40 solid retail leads with quite a few walk-ins.