The Super Show Las Vegas experiment ended on Wednesday with a mild thud with many attendees-and some exhibitors-cutting their attendance to a day or two.
Aside from Under Armour on the apparel side, the primary beneficiaries of the show were the fitness and team sports companies. Under Armour created as much buzz around its party on Monday night at Studio 54 as it did for its position as one the few hot “must have” products in the industry.
The only other buzz was the incessant questions about a Gart-TSA merger and whether it was good for the industry or not. Little was said to dispel or support the rumors, other than constant denials by both CEOs that anything would be announced anytime soon-if at all.
Some attendees saw the move as a natural from a geographic perspective, but it was clear in the Financial Day presentations (see last weeks SEW issue) that the two retailers have divergent strategies for the immediate future. Gart is backfilling and expanding in existing markets and solidifying brand presence, while The Sports Authority is spending heavily on trying to fix store formats to meet the changing face of the retail landscape.
Gart, if it took on the burden of TSAs re-working of its retail format, would be faced with a very strong competitor from the north-in the form of Dicks Sporting Goods-and another-Academy Sports & Outdoors — challenging TSAs flank. Not likely.
Only two footwear companies attended the show this year (plus Fila with a tennis booth) and it is doubtful either will attend next year. As one key executive put it, “its hard to justify a half-day show.”
The debate will continue for the next year as to the need – and viability – of a general sporting goods show. One could argue that it is not the responsibility of the show to create the energy for attendance, but that the fault of declining show attendance falls squarely on the shoulders of the companies that fail to create energy around their brands.
There were a few booths that saw good energy and buyer traffic because they had something new to see. We have already mentioned Under Armour, but they did create the energy needed to make for a successful show. The company said it will see its business double again in 2003, surpassing the $100 million mark. UA execs also indicated that they are benefiting from a growing Womens business, expecting it to be 10-15% of the total business this year and expanding to 25-30% in the next few years.
There is no real new formula here, other than smart grassroots marketing that built consumer demand at the retail level. The company saw the CEOs for each of the major sporting goods retailers and didnt have to submit to a bid process or slotting fee for its growth. Any lessons to be learned here?
The challenge will be the commoditization – or private labeling – of the category, but the company looks to be safe for now with the consumer asking for the brand by name.
Moretz was also a winner at the show and owed much of its traffic to the newly-minted Under Armour sock license it acquired in December. Word is a New Balance license is next for the sock manufacturer.
The other sock, insole and shoe care brands fared less well, as they saw their fortunes go the way of the balance of the footwear business – to WSA. One hosiery exec said that only five buyers attended from the top 25 footwear or sporting goods retailers.
Reebok also made a bit of a splash with its NFL Equipment line. The obvious challenge to Under Armours business – and the NFLs move to extend the league brand into sports other than football – will get a lot of attention and funding from Reebok and the league.
Interesting though that the non-licensed product will be managed – and sold – by the Onfield Apparel organization and not the Reebok sales organization that calls on the branded apparel buyers. Still, the company sees big things ahead as they play up the NFL shield on its baselayer apparel and accessories on Sunday afternoons. RBK shipped thousands of units to NFL players in 2002 and has recently started SELLING the product to NHL teams.
We even saw some buzz around some of the fitness guys with innovation and the graying of the baby-boomer generation an obvious focus. The brands here are challenged to grow their businesses as retailers go the private label and non-branded route with iron and machines.
A twist on packaging and convenience – and an evolving consumer focus – was evidenced in the product seen at York Barbell. The company is taking a holistic approach to fitness for consumers, packaging fitness training gear with books and tapes that provide consumers instruction and a “how to” in leading a healthier lifestyle. The company also featured home fitness products that focused on space-saving convenience.
One of the best events of the show had to be the second annual Coach & Connect session Monday afternoon. The event, co-sponsored by SGMA and the Sporting Goods Agents Association, brought sales reps together with key retail and manufacturer executives in a mentoring format. In addition to a strong turnout, the event and subsequent SGAA meeting exemplified everything that is right about the sporting goods industry. Congratulations to SGAA COO Lois Halinton, SGMA VP Maria Stefan, outgoing SGAA president Norm Lamming and incoming president Gary Niland on a great event!
Another area that saw nice activity, traffic, and yes – orders – was the Licensed category. A number of brands will draft off of the resurgence in the NFL category led by RBK and a the popularity of retro Authentics.
The Super Show organizers attempted to bring innovation of their own to the show, bowing the new World of Sports Innovation in the mostly-unused lower level of the Sands Convention Center.
Feedback ranged from “interesting” to “chaotic” as the show tried to put way too much into a very small – and loud – area. New Show Director Peter Haines got some light applause for trying something – anything – new, but the effort fell short of very high expectations. It was an opportunity to get brands, like Puma and Nike, involved in a show that they otherwise would not have participated. People close to the show and SGMA expressed a “no comment” when pressed for feedback on the new venue. Word is that the show will have a 25% increase in the fee for the WOSI participation in Orlando.
One could envision a real World of Sports Innovation if the competing show organizers could sit at the same table and develop a strategy that would turn Vegas into a sports retail Mecca for a week.
We wondered out loud with one SGMA executive how exciting it would be if, while The Super Show was at the Sands, the Las Vegas Convention hosted The PGA Show and ASR Show. What if the SIA Show and Outdoor Retailer were at the new Mandalay Bay Convention Center, Lets Play Hockey at Paris and the Soccer Coaches show at yet another hotel – all in the same week?
>>> Forget the details of which show goes where, but instead of acknowledgement that such an idea might actually be good for the industry as a whole, the response from the SGMA official was, “only if they came in under our umbrella.” Visionary, eh?
While most of the big brands – and the vast majority of footwear brands – stayed away from the show, many did find justification in attending the other major shows for the week. Lets Play Hockey drew its base and the Soccer Coaches show drew the major brands as well.
Attendance was down again at the ASR show as fewer exhibitors participated – as usual – in the Spring show and many reduced the size of their booths.
For the first time that we can remember, no new footwear lines were introduced. Several of the hot brands for the last show were clearly not as warm as they had been just six months ago. The same concerns we hear at other trade shows – about justifying the expense of attending with an entourage and giant booth – were heard here.
ASR attendance was reportedly off by as much as 20%.
There is a decided shift to surf apparel brands from skate brands. The change is really seen as a brand shift – not a product shift. Kids here are still wearing tees and hoodies, with baggy jeans (although the jean silhouette is definitely narrowing). The hottest brand in apparel is Volcom, but Hurley, Quiksilver and Billabong are continuing to perform as well.
This trend will impact the skate shoe brands in a different way. Since there are no surf shoe brands, the kid is much more open to alternative styles of footwear as he moves away from skate. Brands were experimenting with new looks, which came closer to retro styles shown in other lines. Tongue pads are reduced, making the shoe less “skatable”, but the look is primarily athletic.
NKEs Hurley product is just now shipping to retailers. Very early results sound promising. PacSun gets their shipment next week. The BTS line included a Cortez-like “runner” and a shoe that was clearly a cross between Dunk and Air Ace 83. The girls line included a clog and a sandal.
Nike is letting this brand grow at its own pace. They have no plans to increase distribution.
The NKE skateboarding booth was one of the most active. Dunks, in a barrage of colors, were the talk of the show. NKE has allocated this shoe very tightly, creating tremendous demand. (It is interesting to note that the same style in different colors has also caught fire in the urban market).
Vans back-to-school program is finally starting to show some progress. Their version of the Dunk looks very right. The girls product is much improved. They also designed some limited edition styles to be sold into better specialty stores like Fred Segal and Barneys. It is too early to gauge retailer reaction.
Adidas continues to have a presence here, with very clean product. However, we did not see adidas skate in any of the core shops visited.
Avia had a very small booth for NSS and EVOS.
None of the athletic footwear specialty stores that blanketed the last two shows were seen in attendance. FTSs Uprise division only sent a few buyers. No big box sporting goods retailers were seen in attendance. It is clear that the conventional athletic shoe retailers have given up on this category.
>>> This market continues to suffer from too many retailers showing the samelooking products. No one has really broken out with new ideas. Until they do, we should not expect to see true growth, even as participation levels continue rise.
Nike staked out a dominant presence in Orlando at the PGA Merchandise Show even as some key hardgoods and footwear brands exiting the venue.
The show, as a comparison to the other shows last week, was very well attended. The main aisles were often filled with attendees four to six across. To the casual observer, the show appeared to be a remarkable success, but we did hear complaints nonetheless from some of the attendees that focused on the departure of Ping and the Acushnet brands from the show.
There was plenty more to see as TaylorMade, Callaway, Spalding and Nike showcased major presentations, more than making up for the loss of the other brands.
The show touted over 1,300 exhibitors covering the entire 560,000 square feet of the Orange County Convention Center.
Top new products at the show, voted on out of 275 entries in the shows new product area, included the Personal UV monitor from APA Optics, the Kangarook Kage from Hornung’s Pro Golf Sales and Silver Golf Ball Trophies from Ultimate Golf Ball, Inc.
