Shoreline will feature products related to day camping, portable power, inflatables, overland, wakeboard, SUP, and performance related clothing and footwear. This new floor area compliments neighboring product categories on the show floor – Surf, Skate, Paddle, and Bluewater - by targeting the business associated with recreation found along rivers and lakes. Surf Expo also expands its footprint with watersports and coastal retailers with its new Shoreline offering. “Surf Expo’s strength lies in its culture, commerce and camaraderie,” says Emerald SVP and Surf Expo Show Director Roy Turner. “Three days in Orlando creates a valuable opportunity for our watersports, resorts and beach businesses to preview the spring summer ‘24 collections, discover new emerging products and trends and place orders for immediate product for those needing to fill in for the balance of Q4.” Surf Expo is also forecasting its buyer attendance to climb by 30% with more than 5,000 qualified retailers expected at the show. More than 775 exhibiting companies are expected to participate this September with a 20% increase in square footage compared to last year. 7-9 in the South Concourse with a bigger selection of brands and resources for its retail buyer base. 7 to 9 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.Surf Expo, the premier watersports and coastal lifestyle tradeshow, returns to the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando on Sept. I like to tell people if you sell a product that can be used with one foot in the water and one foot in the sand, then Surf Expo’s a perfect fit.” “It’s just that our premise, our DNA, is that we are water focused. “We are an outdoor industry,” Turner said. It’s not necessarily an REI, but more in the specialty outdoor realm. That has meant an uptick in retailers coming from the outfitter world. “They’re all outdoor activities and you don’t have to be above treeline to do that, so we’ve started to see the buyer base expand around those ideas.” “If you think about the customer base, while they might identify as a surfer, a lot of them identify as a water sports enthusiast which can be standup paddle, kayak, surfing, free diving, snorkeling, anything,” Turner said. The answer to the question, Turner said, is “yes” and the trade show has already begun to reflect those business shifts over the past few years. The question is particularly apt as more traditional action sports brands look to nab share in that growing market. Shoreline pushes Surf Expo into a conversation around whether the East Coast trade show, which has served as the largest for the surf industry, has opportunity to have the show floor delve more deeply into the broader outdoors. It’s checking really well in all age groups and all price categories.” “Shoreline’s expanding the idea of what a shoreline is, so we have products that a family would take to the beach on the weekend, whether it’s using a cart, lighting, camping, hammocks, stand-up paddles. “A growing bracket for us are things related to lake life and fishing,” Turner said. Shoreline originally launched in January and will be running for the first time at the Surf Expo September iteration. The growing roster of emerging brands is coupled with the debut of the Shoreline section of the show floor. “I’m seeing this emergence of really, really great young brands that are developing a following at specialty retail in the surf market and then there’s still the powerhouses like the Hurleys and Billabongs coming on.” Outdoors and Outfitters It’s really interesting to see the momentum being gained right now from brands like Salty Crew, Dark Seas, Vissla, Roark, RVCA’s been there for a while, Captain Fin,” Turner said. “I’ve been in the business 40-plus years, and I’ve seen our industry go through two big changes of the tide. In fact, he said the topic is one the Surf Expo team regularly fields questions on. “We’re a reflection of the industry and obviously there’s still some concern around what’s going on with Boardriders and how that affects the industry,” Turner said. The show floor will continue to mirror sentiment around the closely watched sale of the Boardriders group to Authentic Brands Group, which is expected to close at the end of August. Turner said Surf Expo expects roughly 5,000 qualified buyers to attend in September, up from January, as they look to hit a buyer-to-booth ratio of 8 to 1.
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