Surf Expo September 2011

2011 Surf Expo-losion

Words by Mike Lewis, Editor In Chief, TransWorld Business




While Surf Expo is officially over, attendees are still unpacking their booths, following up on new contacts, and hurriedly writing orders to meet deadlines.

Show staff was also busy compiling the show's attendance numbers, which required a little extra time with all the new attendees. This September's show attendance climbed 13% overall from last year with a cumulative buyer attendance of more than 11,000 pulled from 6,400 retailers. The show also saw exhibitor numbers climb 14% with 825 exhibitors representing more than 4,000 brands.

"We were super stoked to see not only the increase in buyers, but in the business being done in the booths," says Surf Expo Show Director Roy Turner. "Our demo day at the Orlando Water Park kicked things off in high gear and floor events were busier than ever. The TransWorld Wake Awards spilled over onto the floor; with many award recipients taking runs on the on-floor wake cable setup. If one word were to describe the show it would have to be diversity, with exhibitors and buyers representing surf, skate, wake, kite, SUP, freedive, and swim and resort categories. Exhibitors are feeling the magic of that diversity as they were able to connect with new cross category buyers as well as service existing clients. Buyers on the other hand were exposed not only to new products and companies but completely new categories."

Some of the busiest areas during the show included longboarding, SUP, wakeboarding, swim, and the new freediving category, which featured a demonstration tank and daily seminars, which drew large crowds.

"The show went really well for us," says Landyachtz USA Sales Nate Schumacher, whose Vancouver-based longboarding brand's booth was packed from open to close. "We opened a good number of accounts on the floor, met a lot of potential leads, and had a great time doing it."

The vibe was similar in the wake world. "We had an incredible show," adds Slingshot Sports Creative + Marketing Direcotr Gary Huck. "We saw so much interest in our products and the brand definitely got noticed. The people at Expo let us know that our booth had one of the highest traffic of the show according to their data. Orders were up across the board and we really feel that 2012 is going to be a big year for us. Fun stuff!"


Read More of the report from TransWorld Business (http://business.transworld.net/72684/features/surf-expo-2011/0)

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Surf Expo
• Trade Show
• Surfing
• Vans
• Wakeboarding
• Billabong
• Freediving