When ASR Holiday debuts May 31 to June 1 in Newport Beach, CA, it will be the event to find the growing trend of sophisticated lines developed specifically for the holiday buying season. As the action sports industry has matured beyond just spring and summer lines, stand alone holiday lines have developed. Often holiday lines include colors, fabrics and products unique to the season.
“The debut of ASR Holiday signals a shift in the production schedules of manufacturers,” says Andy Tompkins, ASR Show Director. “Brands in action sports are releasing creative products and packaging for holiday that demand a show of their own.”
Many retailers say that the 4th quarter is their stores biggest. Sun Diego stores owner, Dave Nash, says that December is his stores highest selling month of the year – “Does that tell you how important holiday is to my business?”
According to ActionWatch, an action sports market research company that collected retail data from a small sample of retailers across the US in 2005, Decembers sales numbers at action sports specialty stores skyrocketed from lower fall numbers to the level of peak summer months. To match the demand at retail during December, many action sports manufacturers are creating lines specifically tailored for gift giving.
A look through Hurleys holiday offerings reveals rich colors with edgy styling and a focus on layering. Lost is also dipping deeper into winter layers. “Our Holiday line presented a great opportunity to add the Lost flavor to our deepest offering ever of jackets, sweaters, fleece, denim and pants,” says Jim Zapala, Losts Men’s Design Director.
Holiday will be the first release of the Atwater Collection, an up and coming art driven surf brand with street appeal, “We have attended ASR for more than a decade while working for other brands and are excited to show our first collection in the comforts of our own backyard,” Dean Bradley, Creative Director for Atwater.
