From the ASR Fashion Runway show 2010.
After 29 years, Action Sports Retailer Trade Show has folded. We’ve covered this show for years and seen it go through a variety of phases (do a keyword search “ASR” for all of our stories on this show) and we’re sad to hear the news. However the show had been struggling as was evidence in the last year with larger surf and skate brands pulling out, the rise of Class@ASR, and the growth of more grassroots shows such as Agenda.
This story, just posted on ApparelNews.net, reports the following:
The Action Sports Retailer Trade Expo, the biannual trade show for the surf and skate business, has canceled all future events, according to sources close to the show.
Show organizer Nielsen Exposition could not be reached for comment, but Jason Bates, founder of the Class trade show and its satellite Class@ASR show, held in partnership with ASR, confirmed the news.
“It’s crazy!” Bates said. “I feel sad for the surf and skate industry. But the surf, skate and shoe industry all wanted different [show] dates and different things from ASR. I understand why ASR could not serve all of those people. I understand why they have to call it a day.”
Bates said the trade show model has changed in recent years, shifting from a “big-booth marketing concept” to something simpler and more affordable. “No one wants to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars for a trade show,” he said. “Now, they can spend $2,000 to $3,000 and go directly to market.”
The 29-year-old action sports trade show was the biggest for the action-sports market on the West Coast. Owned by San Juan Capistrano, Calif.%u2013based Nielsen Expositions, ASR routinely united 800 surf/skate, swim, moto and snow brands and nearly 6,000 retail buyers twice a year at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego, Calif.
Stay tuned for more news on this decision soon.
