Industry News

Action Sports Retailer (ASR) moves dates for 2010 shows

Surfersvillage Global Surf News, 3 April, 2009 : - - Action Sports Retailer (ASR) is moving the dates for both of its 2010 trade shows. Events will continue to be held in San Diego, CA, with the fall buying event taking place February 3rd-4th, 2010 and the spring/summer seasons staging August 14th-16th, 2010. ASR said its decision to make scheduling changes comes in response to the evolving changes in manufacturers' seasonal timing.

"By realigning ASR's dates we believe the industry can best position itself for future growth," says Andy Tompkins, ASR Group Show Director. "Through ongoing dialogue with both our exhibitor and retail attendees, it became apparent that the timing of the ASR January show was too early to completely service fall line breaks. In the future, August show dates will allow buyers to preview the entire landscape of action sports product before making purchase decisions."

The move to February dates allows ASR to serve as a critical west coast, fall product buying event. A later winter date also opens up the busy mid-winter calendar saving exhibitors the cost and hassle of overlapping events. ASR worked closely with manufacturer organizations SIMA and IASC, along with the Board Retailers Association and leading surf, skate, swim and fashion manufacturers to determine date patterns that work best for the marketplace.

"The subject of tradeshow dates have been a hotly debated discussion for both spring and fall due to the different needs and buying patterns of the exhibitors and buyers attending the show," states Joel Cooper, CEO of Lost International and SIMA Treasurer.  "Both ASR and SIMA did extensive research including polling retailers and manufacturers. We believe these dates will best serve the industry as a whole."

As action sports brands steadily increase the size of their spring and summer lines, more complex production schedules across a number of international factories result. This growth is pushing sales windows and product deadlines forward over time.

"The new ASR 2010 August dates are much more conducive to our spring line breaks, production planning and lead times," says Tom Ruiz, Volcom VP of Sales. "This will really allow the manufacturer to have more visibility by seeing more accounts earlier. This leads to better planning, less guessing and in the end less inventory that ends up being ‘dumped.' Everyone from manufacturer to retailer benefits in the long run."

The shift to August for spring and summer lines is especially welcome news to swim and footwear brands. "The swim business releases their lines in mid-July, so the mid-August dates are much better for us," says Monica Wise, President of L*Space. "Our reps are out in the marketplace from mid-July forward. We look forward to the earlier dates and feel that the ASR show is an important link in connecting with our customers and the overall branding plan for L*Space."

Earlier spring sales deadlines are resulting in a parade of reps through retail stores during the months when action sports retailers typically see the most traffic. ASR's move to August funnels the parade route into a focused three days, under one roof – best serving the future needs of both retailers and manufacturers.

"I'm pleased to see the dates for ASR moving to closer fit the buying windows for spring and fall," says Bruce Cromartie, President of B.C. Surf & Sport. "I think any inconvenience will quickly be offset by the reduction in time required for in-store and regional shows. I expect the new dates to be far more productive for our buyers."

As recently as five years ago, many smaller action sports retail owners and head buyers had to serve double duty as sales people. Today, more of the industry hires staff specifically to make buying decisions for the store. As a result buyers are more flexible to attend shows in different date windows. ASR strives to provide the industry with the largest collection of brands in one location helping to move our marketplace forward.

ASR is produced by Nielsen Business Media.

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Lora Bodmer

Industry - Surfersvillage