AUSTRALIAN TRADE SHOWS
The RAT Show was held at Twin Towns, Gold Coast
A few things have changed since the first RAT show back in January, and some things haven’t. Like the fact that The Rat Show is a cooperatively operated tradeshow event that connects Australian and New Zealand retailers with the best boardsports/lifestyle brands in our region. This time round though, it was held across three days at Twin Towns, Gold Coast. Two shows in you can see how much improvement they’ve made beyond the first one.
A few things have changed since the first RAT show back in January, and some things haven’t. Like the fact that The Rat Show is a cooperatively operated tradeshow event that connects Australian and New Zealand retailers with the best boardsports/lifestyle brands in our region. This time round though, it was held across three days at Twin Towns, Gold Coast. Two shows in you can see how much improvement they’ve made beyond the first one.The celebration of surf culture was very much in effect again, with more retailers and brands participating in round two and while the first show felt more like a branding/industry building exercise, this time round definitely leant itself towards more ‘getting business done’ vibes.The change in location definitely helped bring more brands and retailers, and also gave the show a single level to walk making it easier to traverse the show. Backing up the ‘no need for this to become a dick swinging' booth design comp, every brand was clipped at two booths maximum in size and were only allowed a certain level of branding/banners on show. Some brands got creative, others didn’t, the booths that did stand out were the ones who worked their main brand colour into the design - Ritual (red), RAGE (purple) and Florence (yellow). The biggest challenge, it seemed, was for brands to utilise their booth space effectively. A lot of brands missed their shot with their layout, showing set up and booth look/feel. Bottom line, brands were letting the product tell the story and were getting bums on seats writing orders (or at least checking the ranges out) which is awesome to see.Overall the show was solid, Having the Industry together really buoyed the energy in the right direction. There was more retailers and more brands. The biggest increase was around the number of women brands turning up (Aloha Collection, Inner Relm, Pony Rider and more), which was awesome to see. If you’re an emerging brand it’s a great place to showcase what you have going on and meet new retailers. If you’re an established brand, it’s great to be there to support the industry and also re-connect/freshen up relationships (and show off anything new).Other notes I had from the show:*Great to see so many retailers at the show, booking showing appointments and writing orders. *Rivvia has a lot of buzz right now, thanks to RCal, Cado signing and JW flaring. Also Julian was front and center at showings for Rivvia.*Lots of love around seeing others from the industry in the same space.Rivvia has the energy right now, their range looked good too, they’ve figured who they are and what they’re aiming for and the range looked complete. Patagonia looked great and a really solid collection happening. Former, Vissla and Roark all had really nice ranges on show, all three brands have huge opportunities right now to take more of the industry pie (retailer budgets) and set themselves as a ‘major’ in the eyes of retailers.Apart from Rivvia, the other brand that got me hyped was Florence. Their range, for who they are targeting, is bang on the money. Colours, prints, materials, it’s all there. Might be overload for some with rashies, but the selection they have is second to none and by all reports can’t stay on the racks in the stores. Their marketing of the brothers Florence is done well, each positioned a certain way in the brand. I really like what they’re doing, and what their roadmap looks like.Rip Curl surprised me with an eBomb made from Plant rubber. They might be late to the party, but they’ve come in swinging! This felt as good as previous ebombs, but with plant rubber. Also heard a couple of whispers about the future of the Fusion design which sounds really exciting.On the hardware side, it would be sick to have more board brands there to support FCS, Futures and Creatures. Right now the only surfboard brands that showed up are JS Industries (along with Magic Carpet), …lost, Pyzel and T&C. Whether or not a dedicated hardware show is the key or having it integrated in with the current set up is up to the organisers, but will be great to have a bigger presence for hardware.Odds on I’ve missed something, or someone, so feel free to let me know. But I think it’s a pretty good wrap up of the show, and everyone should be looking forward, and feeling excited, at what the future is going to be for surf.Overall, a lot of the brands I’ve spoken to post-show have said it was worthwhile and wrote up a decent amount of business. Tim and I were both amped on it, and are excited for the next one - 12/10 would recommend attending.Check the RAT Show site for more details…
