by The Editors on September 8, 2008
It may have been held September 4-6, 2008, but this ASR show felt a lot like a typical January show in terms of size and scale. Still the must-attend trade show of the season, this year buyers, retailers, and exhibitors were gritting their teeth and smiling through a show that comes in the midst of a sliding U.S. economy.
At the surface, things seemed status quo—models in skimpy swimsuits handing out flyers, a full beer garden, after-show parties, and free-flowing drinks come 5 o’clock. But spend more than five minutes talking to nearly anyone on the floor, and the word recession rose quickly to the surface.
“I’m one of the few people here old enough to remember the last real recession,” says Jeff Harbaugh, market analyst and industry consultant. “It’s bad, and it’s going to be a while before we see the end of this one.”
Even those booths and brands who seemed unaffected were keeping their guard up. “As quickly as it comes, it can go,” says SkullCandy’s Luke Edgar in reference to his brand’s current meteoric popularity. “It’s especially important in hard-economic times to keep our heads down, be humble and treat our retailers with respect, and keep charging ahead.”
Click continue for the rest of the story. . .
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by The Editors on September 8, 2008
We hate to say it, but anyone who thought the 80s revival was over is thankfully wrong. Who would think that anyway?
From the look of some of the products on the floor at the September 2008 ASR show, the neon wave is just beginning to peak. Which is great for those who lived through it the first time. And even more fun for kids who’ve never seen color before.
Funny thing is: we like it all. Bright colors are rad. Video games are rad. And, the Dragon Domos (pictured above) are totally rad.
Follow the link for a few more rad things we saw at the show
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by The Editors on September 8, 2008
Surfers who grab a couple waves at Florida’s Ponce Inlet without getting bitten by a shark are beginning to sound more and more in the minority as the sharks nipped a 15 year old and 43 year old this weekend.
Minutes after a lifeguard began treating one surfer for a reported shark bite last weekend, another surfer informed the beach official he too had been attacked, WFTV of Orlando, Fla., reported Monday.
This brings the Ponce Inlet total to 21 so far this year.
[Link: UPI]
by The Editors on September 7, 2008
SIMA, the undisputed champion of trade show scheduling seems immovable. The wiley IASC is tired of living in its older surf bro’s shadow and wants to move the dates. Some hardgoods skate manufacturers (looking for anyone to blame for lagging sales) even say they want skateboarding to have its own trade show.
Retailers claim they’re going to enough shows already. Stuck right in the middle is ASR’s Andy Tompkins.
The talk of the show: who will win when titans clash at Brutal Schedule 09? One thing is sure: if ASR breaks up, retailers will be the losers. And they’re having a tough enough time already. Then again, we’re not sure many of the major labels care all that much about them anyway.
What do you think? Let us know in the comments.
by The Editors on September 7, 2008
We saw people walking around with these at the ASR show, but we couldn’t really figure out what they were. Now we understand, but it still makes no sense. Stand up skateboarding paddles that cost $149?
Some of the highlights of the Kahuna Big Stick™ Classic is a solid-wood barrel shaped grip with gentle, tapered oval shaft shape to give a great feel in a paddle weighing only 16 ounces. Fabric prints are sealed under the fiberglass for a sweet look. The tip is designed with dual high-performance rubber contacts to allow for high grip and durability and feel as you paddle on the pavement.
Buttons is a pretty heavy endorsement, so they must be serious. But seriously. . . ?
[Link: Kahunaboards.com]
by The Editors on September 6, 2008
Like many people who were on their way home from the ASR show, we exited at Carlsbad’s La Costa Blvd. To check out the Vans El Ponto Loco WQS 2 Star event that’s been going on for the last three days. Shey Yates (above) got up under it, but ended up fourth in heat #4 of the quarter finals.
By the time the finals rolled around the wind was up, the tide was up, and it seemed like the entire heats would go by with only three or four waves. That didn’t stop any of the surfers from making the most of the almost non-existant surf. Here are the results:
Jr. Pro:
- Nat Young USA
- Blake Jones USA
- Brent Reilly USA
- Andrew Doheny USA
Men’s:
- Casey Brown HAW
- Dilon Perillo USA
- Jason Collins USA
- Brad Ettinger USA
Here’s a little more of what we saw:
Mike Parsons with one of the best “who’s the doad with the camera” looks we’ve gotten in quite a while. Kelly Slater, Jim Hogan and the rest of the crew hanging out back by the PCH.
Follow the jump for the rest of the photos (click ’em to supersize).
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by The Editors on September 5, 2008
Vipe Desai and Project Blue got a nice write up by Laylan Connelly in the OC Register. We were planning on meeting up with Vipe to get all the behind the scenes info, but someone beat us to it.
Each of the companies (Billabong, DAKINE, Electric, Nixon, O’Neill, Reef) have set aside specific products, and with each item sold $2 of the purchase goes to San Clemente-based Surfrider Foundation. This year, Project Blue is on track to make $100,000 from the sales to go to the non-profit. . . . The goal of Project Blue isn’t to get the companies to change their entire product line to environmentally-friendly substance, but to slowly get the companies thinking about how they can help the environment. Project Blue’s tagline is: “It’s not a charity. It’s a plan of action.”
Not bad at all.
[Link: OC Register]
by The Editors on September 5, 2008
While we were busy sitting through ASR seminars yesterday Quiksilver held their quarterly conference call. Luckily Reuters was there get all the details: “the company posted a quarterly profit that beat estimates, and stood by its fiscal-year earnings view, sending shares up 13 percent.”
Quiksilver said on Thursday that profit margins were fattened by a higher percentage of sales in Europe and at company-owned retail stores. Results were also helped by a tax benefit. . . . “We had a pretty decent quarter, given how tough the retail environment is around the world,” said Chief Executive Robert McKnight in a conference call with analysts.
Higher percentage sales at company-owned retail stores. . . wonder if that’s how Hollister does it?
[Link: Reuters]
by The Editors on September 4, 2008
Globe’s Gary Valentine and Rodney Mullen hanging out down by the tracks looking for a fight.
More street photos after the jump.
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by The Editors on September 4, 2008
We came in ready to have a little laugh at Fuel TV‘s expense about having a media panel with no media people on it, but Fuel’s John Stouffer surprised us.
Sure, Fuel TV’s General Manager CJ Olivares was on the panel (as he is every year), but also upfront were several other action sports media people: TransWorld Business Publisher Rob Campbell, The Surfer Group Publisher Rick Irons, and Vans marketing guy Doug Palladini.
The stated point of the discussion was how the Internet is changing action sports media. With the exception of Palladini, however, all the panelists were from old media companies who happen to have websites. No one from any of the emerging online action sports media businesses like loopd, Seshn, Sportnet, Go211, or Bnqt were even represented on the panel. Add to the fact that Vans spends millions of dollars with the other three panelists and it ended up like little more than a one-sided scuffle about advertising.
One of most pointed comments came from the audience when Ransu Salovaara the CEO of online ad network Sportsyndicator.com said:
The readers have already abondonded the magazines. The people are already online but the industry is supporting the magazines. The marketing directors are about two years behind the rest of the world. . . . The magazines are not supported by readers anymore, they are supported by the industry.
As might be imagined the entire panel disagreed.
It may have been held September 4-6, 2008, but this ASR show felt a lot like a typical January show in terms of size and scale. Still the must-attend trade show of the season, this year buyers, retailers, and exhibitors were gritting their teeth and smiling through a show that comes in the midst of a sliding U.S. economy.
Even those booths and brands who seemed unaffected were keeping their guard up. “As quickly as it comes, it can go,” says SkullCandy’s Luke Edgar in reference to his brand’s current meteoric popularity. “It’s especially important in hard-economic times to keep our heads down, be humble and treat our retailers with respect, and keep charging ahead.”
