Fashion

After walking the packed aisles of the Agenda NYC show last week in Soho it is no surprise that organizers are now calling it the “most successful New York show since its inception in 2003.”

“The biggest highlight of this show is the new location,” said Aaron Levant, Agenda President. “This is one of the biggest fashion hubs in the world and being so central has really helped boost the attendance and importance. We’re just scratching the surface.”

All that and the Agenda Show in Long Beach, California beginning August 1, 2012. Click here to view photos from the show, or follow the jump for the official word from Agenda. [click to continue…]

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The Barker Hangar, on the edge of the Santa Monica Airport’s tarmac, is a small, large space that seemed just right for GLM Shows (Surf Expo’s parent company) first step into West Coast fashion trade shows.

The Launch LA show, held July 25 -26, 2012, featured predominantly small brands that were not skate, not street, not only for men, and not overtly surf, though many leaned that way. The aisles weren’t packed, however, most booths saw a seemingly constant flow of interested people rolling through, catching up, and learning the stories of new new brands.

Launch organizers stated goal to expose small and emerging brands seemed to find traction. Some brands like Eric Wallis‘ &Work have never been to a trade show before. “This is our first show ever,” Wallis said. “We’re in shops in the Northwest, but we wanted to spread the brand message in Southern California. And this seemed right.”

Others have been doing shows for years, but thanks to recent projects their brand has been exposed to a whole new retail audience. “The work we’ve done with the One California Day hat (Mark Jeremias and Jason Baffa’s film) has opened us up into some shops that we’ve never been in before,” said Toes on the Nose’s John Allred. “And Launch is a neat opportunity to mingle in with some other brands.”

Allred was right. Launch LA was small, cool, intimate, and relaxed and we were pleasantly surprised. Click here for the full photo gallery.

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TPG, the monster sized private equity firm (not to be confused with TCP the company that bought nearly half of Nixon), has made another offer for Billabong according to a story in the Australian Financial Review. Only this time it’s much lower than it was in February according to the Business Spectator.

In February, TPG offered $3.30 a share for Billabong, valuing the company at $850 million. This week’s offer of $1.45 a share comes at a 32 per cent premium to Billabong’s last traded price of $1.10, but illustrates the company’s struggles since the February offer, which has seen it issue another profit downgrade and launch a heavily discounted capital raising.

We’re guessing Mr. Merchant (and the board) will be a little more receptive to the offer this time around (seeing how things have been going recently).
[Link: Business Spectator and Australian Financial Review]

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VF Corp, the parent company of Vans, Reef, The North Face, etc. . . announced its financial results for the second quarter today (July 19, 2012) and things are looking rosy at the soft goods giant. Total revenues were up 16 percent (thanks Timberland), gross margins expanded 46 percent, and cash flow from operations is “expected to reach a record $1.2 billon,” whatever that means. But how did Vans do? Well, they rocked it for another quarter.

The Vans® brand achieved a 25 percent (29 percent in constant dollars) increase in global revenues in the quarter, with double-digit revenue growth in the Americas, Europe and Asia. The Vans direct-to-consumer business also demonstrated solid results, with revenues rising by 18 percent.

Congrats, Vans. For the full release including not one word about Reef, follow the jump. If the raw numbers are more your deal, click here. [click to continue…]

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