Summertime, and the parking it loathsome. Beach is packed, and the tourists are lame. Oh, your Daddy’s tired and you ma is on fire, so sunscreen up little grommet, tighten up your game. Here are the latest news headlines you can use. Yes, we’re still doing this and by hand to boot. Enjoy
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We were saddened to learn that Vans co-founder Paul Van Doren died yesterday, Thursday, May 6, 2021. He was 90.
“In 1966, Paul, his brother James Van Doren, and their friends Gordon, Ryan Emmert and Serge D’Elia became partners in opening the first Vans store, according to Wikipedia. It took a year to build and set up the factory at 704 East Broadway in Anaheim.”
A week and a half ago Paul’s memoir Authentic was released.
In Authentic, he shares his unlikely journey from high-school dropout to sneaker-industry legend. A blue-collar kid with no higher education and zero retail experience, Van Doren started out as a 16-year-old “service boy” at a local rubber factory. Over the next few decades, he leveraged a knack for numbers, a genius for efficiency, and the know-how to make a great canvas tennis shoe into an all-American success story. What began as a family shoe business has today evolved into a globally recognized brand with billions of dollars of annual revenue.
Thanks Paul for all you did for all of us and for living an incredible, authentic life. Our thoughts are with the entire Van Doren family. If you have a Paul Van Doren story to share, please leave it in the comments.
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Blast? Cold blast? Arctic air freezing you pipes? As a warm up, please check out the latest news stories that caught our attention since the last time we posted a list of headlines. And that was a while ago. Admittedly.
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Vans cofounder Paul Van Doren, 90, has decided to tell his side of the Vans story in a new book titled Authentic: A Memoir. The book, which drops on April 27, 2021 tell the story of how he went from a 14-year-old school drop out to helping create the coolest shoe company in the world, according to a story on Forbes.
“When I was approached to write the book, I wondered how I could explain my life as a series of tidy lessons,” Van Doren tells Fortune. “Eventually I realized that what I would offer is less formula and more whatever the opposite of formula is—let’s call it fluidity. Because the truth is the boundaries between my personal and professional lives have always been blurred.”
Looking forward to slipping into this one for sure. For more info, or to purchase a copy, click the link.
[Link: Forbes]
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The stories that shape our world are the stories that we share. Here are the headlines that caught our eye during the past month. And yes, it was a rough one. But we’re not going to let that get in the way of sharing with you. Click the link for all the stories.
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Creating these lists of news headlines is a lot like popping bubble wrap–it’s pointless, annoying, and yet so outrageously satisfying.
Here, enjoy the pointless, annoying fruits of our Monday Morning satisfaction. Click the link for December’s edition of action news from around the globe.
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The London-based Turkish designer Dilara Findikoglu teams up with local skate crew, Yillar Ziyan, to show you the beautiful chaos of the country’s largest city in a new short film.
[Link: ID]
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EPOKHE, the eyewear brand founded by Kai Neville, Dion Agius, and Mitch Coleborn is getting a little business jump in the form of former Oakley players Paul Higgins and Campbell North and Nathan McGregor CFO of Aizer Group.
Alongside Dion and Kai, other Epokhe shareholders joining the new entity are Mitch Coleborn, Jack Freestone, Taj Burrow, Chippa Wilson and Creed McTaggart. Founder and Design Director, Dion Agius, stated that “we are all so happy to have found partners with such extensive commercial wisdom and eyewear industry experience. The excitement that they have for the brand is contagious and feels like a whole new chapter for us. With this comes the back-end support for Kai and I to continue to explore the never ending creative possibilities with the brand, our surf team and our eyewear designs.”
A few good business heads, never hurts, right? For the official word from EPOKHE, please follow the jump.
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Jake Burton Carpenter’s final personal project was called Mine 77. With it he reportedly got to build, design, and create products for himself without thinking about the market, or Burton’s customers, or anything else that gets in the way of personal creativity. At least that’s the brand story.
Burton just dropped the latest collection (in commemoration of Jake) and it includes this rocket Gore-Tex 11-Pocket Coverall. Here’s what Timi Carpenter says about it:
We pulled out all the stops – Gore-Tex fabric, strategic durability patches, and a long list of features. Every detail has a purpose — that was always a big thing with my dad. He also loved pockets and this one has a shitload of them. 11 to be exact including one that’s insulated to protect you phone. Some pockets have magnetic closures for easy access while others are zipped for locking down your valuables.
Pull this on over a base layer and you’re good to go for all day powder blasting. No snow down the butt, no belly gap. Just all over function, warmth, and steez. Click the link to buy one before they’re gone (smalls and mediums are already sold out).
[Link: Mine 77]
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You have to be happy for James Jabbia, right? He borrows a logo, opens a shop, puts the logo on a bunch of stuff and builds a multi-billion dollar fashion house out of it. Pure marketing at its most fluid, frictionless, and fun. Amazing.
The question, however, is what is VF Corp getting for all this money? A large collection of often red and white collabs, a formerly rabid fan base, and the elimination of a minor competitor? Yes, but they’re also getting Jabbia who will reportedly stay on with the brand as it continues to be headquartered in NYC.
VF Corp CEO Steve Rendle has. . .
. . .described the acquisition of Supreme as validation of the company’s strategy to evolve VF Corp’s brand portfolio in line with the market opportunities driving the apparel and footwear sector. At the same time the company can leverage its scale to sustain Supreme’s long-term growth and expand its global footprint. This will open up revenue growth of 8-10% over the coming five years believes Roe.
So there’s that, plus close to $500 million to add to annual VF sales. VF has been a good steward for Vans, so it’s very possible they will do the same with Supreme. The biggest question of all is will Supreme’s loyal fan base go along with artificially constrained product drops from a mega-corp that could just as easily make an unlimited supply of each item. Only time will tell.
[Link: Forbes]
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