Just off the heels of announcing the direction of his new, sustainable-driven apparel brand Outerknown, Kelly Slater, the 11-time Association of Surfing Professionals World Champion, has told Slab Magazine, his intentions for buying a majority stake in Firewire, the surfboard brand. Firewire is one of the few surfboard brands in the industry that have been […]
Story and Photo by Tom Wallace and Kathleen Gasperini Outdoor Retailer at the Salt Lake Palace, UT, is the premiere outdoor trade show in the U.S., which featured 1,036 exhibitors, and an estimated 22,000 attendees over the course of 4 days running from January 20-24, 2015. Key themes this winter included the usual technical outerwear […]
The fashion trade show industry has been undergoing significant changes to meet with challenging economic conditions, changes in consumer spending habits, and the business of fashion as a whole. As more consumers shop online vs. brick ‘n mortar, utilize mcommerce, and engage a DIY lifestyle, so too has the concept of the traditional trade show […]
There was a lot of talk last week during the Outdoor Retailer Trade Show in Salt Lake City, January 20-24, 2015, regarding just who is the modern outdoors person? From Range magazine’s excellent presentation on the Modern Outdoors Woman, to the New Product TV area interviewing panelists on the Modern Outdoors person in general, to […]
The writing was on the wall for the teen retailer when on January 7 of this year, Wet Seal announced the closing of 338 stores and a lay-off of 3,695 employees. On January 16, 2015, Wet Seal announced that it had filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy. Ed Thomas, Wet Seal’s CEO said, “After careful consideration, […]
Story and Photos by Kathleen Gasperini and Tom Wallace The Agenda Trade Show in Long Beach, CA, January 5-6, 2015, featured inspiring designs, brisk business, and a coming together of the best in action sports-inspired and streetwear fashion, footwear, accessories, and wearable technology. With an industrial theme made of a mix of barrels, pallets, and […]
The 4th Annual Agenda Emerge powered by Group Y held in Long Beach, CA, January 6, 2015, was the biggest conference yet for the action sports and streetwear industries. With a capacity crowd of 825, it was clear that people were interested in hearing how innovation and creativity can produce the most amazing brands, bands, […]
Fashion trade show season is underway, and after a successful launch at Agenda last week, here’s more of what to expect next in the realm of street, denim, urban contemporary, and youth lifestyles. Selvedge Run When Bread & Butter initially announced that it would be heading to Barcelona for the summer edition in 2015, Maria […]
In the wake of many teen retailers taking a beating, Fast Retailing Co., owners of the Japanese fast-fashion and technical brand, Uniqlo, announced an incredibly strong fiscal report today, January 8, 2015 with profits up 64% in the first quarter. Net income rose to 68.8 billion yen ($575 million) in the three months ended in […]
Wet Seal is among the many teen retailers mostly sequestered to malls that are not doing well in the last couple of years. Today, January 7, 2015, the hammer fell with the 338 stores to close, which is two-thirds of the company’s stores, and 3,695 employees laid-off. Employees who were laid-off were given a one […]