Hurley, Volcom, others share ASR status

UPDATED, 1:40 p.m. with quote from Billabong Americas President Paul Naudé.

After the Quiksilver news broke, I checked in with a few brands to see if they are still going to ASR.

I have not heard back from everybody, but here is what I have found out so far.

Volcom CEO Richard Woolcott told me his company will still be at ASR.

Other confirmed brands according to ASR are Billabong, DC Shoes, O’Neill, Rusty, Element, Vans, Reef, Rip Curl, Matix, DVS, Zoo York, NHS, Dwindle, Fox Head, and DaKine. Click here for a statement from ASR about the benefits of attending the show.

Bob Hurley told me his company decided not to go to ASR in January after meeting with retailers and hearing how much they needed help. Hurley is shifting its ASR budget to financially help key retail partners with its own stimulus package, Bob said.

Bob emphasized Hurley loves ASR and really believes in it, but felt it was crucial to do everything the company could to help retailers right now. Hurley will be at back at ASR in September, he said.

“We are huge supporters of ASR and are thankful to ASR,” he said. “But we thought at this time, it was really important to invest in our core retailers.”

Hurley will be attending Surf Expo in January.

Billabong Americas President Paul Naudé told me Billabong will be at ASR and Surf Expo.

“The Billabong group of companies (Billabong, Element, Von Zipper, Nixon, Honolua, Kustom, Xcel, Sector 9, DaKine) is looking forward to exhibiting at both Surf Expo and ASR,” he said. “We view the shows as an important venue to showcase our products and marketing initiatives to our valued customers. Executives and buyers from our retail stores will also be in full attendance and look forward to viewing what the industry has to offer.”

Reef President John Wilson said his company previously decided to get a meeting room upstairs at the January ASR show vs. exhibiting on the floor.

“This is a first for us, but we think its the right approach,” he said. “It will give us the opportunity to be present for our customers, support the show and do it in an economical way. This will also give us an opportunity to test and learn under a new model to determine how we approach shows in the future.”

Reef will be at Surf Expo as well.

The January show is the smallest for ASR, while it is the biggest show for Surf Expo due to seasonal differences between the East and West coasts. Some companies appear to be skipping ASR or opting for a more low-key presence since it is the smaller show, while still attending Surf Expo.

RVCA is also listed at Surf Expo but not on the ASR floorplan.

Quiksilver will attend Surf Expo, according to Surf Expo Show Director Roy Turner.

Johnny Gehris at Vestal said his company has pulled out of both tradeshows.

Trade shows in other industries are also having a tough time as struggling companies need to cut costs or rethink resource allocations. Auto shows have seen large car companies pull out, and Vera Wang announced yesterday her company would  forgo a big runway production during New York fashion week in favor of a low-key event at her store.

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