by The Editors on January 26, 2011
New York based fund manager Royce & Associates, LLC. filed a form 13G today (January 26 2011) with the SEC stating that they own 7.67% of Volcom common stock (1.8 million shares) and that these shares are not:
. . . held for the purpose of or with the effect of changing or influencing the control of the issuer of the securities and were not acquired and are not held in connection with or as a participant in any transaction having that purpose or effect.
Good to know. Not sure why, but it’s good.
[Link: SEC]
by The Editors on January 26, 2011
According to a report from Deutsche Bank Australia, Billabong could be a prime target for a takeover, according to a story in The Australian.
Retail analyst Alexi Baker-McLennan said in a note to clients: “We think Billabong could be an attractive LBO (leveraged buyout) target. . . “The company is trading 30 per cent below 12-month highs, highlighting that the stock could be taken out below this level with a reasonable premium. . . “An LBO of Billabong would not be for the faint-hearted. Billabong is midway through integrating a number of acquisitions, it is rolling out retail stores requiring significant further investment, it remains heavily exposed to currency and the category is undergoing significant structural change.
What a nice way to help bump up a stock price. Analysts are good that way.
[Link: The Australian]
by The Editors on January 24, 2011
With the new Nooka Neff Mindstyle watch the next time someone asks you what time it is you can say, “If I’d spent my $150 on a watch rather than on this polyurethane art bracelet I’d be able to tell you.”
The description is our favorite part:
neff has joined together with nooka to produce a product reflective of the lifestyle of an action sports athlete. these two brands have created a limited edition timepiece that utilizes an array of bright colors that will be grasp attention whether on the slopes or catching a wave.
And, if you don’t like the Neff watch you can get one of Nickelodeon’s Sponge Bob Squarepants by Dalek for $150. We really are in collab hell.
[Link: Nooka Neff]
by The Editors on January 21, 2011
After complaints about Quiksilver’s use of their old “If you can’t rock ‘n’ roll, don’t fucken come” tagline on a newsletter sign-up page on their Australian website reached New Zealand’s Advertising Standards Authority they weren’t too happy about it, according to a story on the National Business Review.
A complainant said the foul language is “unacceptable”, particularly as the brand is well-known among youth in New Zealand. . . However, the Complaints Board upheld the complaint, saying the brand appealed to under-18s and that the move to add in asterisks would not suffice to alter the meaning of the term.
Quiksilver complied and changed the image on the sign up page to a much more pleasant “Sign Up Now.” For the entire December 2010 decision and a peek into New Zealand rather silly advertising rules, follow the jump.
[click to continue…]
by The Editors on January 20, 2011
by The Editors on January 19, 2011
A thin, white male in his mid-teens to early 20s robbed Bangor, Maine’s Penobscot County Federal Credit Union late Tuesday afternoon (January 18, 2011) just before it closed, according to a story in the Bangor Daily News.
The suspect was wearing a white long-sleeve sweatshirt with “Billabong” written on it, black sunglasses, black gloves and bluejeans, as can be seen in credit union surveillance video released to the news media. . . Though police converged upon the crime scene within seconds, the suspect managed to elude them and remained at large Tuesday evening.
The shred habit can be expensive.
[Link: Bangor Daily News]
by The Editors on January 19, 2011
As one core retailer told us last week, “Everyone wants a bargain.” Well, it would appear that Nike Snowboarding is giving consumers exactly what they want with a new slew of snowboarding boots at off-price giant Ross Dress For Less.
According to a Boardistan secret shopper Nike snowboard boots which were selling at retail for $249.99 last year are now available for just $84.99 and if we wait a little longer they’ll probably drop all the way down to $20. We can hardly wait.
by The Editors on January 11, 2011
And now for the old news department: Yes, the rumor we’ve been sitting on for nearly a month is true: The La Jolla Group has handed the . . . Lost clothing license back to co-owners Matt Biolos and Joel Cooper, according to a story on ApparelNews.net.
“There was a disparity between the clothing and the boards,” Biolos told the trade publication. “The two parts of the business didn’t relate to each other. Taking the apparel back [in-house] gives us a chance to do our own thing. We want our vibe to be consistent.”
“Disparity” is such a nice way of saying it. We’re pretty sure there is no great love lost between the “edgy” surf brand and the main stream fashion licensing corporation. It will be good to see Biolos and crew back to creating some authentic surf/skate fashion on their own with no apologies.
[Link: ApparelNews.net]
by The Editors on January 10, 2011
This week the quaint ski village of Keystone Resort, Colorado is going to be over run by Zumiez sales zombies as the action mall retailer hosts it’s annual $100K party to reward all their store employees who have moved more than $100,000 in product in this economy. Awards are given to the top sales people and the awards are presented by the biggest names in action sports. Seriously, there is no larger gathering of heavyweights assembled for anything.
Okay, so we all know this. But we did see something interesting on the presenters list:
See that last name? Yeah. It’s Chris Cole presenting for DC Shoes (not Fallen). Kind of old news for the insiders, but still good to see it in print. Welcome to Quiksilver, Mr. Cole. Guess we’ll be seeing a lot more of him at The Berrics this year.
by The Editors on January 10, 2011
The Nixon Trooper headphone recently won a Good Design Award from The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design. The headhone was designed by Yves Béhar, Josh Morenstein, Pichaya Puttorngul, Serge Beaulieu, and Giuseppe Della Sala at fuseproject, in San Francisco.
The Good Design Awards are pretty OG. Here is the history:
Founded in Chicago in 1950 by architects Eero Saarinen, Charles and Ray Eames, and Edgar Kaufmann, Jr., GOOD DESIGN bestows international recognition upon the world’s most prominent designers and manufacturers for advancing new, visionary, and innovative product concepts, invention and originality, and for stretching the envelope beyond what is considered ordinary product and consumer design.
Sounds pretty good.
[Link: Nixonnow.com]
New York based fund manager Royce & Associates, LLC. filed a form 13G today (January 26 2011) with the SEC stating that they own 7.67% of Volcom common stock (1.8 million shares) and that these shares are not:
