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ASR Convening in Long Beach With Hopes of Retail Pickup

ASR Convening in Long Beach With Hopes of Retail Pickup

By JENNIFER BELLANTONIO

The Action Sports Retailer Trade Expo, the annual confab for surfwear and other apparel makers, is expected to draw 20,000 people to Long Beach on Feb. 2 to 4 for a look at what edgy styles young people might be wearing a few months from now.

The Laguna Beach-based trade show, owned by Chantilly, Va.-based VNU Expositions Inc., is expecting 500-plus exhibitors and more than 9,400 pre-registered buyers at the Long Beach Convention Center. The buyers tally exceeds last year’s figure and that of 1999, both of which set records, according to show officials.

Orange County exhibitors,including Huntington Beach-based Quiksilver Inc., Irvine-based Billabong USA, Hurley International and Volcom, both of Costa Mesa,are set to dominate the show as in years past.

Retailers expected include Anaheim-based Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. as well as Huntington Surf & Sport and Jack’s Surf-boards, both of Hunt-ington Beach.

Then there are all the usual bells and whistles: lots of parties, tattooed attendees and skateboarding demos.

Show officials are dedicating the event to Court Overin, the former ASR show director and surf industry veteran who died of a lung disease in November. Overin’s duties have been assumed by David Loechner, VNU sports group president, until the company finds a replacement.

This ASR show is being held against a backdrop of hope and economic uncertainty, according to Darin Dennee, managing editor of ASR Trade Expo.

Even before Sept. 11, most apparel makers were hunkering down, Dennee said. Since the terrorist attacks, he said, many have moved to a more defensive footing “complete with safety goggles and a year’s supply of freeze-dried bananas.”

Volcom is expected to grab attention at the show with “great product to support the hype,” Dennee said. Billabong’s push into skate apparel with its Element brand also is set to be a draw, he said.

Apparel makers and retailers are coming off a mixed holiday shopping season, in which sales nationwide did better than anticipated,thanks to deep discounts.

In OC, Pacific Sunwear reported a same-store sales drop of 2.6% for the 11 months through December, though same-store sales were up 4.1% for the five weeks ended Jan. 6 vs. the year-ago period. Company officials have said they’re cautiously optimistic that they’ve turned a corner,a sentiment shared by other surfwear companies.

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