Editor’s note: Read Surf Expo’s official post show press release here.Â
Surf Expo got underway in Orlando last Thursday 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.
A wide range of surf specialty accounts are at Surf Expo, as are large retailers such as REI, Scheels, Tilly’s, and others.
“The show’s been really good,” said Matt Davis of Aloha Collection. “We’ve seen a ton of accounts, and have been stacked up pretty much all day both days so far. We’ve seen a lot of good retailers, like Disney, Scheels, and (Navy Exchange Service Command). This has actually become an order writing show for us. It’s probably our most productive show from an order writing perspective.”
Rusty Meador of Beach & Barn was also happy with the retailers that were at the show — especially since they seemed serious about doing business.
“Traffic has been consistent,” he said. “Not consistently heavy, but the number of quality appointments and quality meetings is higher than before and we’ve written more paper than previous shows.”
Meador said Beach & Barn attracted more interest at the show because it invested in a larger booth — 10′ x 20′ compared to 10′ x 10′ — and elevated the design with light boxes and saddles for chairs. Former Salt Life President Jeff Stillwell, now CEO and an investor in Beach & Barn, has also improved the product line, he said.
SESO talked to more brand executives and retailers at the show and have a story on the way about the state of consumer spending, how retail performed this summer, and how the industry is adjusting to tariffs.
Here are updated photos from the show floor and a video clip from the Industry Party at Topgolf.
A Vans reunion: Brian Cook, now with Seager, Bobby Gascon, now with Tilly's, Kevin Casillo, now with Brixton. Photo courtesy of Surf Expo.
Sun Diego meeting with the Roark team. Photo by SESO.
The buying team from Tilly's meeting with Rip Curl. Photo by SESO.
Steko made themselves heard at the show - Cole McCaffray, Luke Wyler, Makai Bray, and founder Kolohe Andino. Photo by SESO.
Michelle LeBlanc of Hurley Swim and Federico de Bellegarde of Bluestar Alliance, which owns Hurley and many other brands. Photo by SESO.
Inside the Hurley booth, where licensees share space.
Hurley owner Bluestar Alliance did a good job of merging the licensees into a cohesive space. Photo by SESO.
Jetty representing Jersey - Dan Przygocki, Dustin Henry, Rylee Mauger, Cory Higgins. Photo by SESO.
Island Water Sports reviewing the Seager line. Photo courtesy of Surf Expo.
Live music at the Seager booth. Photo courtesy of Surf Expo.
Salty Crew meeting with the Ron Jon buying team. Photo by SESO.
Sun Diego meeting with Team Roark. Photo by SESO.
We are seeing more surf shops try Marine Layer, which previously thrived in boutique settings but is also selling well in surf shops. Photo courtesy of Surf Expo.
The Scheels buying team meeting with Rhythm. Photo by SESO.
Bob McKnight, Brandon Guilmette, and Ryan Mangan of Quiksilver. Photo by SESO.
Jennifer Pearson and Matt Davis of Aloha Collection. 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.
Jaci Schroeder and Eric Thomas of Quiet Storm. Photo by SESO.
Lance Varon of Xcel, Jack Morrissey of Salty Crew, and Snowy Lonsway of Duvin. Photo courtesy of Surf Expo.
La Jolla Group CEO Daniel Neukomm and PSD leader Bill Gage. Photo by SESO.
Team B.C. Surf & Sport - Cameron and Connor Cromartie, Kim Linebaugh, and Bruce Cromartie with Ted Li. Photo by SESO.
Team Brixton: Carrie Prentice, Nadine Wisely, Kevin Casillo, Brian White, and Sean Fleuriau. Photo by SESO.
Brixton boardshorts. Photo by SESO.
Brixton's new collab with Colt 45 beer. Photo by SESO.
Coastal Edge talking business at Dark Seas. Photo courtesy of Surf Expo.
Printing hats at Rusty. Photo courtesy of Surf Expo.
Mike Loughlin, Josh Barrett, and Jacob Byrne of Rhythm. Photo by SESO.
A showing at Rhythm. Photo courtesy of Surf Expo.
The growing Duvin team: Co-founder and COO Garrett Watzka, product and design consultant Shawn Peterson who just left Rip Curl as VP of product, Co-founder and Creative Director Austin Duvall, and fractional VP of Sales Snowy Lonsway, an industry sales vet who has joined Duvin as well. Photo by SESO.
Marty Mathiesen, Franklin Shiraki, Dylan Slater, and LG Shaw in the Firewire/Outerknown booth. Photo by SESO.
Bailey Sato of Hi-Tech and Don Dyer of I-SEA. Photo by SESO.
Salty Cali founders Miriam Siefken and Leslie De Simone. Photo by SESO.
Vineyard Vines representing the preppy set. Photo courtesy of Surf Expo.
The Surf Expo team with the Elan brand, which provided their outfits for the show. Photo courtesy of Surf Expo.
A busy Tommy Bahama booth. Photo courtesy of Surf Expo.
The Quiksilver booth. Photo courtesy of Surf Expo.
The Surfside Lounge sponsored by Shopify. Photo courtesy of Surf Expo.
A golf simulator on the show floor. Photo courtesy of Surf Expo.
"Surfing" on the show floor with Wave Rider by Surf Days. Photo courtesy of Surf Expo.
A showing in the Maaji booth. Photo courtesy of Surf Expo.
Reviewing product at Volcom. Photo courtesy of Surf Expo.
Sun Bum and DJ Lance. Photo courtesy of Surf Expo.
The RVCA booth. Photo courtesy of Surf Expo.
The Overland Expo display. Photo courtesy of Surf Expo.
Rusty Meador and Tyler Nelson of Beach & Barn. Photo by SESO.
Amy Rasmussen of Sync, Mark Tinkess of RVCA, Sammy Duvall of Curl. Photo by SESO.
Anna Kenney, John Gothard, and Christine McClary of Lovlei. Photo by SESO.
Aloha Collection has added in-store displays for retailers. Photo by SESO.
Mark Pesce of Firewire, Marty Mathiesen of Outerknown and Firewire, Kim Ball of Hi-Tech, Dylan Slater of Outerknown and Firewire, John Nakajima of Hi-Tech, and Zuri Magers of Outerknown. Photo by SESO.
Susan and Sammy Duvall, and Lori Daly of Curl. Photo by SESO.
Cheyne Cottrell of IWS, Chili McCabe of RVCA, and Sam Lovell of Make Scents. Photo by SESO.
Dutch Schultz, the new president and COO of I-SEA. Photo by SESO.
Craig Frick and Matt Keenan of BN3TH. Photo by SESO.
Shopify sponsored the Industry Party at Topgolf, which was well attended and very fun.
