This show was not as well attended as in previous years. There however does not seem to be a slowdown in business in the Skate/Surf space. The overlap of the SIA.07 show and the Outdoor Retailer Winter Market likely pulled winter sports merchants elsewhere. This show is typically slower than the Fall show due to the seasonality of the products and retailers, but there was a significant presence of urban and street retail here as these channels try to understand the skate world.

The skate shoe business appears more robust than ever, although the line up of brands is changing. The owner of Jack’s, a very influential five-store chain out of Huntington Beach, told SEW his top two skate shoe lines were Vans and Nike. Word is that these are the top two brands at PSUN as well. Word is that sales of DC in core shops are down sharply, while business in non-core is very strong. SEW heard that Etnies was soft in core shops as well. Clearly there is much more business to be done in non-core, as evidenced by Vans and Quik/DC, but the transition may be painful for these fashion brands.

Vulcanized footwear remained the big story in skate. Busiest booths at ASR: Vans, LRG, Reef. Crocs had a presence, but little traffic.