Change was in the air at the Orange County Convention Center as the surf and skate industries made the trek to Orlando, Florida for the September iteration of Surf Expo.

Some brand leaders and new Boardriders licensees kept busy with buyer meetings, working to reassure retailers of minimal disruption as the brand portfolio – consisting of Quiksilver, Billabong, DC Shoes, Roxy, RVCA, and several others – makes the transition to a licensing model. That deal’s impact – which has yet to be fully realized on the market – coupled with the continually changing consumer landscape has proven a boon for some brands in a position to take on expansion, a trend made clear at the show.

The diverse Surf Expo floor – which had everything from souvenir shop gifts to outdoor and heritage surf brands – saw much of the steady action across the show’s three days centered around the section housing brands some in the industry see as the next in line to take on larger positions at retail, such as Salty Crew, Katin, Dark Seas, Roark, Vissla, and Rhythm.

Open Minds

A big part of the market changes for some of those brands is growing relevance among a new generation of consumers that has allowed for diversity and retail segmentation in their distribution models.

“Buyers have a lot more confidence in our brand. There are lots of opportunities with everything going on in the market. We’re definitely reaping the benefits,” Rhythm U.S. Sales Director Sean Fleuriau said of what he described as a generational shift taking place in the consumer landscape.

Rhythm had 75 appointments coming into Surf Expo as of Thursday and expected that number to balloon once walk-ups were factored in, according to Fleuriau. The brand is on the up with retail accounts, in the U.S. alone increasing by 100 accounts to reach 350 since Fleuriau joined in December. The company also recently took back its Canadian business to further strengthen the infrastructure and ensure consistency of service to retailers as it faces growth.

Rhythm, with an expanded Surf Expo booth, has also seen its leadership team grow, including the recent hire of group marketing manager Christine Warren, previously senior marketing manager at Vans, who was on site in Orlando.

“I’m excited to be part of this new time of growth for the brand,” said Warren, adding 2024 will see the brand bolster how it shows up at retailers via the rollout of new fixtures, windows, and POP signage.

Expanding Assortments

Rhythm’s sister brand Rusty was showing a new late-’90s-inspired collection called RED (Rusty Experimental Division), which offers a more fashion-forward assortment for a brand that’s historically positioned itself as a core surf brand. The collection was first tested earlier this year in Australia, with Surf Expo marking its U.S. debut.

“We’re excited to be here. We have a new booth. Distribution’s growing,” said Rusty National Sales Manager Ryan Warner. “The best part of Surf Expo is you have so much newness coming around.”

About 30% of the company’s appointments, as of Day 1 of the show, reflected new accounts. About 10 appointments had come from new back-end synergies shared with Rhythm in which some of the brands’ sales and other functions are shared for cohesion and efficiency.

If Rusty was looking to test market appetite for a more directional fashion offering from a surf brand, Rip Curl sought to reinforce its position in the core market as it launches the Flashbomb Fusion wetsuit in the U.S.

The show marked CEO Brooke Farris’s first time at Surf Expo, with the executive seeing Surf Expo as an opportunity to make more North America connections and explore the market to better inform its go-forward strategy.

“There’s only a handful of (industry) shows, so it’s about understanding the presence of the other brands here and also knowing that there’s a lot of opportunity for us and for us to stand out and apart,” Farris said. “It’s almost 54 years of the business, making great products, delivering well, and ensuring we’re a partner of choice for all of the retail doorways.”

Space for New (and Old) Faces

For The Critical Slide Society, it had been years since the brand showed at Surf Expo, but it reemerged last week amid big plans to expand in North America. Co-owners Sam Coombes, who also serves as creative director, and Matt Christie, general manager and director, were on hand in Orlando from Australia, in addition to North America head of brand Brooks Riley, who joined a little over a year ago.

“It’s our official plans for the U.S. and the increased interest level,” Riley said of the reason for reappearing now. “We’re able to see so many new accounts. And it’s a good mix. Tilly’s has come by, mom-and-pop stores, Quiet Storm, Island Water Sports. We’ve been pretty much non-stop (with buyer visits).”

While Riley is new and set to soon open the Southern California office for Critical, the company also recently hired Florida sales rep Ian Soto to handle the East Coast.

Hurley, with its sizable footprint on the show floor, was just as busy.

“We were slammed,” said Christina Evans, the vice president of product and merchandising for Hurley licensee United Legwear & Apparel Co., of Day 1 at the company’s booth.

Hurley was showing a number of collections, including the Summer 2024 capsule of its 25th anniversary pieces, a new collaboration with Carissa Moore, and an Americana-inspired collection.

“We’re seeing some really great international growth,” said Federico de Bellegarde, senior vice president of brand management at Hurley parent Bluestar Alliance.

He pointed to Australia, Japan, and Europe as examples.

Former, a relatively young brand started in 2016 by Craig Anderson, Austyn Gillette, and Dane Reynolds, was also seeing newfound success at Surf Expo.

Buyers from 17th Street Surf Shop, BC Surf & Sport, Sun Diego, Island Water Sports, and Compound Boardshop were among the retailers new to the brand who stopped by the booth.

“There are a lot of changes going on with some of the bigger brands – Boardriders – and retailers are looking for something new,” said Sales Manager Chad Van Valkenburg.

“I think they want us to be the brand that surfing needs now,” said sales rep Connor Carpenter. Connor added many buyers have asked how involved the founders are with Former, to which he responds by reassuring them that everything goes through the trio.

Last week marked the second Surf Expo show for Former, which has found distribution not only in surf and skate shops, but increasing interest from men’s boutiques as the assortment continues to expand with cut-and-sew.

“We’ve been doing wholesale now for three years,” Van Valkenburg said. “I think people wanted to see if we could knock the training wheels off.”

Staying the Course

No training wheels needed to be removed for Katin. The 69-year-old brand touted its heritage with many framed photos at its Surf Expo booth as it showed Summer 2024 in the remaining days before the Sept. 15 deadline for orders, while also spending a good chunk of the show putting in key face time with buyers.

“We’re having deeper, meaningful conversations on the changes happening in the marketplace,” Katin Vice President of Sales Dale Rhodes said.

At the same time, he pointed out that while Katin saw an impact to its business during the 2002 acquisition of Hurley by Nike, he doesn’t see a similar situation coming off the Boardriders deal. In fact, the veteran sales executive doesn’t view this as a time to aggressively coax retailers into allocating more space to the brand. Instead, Katin’s strategy remains the same as it has been.

“That acquisition doesn’t really affect us,” Rhodes said. “We’re not trying to capitalize on that (Boardriders) business.”

Instead, Katin will continue its pattern of double-digit sales growth this year as it has for the past 12 by staying focused on fabric and fit innovation and keeping in tune with consumers.

“It’s obviously on our mind. We’re definitely having talks with retailers about expanding the brand,” Katin President Mac Beu said of what’s happening amid the Boardriders shuffle. “But, it doesn’t change what our goals are. The way we operate the business doesn’t change.”

For more photos from the Surf Expo September trade show floor, click here. 

Kari Hamanaka can be reached at [email protected].