ASR Blog

Feedback on ASR Holiday Show

Yesterday I had mentioned that the vendors I had spoken to seemed to be pretty happy about the Holiday ASR show—I was curious to see how it was going for them considering we’re in a recession and shoppers aren’t as quick to spend their money. Here’s the feedback that I was given:

One sub-rep for Billabong said that the show was going great and they were writing orders. She said that they had at least “three appointments every hour on the hour.” The show was great for her—it meant fewer trips into the stores to show the line and there were plenty of buyers at the show, so it made it worthwhile to be there.

Vice President of Sales and Merchandising for Atwater, Greg Osthus, had a ton of good stuff to say. He said that the show seemed smaller than last year, but he hoped that ASR continues to do it because no one else offers a holiday show—it’s the one place where the brands can let the buyers see their holiday line. Greg also said that the Holiday Show is “all business—you get quality appointments with premium retailers. Buyers aren’t rushing off to their next appointment. They take their time, and you really get to talk with them.” Greg finished by saying that they had written a bunch of orders, so all in all, the show was a success.

A rep from one of the big companies, who asked to remain anonymous, said that the first day of the show was “crazy busy” but the second day seemed a bit slower. She wished to see more San Diego and Los Angeles vendors—she was bummed that it was so “Orange County heavy”. She believes that if ASR can get those other brands in, that it will bring in many more retailers. She went on to say that “the show is so inexpensive, people can’t afford to NOT do it. Even if you’re not launching a line for holiday, book a space and come in to sell your current line. It’s a great opportunity for some face time with the buyers.” She, like Greg, hoped to see the show grow, and get better.

Since several people had mentioned that they hoped ASR would continue to do the Holiday Show, I asked Group Show Director, Andy Tompkins about it. He said that they will definitely continue on with it, but are taking feedback to see how this last show went so they can tweak it to make it even better.

So, you read it here—any comments or suggestions, list them below so ASR can make the show work better for you.

Checking in at the Holiday Show

I stopped by the ASR Holiday Show today which is the second, and final, day of the show, and vendors had some great things to say about it. The main question that I wanted to have answered was how the show was going for them, and the reply was a constant good, which is great to hear. Retailers were present from all over—the buyer for Puerto Rico’s Bora Bora shops had attended, as well as the buyer from Costa Rica’s surf shop, Renas, who has a whopping 25 stores in the chain. Others were present from South America, Hawaii, all over the
US and Hawaii. One retailer commented that there were more buyers in attendance from other places than there were right here in our backyard.

Buyers take a break at a specially designated lounge just for them.

I also noticed some unusual brands exhibiting, as well as some newcomers: TapOut, Triptych, Jackson Industries, and probably the most unusual—Piloti, which makes driving shoes. I asked Andy Tompkins, group show director, about the eclectic mix and he replied that, “The Holiday Show is a great place to introduce your brand to the marketplace. Since the show is smaller than the January or September shows, it’s easier for a retailer to spot you. The companies get more eyes on their brand.”

Check back in tomorrow for feedback from the vendors on how the last two days went for them.

Hurley Bikes

I met a friend for lunch in Encinitas today, and as I stepped out of my car, I ran smack into a bike—a Hurley branded bike. I had never seen one before, and didn’t even realize that they made it. I stepped inside the bike shop for some more info, and found out that they are made by Felt Bicycles. It’s pretty sweet looking, as you can see from the pictures (please excuse the quality, all I had on me was my phone). I got a brochure and read that the plaid on the bike is, “Hurley’s most recognized and sought-after “Puerto Rico” plaid, popularized on surf trunks worn by the likes of pro surfer Rob Machado. . .”

Interesting. I know Paul Frank makes bikes which are popular as well as Drew Brophy and Robert August—any other brands have bikes?

Women's Motocross Debuts at Summer X

The newest sport to be added to the X-Games for the summer is women’s motocross. As it says in the press release, “The Women's Moto X Racing competition will include 10 of the top women motocross racers in the world competing for the gold medal in the first-time event.” How cool is that? X-Games always seems to do a good job to include the girls—at Summer X they designate a girl’s day with clinics and How-To’s with the pros, and most of the different sports disciplines have both male and female athletes competing. Keep it up X-Games, it’s nice to see that someone remembers the ladies.

*Photo taken from EXPN

So Sad

This morning, as I was performing my 5:30 AM routine (yes, the kid gets up that early) of drinking my coffee and reading a magazine, I stopped short on a new OP ad. Featured in the June 2008 issue of Real Simple, the spread featured two girls using a skateboard on the left, with the right half saying, “Low prices on OP styles. The perfect outdoor wear, no matter if they’re surfing “ocean” or “asphalt”.” But the real kicker is in the fine print at the bottom, to the left of the bag and bikini, “Whether it’s the Midwest or the West Coast, they’ll love all the different choices of Op wear and you’ll love the really low prices.”

It got me so sad—here is this iconic brand who is now touting that the best thing about it is how cheap the clothes are. And it’s featured in Real Simple—a magazine that’s aimed at the middle aged woman—I guess the same woman who buys the teens on the left side her clothes. Again, so sad.

Should business go on?

Tom posted a comment under the blog topic, Take Advantage of the Holiday Show, saying that holding the ASR Holiday Show is a bad idea. To quote him, he said that, “Everyone is just doing fill ins in light of current economic situation and record low Holiday 07 sales.” But, is it a bad idea to keep business going as usual? In the May '08 issue of TW Biz, TW asked several industry players how the economy is affecting their businesses. The two retail owners that were questioned both said that although you read about the doom and gloom in the paper and watch it in the news, they both have yet to experience a change in consumer behavior.  Duke Edukas of Surfside Sports in Costa Mesa, CA is quoted as saying, “. . . until something tangible really happens to our sales and I can actually see a downward trend to our business, then we will act accordingly.” Yes, some of the smaller retailers may just “fill in” their stores for holiday, but others will probably be able to have new stock. I think people will do their holiday shopping no matter what the economic situation is this December.

Take Advantage of the ASR Holiday Show

The ASR Holiday show is right around the corner, and I wanted to point out that although this show is on a smaller scale than the September and January shows, it offers a much more intimate setting for the brands to meet with retailers. This really works in the favor of the "little guys". Although smaller, it doesn't stop the key retailers from coming and seeing the lines, which is a great opportunity for the littler companies to show off their stuff. International buyers, Hawaiian buyers, and buyers from big chains will all be attending, so, take advantage of the relaxed atmosphere and show them your goods!

Holiday Merchandising

With the holiday ASR show right around the corner, I’ve had Christmas shopping on my mind. I can’t believe I’m already thinking about, but here I am. It’s the biggest shopping time of the year, and I was curious to see what kind of merchandising companies did to promote their line. What do you do to make your brand noticed above the others? And, with the shopping restraint that consumers have had lately, will you be doing anything different this year than in year’s past?

Hang Time

If you’re a skateboarder or snowboarder, you can now be honest in telling your story about how much air you got pulling that last jump. Introducing the Hangtimer—a multi-function, water-resistant watch and accelerometer that straps to your clothes and measures how much time you spend in the air. Perfect for those times when you were convinced you got a few feet off the ground, but your friend says it was only a credit card air—now you can prove it. The LA Times featured the Hangtimer this past Sunday, saying that they took it to a skate park, asking the kids to try it out—the skaters began to argue on whose turn it was; the Times took that as a positive review.

The Hangtimer is $75.00 and available at 800-640-3892 or check out their site.

*Photo taken from the Hangtimer site.

A marketing calendar for you

Making a marketing calendar can be daunting—trust me. What may seem like a simple task adds up to an enormous mission, one where you don’t know what size of a calendar you should get (wall, desk, month by month) and then how in the world are you going to fit everything on there so people can actually read and use it? Enter the new ASR calendar. It’s a brand new feature up on the homepage of the ASR site. Although at first, it may seem like an Xcel spreadsheet on crack, take a closer look and you’ll see that it’s easy to follow. Presto! Now you don’t need your intern to create that marketing calendar for you—just refer your fellow coworkers to ASR—we’ve done the job for you.

By the way, while you’re on there, make sure to check out the new article by Kimball Taylor on a tiny store with big aspirations, The Pod Room.