MAGIC Heats Up Sports-Apparel Market

The battle over where Orange County apparel makers will unveil their new lines to retailers is heating up.

The owners of MAGIC International are planning a new trade show called MAGIC Sport aimed at the sports-apparel market. The event will run concurrently with MAGIC’s fall trade show from Aug. 31 to Sept. 3 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The show runs a week before the Action Sports Retailer (ASR) Trade Expo’s annual fall show. The Laguna Beach company’s three-day show opens Sept. 10 at the San Diego Convention Center.

For MAGIC, an acronym for Men’s Apparel Guild in California, the sports-apparel show fulfills a long-standing desire to serve a fast-growing marketplace that last year totaled $38 billion in sales.

“Up until now, space limitations have made it impossible for us to represent the width and breadth . . . of the field,” said Joe Loggia, MAGIC’s president.

For Orange County apparel makers, it raises the question of whether to devote additional resources to another trade show. While predominantly rooted in surfing, dozens of Orange County apparel makers also make clothing and gear for snowboarding, skateboarding and roller-blading.

ASR doesn’t seem too concerned about the stepped-up competition.

“Our manufacturers have long told us that the weekend after Labor Day weekend is the perfect time,” said Court Overin, director of the ASR Trade Expo.

The beginning of September is a critical time for apparel makers, most of whom are putting the final touches on new lines for fall and working on merchandising and presentation programs.

ASR hopes to continue to set itself apart from MAGIC by offering retailers more than just apparel.

“From what we can tell, MAGIC isn’t bringing any hard goods in, so they’re only capturing about 70% of what’s available in the sports field,” Overin said. “We consider ourselves more of an active lifestyle show.”

MAGIC Sport also will run at MAGIC’s spring trade show, which opens a couple of weeks after ASR’s mid-February show. That show, which is held at the Long Beach Convention Center, is more problematic for both manufacturers and retailers, coming too late for the garment makers to introduce new lines, and too late for many merchants, who have done most of their buying by then.

Russ Stanton covers retail businesses and restaurants for The Times. He can be reached at (714) 966-5609 and at russ.stanton@latimes.com