By TIFFANY MONTGOMERY
The start of the Action Sports Retailer Trade Expo in San Diego last month had a more sober vibe.
Usually, loud music, packed aisles and girls in tiny bikinis kick off the annual party for surfwear and other apparel makers.
But at the start of this show, walkways were easy to navigate and conversations easy to hear. It was all by design.
The San Juan Capistrano-based trade show shifted the first day of the three-day conference at the San Diego Convention Center to Jan. 25,a Thursday,from its traditional Friday start. The aim: to bring a tamer, professional element, ASR show director Andy Tompkins said.
“We wanted it to be easier for buyers to work,” he said.
A lot of business gets done at ASR as buyers from stores preview summer and fall lines from clothing makers.
But so does a lot of partying, which took center stage in years past.
This year’s shift won over some retailers, who saw clothes and other garb from about 500 action sports brands.
“It was more professional this time, it wasn’t as loud,” said Heather Lamb, head buyer for South Coast Surf Shops, which has five stores in San Diego. “I was able to get more done.”
In between business, socializing still was a big part of the show.
Tom Kennedy, president of Anaheim-based Pacific Sunwear of California Inc.’s PacSun surfwear stores,the biggest buyer at ASR,mingled with Bob Hurley of Costa Mesa’s Hurley International on Thursday. He ate lunch in Quiksilver Inc.’s Roxy booth on Friday.
“It’s still a big show for us,” said Bob Hurley, founder of Hurley, now part of Nike Inc.
The pace of the show picked up by Friday afternoon.
Crowds clogged aisles and skateboarders flew down ramps and skated on rails.
The ever-popular Reef Girls, wearing thong bikinis and representing San Diego beach sandal maker Reef, attracted hordes of young guys.
A sampling of Orange County companies at the show:
Quiksilver, Huntington Beach
Company officials hit ASR on the heels of January’s Snowsports Industries America show in Las Vegas. Quiksilver’s Rossignol showed its reinvented clothing line there, said Marty Samuels, president of Quiksilver Americas. The line for next winter includes snow clothes made of technical fabrics and casual clothes such as baby Ts, sweaters and polos.
At ASR, Quiksilver showed luggage and retro surf trunks from the 1970s and ’80s. The company has a new Roxy perfume in the works for department stores. A 3.5-ounce bottle is set to go for about $50, said Randy Hild, senior vice president of global marketing for Roxy.
Hurley, Costa Mesa
Hurley has refocused on North America after an international push a few years ago.
“We want to make our brand as good as it can be here,” Hurley said.
That includes going into new products, such as underwear and loungewear. The company offered peeks at ASR.
Some of Hurley’s hottest sellers are kids and baby clothes.
“The real edgy stuff sells the best,” Hurley said. “That surprises me.”
Styles include jeans with spider web detailing and T-shirts with miniature guitar prints.
Volcom Inc., Costa Mesa
Chief Executive Richard Woolcott said the company’s shoes that shipped in December have been “well received,” and the company was preparing to ship its first bikini line.
“We’re going slow,it’s a small line,” Woolcott said. “We’ll get feedback about what sold through and go from there.”
The Volcom booth, always one of the most creatively decorated, featured a tie-dye, hippie theme. The slogan for 2007: “Peace off.”
“It’s our way of saying, ‘Hey guys, we need to rethink things and what we are doing in the world,'” said Woolcott.
Oakley Inc., Foothill Ranch
Oakley also hit ASR after the Snowsports Industries America show.
“It was our best trade show ever,” Jason Miller, national sales manager of shoes, apparel and accessories, said of the snowsports show.
For fall, look for an early 1900s Russian military theme from Oakley. The company, which makes boots and sunglasses for the Pentagon, plans to play up military styles from different eras. Russian styles for fall feature a backward “k” on the Oakley logo and stripes on the shoulders of sweaters.
“Oakley has always been so close to the military with our military business, it’s an easy transition for us,” Miller said. “We’re legit in that business.”
