ORLANDO, Fla. — While the legacy of four fall hurricanes still plagues Florida retailers, Surf Expo managed to tread water, based on the crossover potential and growing appeal of surf-inspired lifestyle apparel.
Total attendance at the show, which ran Jan. 7-9 at the Orange County Convention Center here, was around 15,000, including exhibitors and buyers. Retailer traffic, flat with last January’s show, was an improvement over the September Surf Expo, when Florida’s storms caused a 20 percent attendance decline. Florida buyers make up half of Surf Expo’s target market.
“Based on traffic, we know some Florida stores are still waiting on insurance claims,” said Dan Darby, director of marketing.
Of the 1,000 total exhibitors, women’s apparel is around 60 percent of the product offerings, having grown substantially in recent years, Darby said. A new junior-contemporary sportswear area called She, which launched in September, featured 100 booths. The Club Level, a collective of upper-end resortwear, was introduced last January, and has attracted better boutiques and out-of-territory stores, along with the East Coast surf shops that are the show’s bread and butter. The growing exposure of the surf-inspired lifestyle, in the mainstream media and retail, has helped the show, and surf in general, said Darby.
Retailers outside of Florida, buoyed by fairly strong fall sales as the economy and consumer travel picked up, shopped for summer and early fall 2005 goods, often buying deeper in tried-and-true lines while cherry-picking items from new resources. Buyers are banking on the preppy trend to build through the summer, with stripes, piping, polo shirts and pink-and-green color palettes updated with feminine touches, such as ruffles and lace. In contrast, a more exotic bohemian trend also emerged, in earth tones with beads, embroidery and sequin embellishments. Silhouettes include strapless tunic tops, longer skirts and knee-length Bermuda shorts, in fresh colors and fabrics. Buyers said swimwear separates continue to drive sales, as consumers create individual looks using swimwear as sportswear.
Exhibitors said traffic was sporadic, but many projected sales would meet last year’s figures. Reflecting the growth and crossover potential of the surf-inspired lifestyle, exhibitors continue to look for ways to expand their reach to new customers, either through launches or a broader range of looks.
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For example, Roxy by Quiksilver, having developed divisions targeting various ages and expanded accessories, will launch a snowboard line this year.
“We want to own board-riding sports, not just surf,” said Steve Tully, Roxy’s president.
Florida retailer Pamela Folz, owner of Lauderdale Lifestyle, with three women’s specialty stores in Fort Lauderdale, decreased her buy 20 percent due mostly to the hurricanes’ impact on business. While her stores avoided structural damage, fall tourism suffered and has been slow to build even in January, traditionally the big kickoff to the South Florida season.
“I’m buying fewer vendors, but deeper in color, style and sizes from good resources,” said Folz, who bought tank tops and skirts from Roxy and pull-on skirts from Lucy Love.
“The hippie-chic trend has always been big in Florida. It’s the way we dress, and now the rest of the world is starting to catch up with us,” said Folz, who said she updated the look with sequins and metallic touches.
Folz also bought Lacoste, lots of grosgrain-ribbon belts and other accessories from Chemistry and Leather Man Ltd. and conversational print “destination” skirts by Basil & Maude.
Janeen Mayers, swimwear buyer for South Moon Under, a Berlin, Md., specialty store with nine locations on the East Coast and two more stores projected to open in 2005, said swimwear and sportswear are becoming increasingly intertwined.
“I’m waiting for Ugg boots to do a swimsuit,” said Mayers, referring to many sportswear lines that have launched swimwear, including Lacoste and Juicy Couture, which she added this spring. For summer, Mayers said preppy-inspired looks would be “in full throttle,” with flirty, girly details, including dots, piping and ruffles. Mayers also noted a bohemian trend, exemplified by patchwork, crochet, beading and embroidery. Metallics and foils in trim and piping should also be big summer looks. Mayers bought swimwear by Billabong, Radio Fiji and Raisins.
Business has been boosted by recent cold weather in the Northeast, and new lower airfares that have encouraged cruise travel, said Mayers. With a new generation of customers comfortable with the surf lifestyle, junior and contemporary areas have shown the fastest growth and biggest volume.
Buyers for West 49, a Burlington, Ontario, skate-surf specialty chain with 57 stores throughout Canada, shopped Surf Expo to address an increasing demand for girls’ skate-inspired apparel, particularly logo T-shirts and fleece, denim and twill bottoms.
“Girls have worn boys’ looks, but they sometimes find boys’ skatewear intimidating, so we’re merchandising girls’ departments with more feminine looks,” said Leslie Freeman, director of buying. “Girls’ offer tons of opportunity, but it’s a fickle, competitive market, so you have to get it right.” Freeman said skate apparel, heavily influenced by punk music, is not as fast or fashion-forward as surf. Rather than skirts, dresses or blazers, she concentrated on T-shirts, jeans and fleece.
Shopping Surf Expo to get a jump on early deliveries of fall goods, Freeman bought body-conscious logo T-shirts with unfinished edges or embellishments, and accessories with buckles and hardware. Rather than items, she bought deeply in coordinated programs from core resources Roxy, Billabong and Dickies, and from boys’ lines that offer new girls’ products, such as Element and Indie. She also picked up small niche brands such as Emily, and looked for companies to help build her growing private label business.
Freeman also shopped for fabrics for bottoms, including twills, that suit the Canadian climate and are good alternatives to denim, in higher rises and wider legs than in past seasons.
Jill Bennett, co-owner with husband Greg Bennett of Birthday Suits, a beach lifestyle specialty store on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, shopped for her customer base, an increasingly broad mix of tourists and vacationers from the Northeast and mid-Atlantic states.
“We’re still not as trendy as California, but we’re becoming a bit more fashion-forward in recent years, as trends have more media exposure,” said Bennett, who bought preppy looks for summer.
Bennett bought swimwear separates, for mix-and-match versatility, searching for companies that offer good fit and reliable deliveries. She cited Point Conception, Sunset Separates and Malibu Dream Girl as strong sellers. She also bought Island Company, a new line for her store, at the show.
“Customers love separates because they can create their own looks and use them as sportswear pieces, without being dictated to by manufacturers,” she said.
For juniors’, she bought short ruffled and long A-line skirts and dresses, from Lucy Love. For misses’ and contemporary customers, she bought capri pants. In accessories, she bought flat shoes, thong sandals and Asian-inspired bags from Eliza B., YRI and Volatile.
Sales were up 4 to 5 percent for 2004, with more retail competition coming into the area.
“Our biggest challenge is to stay true to our niche, offer good value and not discount,” said Bennett.