Surf Expo Starts with Retailer and Brand Meetings, Parties and More

Surf Expo got underway Thursday in Orlando with lots of brand and retailer meetings, education sessions, and a packed Industry Party at Topgolf sponsored by Shopify.

On the surf side of the show, a full slate of brands attended, including heritage brands such as Quiksilver, Billabong, RVCA, Roxy, Rip Curl, Volcom, and O’Neill. The next wave of brands that have been stalwarts of the show the past few years were also in attendance, including Salty Crew, Roark, Katin, Dark Seas, Jetty, Rhythm, and more, and were busy most of the day.

A wide range of surf specialty accounts are at Surf Expo, as are large retailers such as REI, Scheels, Tilly’s, and others.

SESO talked to many brand executives and retailers at the show and will have a full report on Monday of the interesting discussions we have had about the state of consumer spending, how retail performed this summer, and how the industry is adjusting to tariffs. We’ll also have an extensive photo report of who and what we saw.

In the meantime, here are few photos from Thursday and a video clip from the Industry Party at Topgolf.

Sun Diego meeting with the Roark team. Photo by SESO.

The buying team from Tilly's meeting with Rip Curl. Photo by SESO.

The Scheels buying team meeting with Rhythm. Photo by SESO.

Bob McKnight, Brandon Guilmette, and Ryan Mangan of Quiksilver. Photo by SESO.

Katin held a large dinner and party for key retail accounts including Coastal Edge on the first night of the show. Photo courtesy of Katin.

Brixton boardshorts. Photo by SESO.