Surf Expo got underway Thursday in Orlando.
While the show was smaller than in pre-pandemic times and some retailers cancelled at the last minute, nearly every major brand was there and we saw key industry retailers throughout the day. We also saw lots of line showings and order writing going on.
We talked to lots of happy people because business in 2021 has been VERY GOOD for nearly every brand and retailer we talked to.
Most retailers said sales this summer beat last year’s numbers, which they didn’t think was possible given the hardgoods boom at surf and skate shops last year.
Some brands told me they are seeing prebooks for Spring ’22 that are coming in 40% above this year’s levels.
Everyone’s biggest concerns, of course, is the supply chain and making sure they have enough goods coming in on time to take advantage of the demand. Trying to figure out how long the demand will last and forecasting orders is also a big challenge.
Some retailers were also disappointed that a few brands only sent reps rather than top management executives, however the majority sent executive decision makers.
Overall, it was great to see everyone again. We have lots of photos from the show floor below in our slide show.
Jacob Uhland and Sandy Schwarzenbach of Havaianas and Rod Tomlinson of Surf Expo
Frankie Senese of Rainbow and George Karamitos of Maui Nix
Former Quiksilver CEO Bob McKnight
Erin Bouchard and Deanna Jackson of Billabong with Gary Rubin of Ron Jon
Don Dyer of I-SEA and Dave Nash of Sun Diego
Rachel Dorsey, Allison Singer, Becky Clark and Palmer Harbuck of I-SEA
Dimtri Kjos of Vissla and Carly Cottrell of Island Water Sports
A masked model in the swim area
We heard buzz about the new sunglass brand Sito at the show
Eric Carlson of Sito
Tyler Brown and Ciara Orrell of 17th Street in the Quiksilver booth with Brad Harrell
Nate Smith of Boardriders and Leigh Tonai of HIC
Happy Hour at the Rip Curl booth and WSL lounge
Thread Founder Colby Bauer
Retailers have told us Thread wallets and lanyards sell well
Dale Rhodes and Mac Beu of Katin
Kristi Steinfeld of Havaianas, Virgin Islands retailer Alex Poisson and Sandy Schwarzenbach of Havaianas
Lila Stewart, the founder of Hari Mari
Tom Brown and Sam Foster of 17th Street Surf Shop
Bruce Cromartie and Dan Dodarell of BC Surf & Sport
Hawaii retailers came to the show, including Kim Ball of Hi-Tech and Eddie Crawford of Surf n' Sea
Cory Higgins of Jetty, which has a nice looking new booth
Mark Simpson and Dane Zaun of IPD
Shawnna Graham of Poplar Pointe Marine in Virginia checking out trunks at Psycho Tuna with Patricia Thornton
Eric Fagan and Dan Hartman of RVCA
Jeff Booth and Paul Gaucher of Flojos with Enrique Ledo of La Gran Via
Tim Mack and Alex Schulze of 4Ocean and Bill Bettencourt, who is consulting with the brand
Josh Rogers of RPM
Working out at the RPM booth
Christina Freberg of Lotus and Luna who were swamped
David Gralnik and Pepe Landa of Boardriders. Pepe joined a few months ago as Director of the International business in Latin America.
Seth McKinney and Mark Simpson of IPD
Pete Censoplano of Sun Diego, Rich Sanders of Vissla, Dave Nash and Patrick Whinnery of Sun Diego
Debby Anker Morris, formerly of Tilly's, is helping out her husband, Brett Morris, at the show
John Dickinson and Michael Letow of Flojos
Susan Duvall and Sammy Duvall of Curl
Deanna Jackson of Billabong, Bob Rohmann of Avid, Paul Harvey of Rip Curl, and Jason Shelton of Billabong
Scott Bouchard of Billabong showing the line
Eric Thomas of Quiet Storm in Ft. Lauderdale and Nate Smith of Boardriders
Lots of action at the Peter Grimm booth
Mark Metzger and Chili McCabe of Gotcha
Sasha Hartloff, Mike Reilly and Nate Smith of Boardriders
The Sun Bum booth
Amy Dufour of Surf Expo, Shannon Zseleczky of Shop Eat Surf and Roy Turner of Surf Expo
A Ride Nature display
Fishing brand Huk had a huge booth
Stephanie Nachnani and Bunty Lakhani of Coastal Edge
Steven Fisher and Kathy Wilkie of Surf Expo
Bill Gage of PSD
The Rhythm booth
Assembling skateboards at the Ride Nature booth
The Tommy Bahama booth
The Repreve booth/truck
A skate ramp at Surf Expo
The Baja Llama trailer
