BILL OF SALE Surf Expo Comes To Town Early With Lower-Than-Usual
Attendance Rumors And Category 4
Hurricane Bill Zooming In. Will You Blow Town To
Bro Down Or Sit Tight And Get Right? By Matt Pruett
“All I know is there are some cranky sales reps right now.”
Whalebone Surf Shop
owner Jim “Biggie” Vaughn would actually love nothing more than to leave his
Nags Head, NC, store to fly to Orlando, FL, for the Surf Expo this weekend (August
20th-22nd) — the East Coast’s single
largest and most convenient forum for surf industry manufacturers,
retailers, and other fixtures to address the retail audience and launch new
lines, view industry trends, facilitate careers, develop partnerships, and of
course, fill orders — getting their
business done under one roof, in one weekend. But the
current U.S. economic downturn’s kung-fu grip on the niche action sports
industry has already resulted in less big boy surf exhibitors than usual at the
September show. Factor in that the usual September dates have been moved back to
this fourth weekend in August, and it puts East Coast shopowners in a tight
spot, as those pre-Labor Day sales are crucial to their summer payroll. Not to
mention, since many Eastern beach towns rely on staff largely composed of
college and high school students on summer break to accommodate the increased
tourist traffic, most of those employees have already gone back to school,
while the sales season is still in full swing.
“Me and Pete [Erickson, Manager] are just standing here staring at each other,”
says Biggie. “Normally, there would be six of us working right now. There’s
still a lot of tourists here on the Outer Banks. As much as I’d like to go to the show and buy, I’m
afraid I’m gonna have to stay back and surf.”
Biggie might have been speaking generally, as Hurricane
Season has always presented a bittersweet paradox for Surf Expo attendees. But
in this case, he’s speaking in particular about Wild Bill, a 135 mph storm
passing to the north of the Lesser Antilles at post time and setting up an ideal swell
track for the whole East Coast and giving those who were on the fence yet another reason to put the kibosh on any plans to attend Surf
Expo. Hurley won’t have a booth there, but their East Coast Surf Team Manager Asher
Nolan certainly has some big weekend plans. “No, we don’t have a booth,” says
Asher, “Me? I might hang at home, see what this storm is gonna do. [Surfing Magazine Associate Photo Editor]
Jimmy Wilson is flying in, so maybe meet up with him and the Spectacular Adventures crew in Hatteras
or at some mysto spots. New Jersey and even somewhere weird like Delaware could
be good. A direct flight from Jacksonville to anywhere like that takes about an
hour, so I'll go wherever I gotta go, but the show is definitely not happening.”
Indeed, with such an ideal weather scenario (i.e. big effin’ storm, offshore
winds, and little to no perceived continental landfall) giving the Eastern
Seaboard its first legit tropical swell of the year, not to mention the SIMA
Surfing America U.S.A. Championships looming next week at Huntington Beach
Pier, CA, Surf Expo might see a drought of photographers and amateur and
professional surf stars. But rest assured, plenty of the big suits will still
be there to take care of business.
“The way I
see it, this just means we don’t have to do it next month,” laughs Wave Riding
Vehicles owner Les Shaw, while on a plane to the show. “Moving this [date back
to August] throws a new dynamic in there, so who knows what the results will be?
I would prefer to see it at a convenient time in September but this is what
they’ve done so let’s hope the next go-around works out better for the surf
industry. We’ve actually got two booths, just trying to play along for the time
being to support the show because we’ve been here for so long. But those
mom-and-pop businesses are trying to make every minute count at home, which
cuts the participation here. We’ve been under the impression that this is a
one-time thing. I think they need to get more feedback from everybody before
they decide what to do next year.”
“I normally have a booth, but the August dates weren’t effective for me and my
dealers,” says R&D Surf owner/shaper and former Reef/ BRA Florida Board
Build-off and Tribute To The Masters Shape-off
winner Ricky Carroll. “I’ll still probably
go on Friday to check it out but in years past we’ve been trapped over there.
So if the surf’s good on Friday, I might not walk the show.”
Having attended Surf Expo for more than 30 years as the former Surf City Surf
Shop owner, the former Board Retailers Association president, a buyer, an educational
speaker, and now the show director, Roy Turner’s
devotion to the surf industry is without
question. And he gives valid reasoning behind the move. “Our original dates fell into direct conflict with
the Jewish Holidays of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur,” Roy explains on his blog page, “Answers To The ‘Why’
Files” at www.surfexpo.com. “Our only other
September option was to hold the show the last weekend in September
because of an already crowded tradeshow calendar. Late dates
would have made our show insignificant, since most manufacturer deadlines in
surf, swim, skate, gift, and resort industries are earlier than those available
late-September dates. The only section of our show that fit late September was the
windsurfing and kiteboarding categories. We surveyed many key retailers, big
and small, from different geographic areas before making a decision. Many
admitted that it would be difficult to attend in August. They had concerns over
staffing and their business window. Others were quick to point out that they
travel to MAGIC, Outdoor Retailer, and Miami Swim — all of which are
successful shows held in July and August. Those retailers noted that tradeshows
are one of the most important parts of doing business. Many smaller business
owners pointed out that constant rep interruptions in August were as much of a
concern as traveling to do business at Surf Expo (or any other tradeshow).
These retailers said they preferred to do all their buying over three days
where they can be focused on the task at hand, leaving the rest of August to
focus on their customers. With September out of the picture — and
understanding the importance for retailers to be in their stores the week of
the Labor Day holiday —our current dates were the best
choice. Currently we have space reserved for 2010 in both August and September
(during the week after Labor Day).”
Surprisingly, despite the
current economy, most surf shops maintain that beach traffic has been steady this summer [Gulf Coast shop The Compound actually expanded, opening a
new location in Brandon, while still maintaining a large and growing presence
in Sarasota]. Similarly, most retailers reveal that sales are actually beating
their projections, and Surf Expo staff says exhibitors are expecting to close
strong sales at the show and generate some significant leads for their reps.
More than 8200 pre-registered buyers for the show (slightly surpassing the
total of last September's show), including more than 700 first-time buyers, and
the overall number of stores pre-registered to attend remains consistent with
last year. And, as Shaw suggests above, Turner will hear individual cases
on the showroom floor. “We are waiting to
see the response from our August show before making a formal decision [on next
year],” finishes Roy. “Much like our change in our date pattern from a
Friday-to-Sunday format to Thursday-to-Saturday schedule, we will evaluate date
choices after our current show. Just like when I was a
retailer, when a rep offers a suggestion or voices a concern or complaint, I
listen to what they have to say. No one is in closer contact to my current
tradeshow customers — including both exhibitors and retailers.”
“We’ve actually always gone to the
January show instead anyway,” says Perfection Surfboards/ Village Surf Shoppe
owner Kelly Richards. “It seems with the economy, some of the reps are more
into coming to town to do the motel room shows now, but we’ll always want to go
to Surf Expo to find something hot, fresh, and new. As of right now, though, a
lot of people just don’t want to take risks and leave money to spend money.
Besides, Holden Beach is looking like it’s gonna be epic!”
THE OLD IN-OUT
The 2009 WRV Outer Banks Pro Presented By Hurley Is Moving Ahead Like Clockwork
Along The Graveyard Of The Atlantic... Let's Hope Hurricane Season Doesn’t Dish
Out A Bit Of The Old Ultraviolence
BILL OF SALE Surf Expo Comes To Town Early With Lower-Than-Usual
Attendance Rumors And Category 4 Hurricane Bill Zooming In. Will You Blow Town To
Bro Down Or Sit Tight And Get Right?
