Billabong, Hurley the Talk of Two Towns

Once the San Diego trade show was over, many surf-wear companies headed to Atlantic City, for the East Coast Action Sports Retailer expo. But it sounds like the Miss America pageant, which begins at 6 tonight is capturing more attention than skateboards and surf wear.

“The whole hotel is decorated with Miss America memorabilia--gowns, crowns, scepters, Miss America shoes,” said expo director Overin.

The Atlantic City trade show--a scaled-down version of the San Diego expo, with 200 booths--is largely populated with Orange County companies, he said.

Even in Atlantic City, much of the talk is about Hurley and Billabong, Overin said, with other surf-wear companies wondering how they can swipe some business from Billabong, which has been building a new team to handle the Australia-based company’s U.S. operations.

“Everybody wants to get a piece,” Overin said. “It’s still the buzz.”