Last week, I wrote a wrap-up on the recent Action Sports Retailer Trade Expo in San Diego.
The show was packed with cool garb from Orange County’s surf and skate clothing companies.
I couldn’t fit in news on everyone, so here’s a look at what some other brands are doing to turn heads.
Huntington Beach-based Quiksilver Inc. is running with the whole green movement.
Laura Thomson, sales representative for Quiksilver’s Roxy girls brand, said the surf-wear maker used recycled metal for all the buttons on its denim pants.
Costa Mesa-based Rip Curl USA was busy showing off some new clothing and accessory designs.
The brand spent the past year revamping and restructuring under new Chief Executive Kelly Gibson, who came from Irvine-based O’Neil Clothing.
Rip Curl’s booth was packed with buyers looking to check out the latest designs.
There was a “great response” with several stores increasing the amount of inventory they typically buy from Rip Curl, said Rick Petri, executive vice president.
What’s hot: men’s board shorts with different graphics, embroidery and other designs.
Watches also are big.
Some watches are more about fashion than sports function. One had a huge face with a leather band. Another had two mini clocks for different time zones.
But even those are tested to be waterproof, Petri said.
Rip Curl also recently invested in marketing display cases, which showcase the watch collections.
The company delivers them to stores that sell its garb and makes sure the cases are well stocked and looking good, Petri said.
It helps Rip Curl stand out, especially since most surf shops are jammed with gear from OC’s brands.
Also new: backpacks and other travel cases that are made to be functional and durable, with zippers for easy access to gear and high-grade fabric.
Dresses are big with Rip Curl’s girls line. The brand is promoting strapless sundresses and beach cover-ups that are in stripes or vintage floral.
Meanwhile, Irvine-based Fly Industries LLC, maker of Black Flys sunglasses, was showing off 11 new sunglass styles, seven for men and four for women.
Black Flys is trying to be original and stand out in the competitive sunglass market, according to Arty Hargrove, national sales manager.
The brand’s market share has been picked off by brands that include Irvine-based Von Zipper, which is owned by Billabong USA, San Clemente-based Electric Visual Evolution and Foothill Ranch-based Oakley Inc.
“We can’t reinvent the sunglass,” Hargrove said. “But we can pay attention” to texture, embellishments and shape.
One new Flys style for women is oversized shades that have stone embellishments near the lenses. One men’s design has a giant silver fishing hook on the frame, which comes with polarized lenses for fishermen.
Black Flys also is getting ready to make a push in prescription frames, Hargrove said. The brand recently signed a licensing agreement with K Optics in Los Angeles to make the prescription line, which launches next spring.
Black Flys’ booth was about business, very unlike shows in the 1990s, when it was known for partying, ladies in tiny bikinis and brawls.
Hargrove said he got visits from buyers from all over California and beyond. Most of his local accounts from OC and San Diego just stop by Black Flys’ Irvine offices, he said.
“We’re doing business with them all the time anyway,” Hargrove said.
Teaming Up
Acumen Concepts and Master Marketing & PR have teamed up to focus on small businesses.
The two companies want to provide marketing, advertising and public relations work to startup companies that can’t afford to pay big fees or don’t want to be “legally bound to tackle a short-term task,” said Sandra Rea, founder of Lake Forest-based Master Marketing.
Clients can hit their sales and marketing objectives for $500 and up, and adjust their marketing needs month to month, according to Todd Dombrowski, founder of Canton, Ga.-based Acumen.
Acumen and Master Marketing also are set to offer a wider array of services to clients, which includes planning, management, marketing and PR.
Rea said she runs “virtual teams” or employees that work from home “to keep overhead down.”
Some are in OC and others are out of state, including in Arkansas and Oklahoma.
AMP Now HL2
HL2 Advertising moved into OC after buying a shop here.
Costa Mesa-based Amp Marketing was recently bought by Seattle-based HL2 for an undisclosed sum.
Amp now is called HL2. Both locations employ a total of 100 people.
The move lets HL2 to grow its business in food and beverage marketing, hospitality and technology, according to HL2 Chief Executive Tom Horton. HL2’s clients include Starbucks Corp.’s Seattle’s Best Coffee, Expedia Inc. and Microsoft Corp.
Amp’s accounts include Baja Fresh Mexican food chain, which is owned by OC investor David Kim, and Cinnabon Inc., which will continue to be handled through the local office.
Amp President John Pietro said he put a great deal of consideration into the firm’s sale.
He said he talked to his staff first.
“We knew that a broader integrated offering would allow us to better serve our clients with deeper expertise,” Pietro said.
