Hey, look: Volcom made boat loads of money in Q1. In fact, total consolidated revenues were $77.4 million with $42 million of that passing through as gross profit. Hot damn. It appears there’s a future in marking up China products. Q1 was so good that even CEO Wooly was surprised.
“Our results for the quarter were stronger than we had anticipated, representing a solid start to the year and continued strength for both the Volcom and Electric brands,” said Richard Woolcott, Volcom’s chairman and chief executive officer. “Combined with great product, focused marketing and solid distribution, we believe we are well positioned to capitalize on the many opportunities before us and pave the way for continued growth and success.”
Here is our favorite stat: “At March 31, 2010 the company had cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments totaling $109 million, and no long-term debt.” Read it again: no long-term debt.
On Saturday, April 24, 2010, Shane Wallace invited a few people to Rancho Cucamonga, California for the soft-launch opening of OK Skate’s first retail showroom. It was a chance to show everyone what he and the OK Skate crew have been working on for the past six months.
Located on a frontage street near Interstate 15 just North of Interstate 10, the warehouse/ office/ showroom combo is in that strange zone between the Eastern edge of Los Angeles sprawl and the Western front of the Inland Empire. The business park that houses OK Skate is a few blocks from the nearest retail center, but signs on the upstairs windows are visible from the southbound lanes of the freeway. Commuters who continue further south can’t help but notice the large Active Ride Shop warehouse on the opposite side of the 15. The location is likely no accident, though Shane says it was chosen based on “area demographics.”
OK Skate marks Wallace’s return to retail after the Active Ride Shop bankruptcy and subsequent sale pulled the rug out from under much of the industry last March. Between greeting friends at the door, putting final tweaks on the POS system, and watching kids skate the showroom’s mini ramp, Shane had time to sneak upstairs to his office above the shop for a short interview to discuss what OK Skate is, how it came about, and what they have planned for the future.
Follow the jump for photos and the entire interview.
[Editors’ Note April 30, 2010: After reading the interview for the first time online, Shane had a few things to add. We have placed those comments at the end of the interview.] [click to continue…]
The Peanuts licenses generate annual retail sales of more than $2 billion world-wide, according to Iconix. “This asset is a dream for a marketer,” said Neil Cole, chief executive of Iconix, who said his favorite Peanuts character is Charlie Brown. . . “Neil and his team have great respect for who the Peanuts characters are and they honor all we have accomplished, and the spirit with which we do business,” said Jean Schulz, Mr. Schulz’s widow.
According to the story “Iconix expects Peanuts to generate roughly $75 million in annual royalties.” Apparently, newspapers companies are looking for revenue where ever they can find it. We can hardly wait for the Zoo York x Pig Pen collab decks. . .
Adidas Originals appears to have hooked up a little collab with Burton Snowboards that will bring Burton off the snow and Adidas Originals in with the shred kids, according to a story on Sports One Source.
The line, which will consist of 21 apparel pieces and seven styles of footwear, is expected to hit select Adidas Originals and Burton stores worldwide in November. It will sport Adidas Originals Trefoil and Burton branding and prices will range from $40 to $350 for apparel and $90 to $200 for footwear.
Adidas Originals’ VP Ben Pruess and Burton’s SVP & CD Greg Dacyshyn seem overjoyed with the deal. It’s two-two marketing plans in one.
Product photos on High Snobiety (via Empire Ave). Or, follow the jump for the entire release
A press release issued by the Carlsbad, California based Simo Holdings, Inc. seems to suggest that Gatorz (the eyewear company) and No Fear (the brand) are somehow getting together in what the release terms a “reverse take-over of Gatorz by No Fear.” Here are a few of the details:
Pursuant to the terms of the Merger Agreement, among other things: (i) Simo Holdings will sell to Gatorz all of the shares of common stock it owns in No Fear Retail Stores, Inc. (“No Fear”), a subsidiary of Simo Holdings, in exchange for 99,075,001 common shares of Gatorz and 52,441,932 restricted common shares of Gatorz; and (ii) NF Acquisition Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Gatorz, will merge with and into No Fear.
As we have no idea what any of this means, we’ll skip the speculation and just direct everyone to the entire press release which appears after the jump. [click to continue…]
The “Our Park” video was posted to Youtube by Hybebeast TV and explains how Nike’s plans to build a skate plaza in Tokyo’s Miyashita Park aren’t sitting well with the artists who frequent the park, nor the homeless people who live there. Check it out.
Quiksilver is doing something nice for some of their employees according to tender offer papers filed yesterday (April 19, 2010) with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
According to the documents, Quiksilver is now giving eligible employees and contractors the ability to trade in their underwater stock options for a fewer number stock options at what may be a reduced price. Those who have options with an “exercise price per share greater than $7.71” that were “granted prior to October 19, 2008 under the Company’s Amended and Restated 2000 Stock Incentive Plan” have until 5 PM Pacific Time on May 17, 2010 to decide if they’d like to trade their options in for fewer options at the stock’s price on May 18, 2010.
Here’s why the Quik decided on the changes:
We believe that an effective and competitive incentive program for our employees and consultants is imperative for the success of our business. We rely on our experienced and productive employees and consultants and their efforts to help us achieve our business objectives. At Quiksilver, stock options constitute a key component of our incentive and retention programs because we believe that equity compensation encourages employees and consultants to act like owners of the business, motivating them to work toward our success and rewarding their contributions by allowing them to benefit from increases in the value of our shares.
Options eligible for the trade cover an aggregate of 4,105,852 shares or $10 million worth. One upside is that for most employees (excluding some European workers) the new stock options have a five-year term, rather than the Quik’s regular 10-year term. Any eligible employees who’d rather have their stock option money sooner rather than later might find this deal extremely attractive, and may actually give them a reason to stick around a little longer.
The NBA Mix Master series is a limited edition, and only 100 headphones of each team and player will be made. Once they’re sold out, they’re gone for good. Skullcandy unveiled the lineup this week, but the NBA Mix Master headphones will be available to purchase on the Skullcandy Web site and at select Apple Store locations in cities that match up with the featured teams on April 20th, for $299 each.
Achem, did they say $299? Add Skullcandy to the “action ball lovers” list that already includes Vans and Girl Skateboards/Neff and add anyone who buys them to the “people with the wrong priorities” list.
Houston, Texas based oil man William Kallop filed documents today (April 15, 2010) with the SEC stating that his Offshore Exploration and Production, LLC owns 7 percent (or 9,081,590 shares of Quiksilver common stock). The names of the reporting persons include Mr. Kallop, as well as Brooks Kallop and Brent Kallop who own .1 percent each.
Kallop, who made significant off-shore oil discoveries in Peru through Petro-Tech Peruana, a Peruvian subsidiary of his privately owned The Offshore International Group in 2005, sold his company in February 2009 to Korean National Oil Corp and Columbia’s Ecopetrol for a reported $900 million, according to a story in Offshore Magazine.
Peru’s president Alan Garcia later asked the Peruvian Congress to investigate the timing of Offshore International Group sale, according to a story on The Motely Fool, because Petro-Tech Peruana was “under investigation for possible connections to illegally taped conversations in an oil-kickback scandal” that caused “the worst political crisis” in Garcia’s two year administration.
A couple things are for sure: Mr. Kallop knows his way around international business, and his owning $48 million in Quiksilver stock would seem to suggest that he is rather bullish on the brand currently.
Hey, look: Volcom made boat loads of money in Q1. In fact, total consolidated revenues were $77.4 million with $42 million of that passing through as gross profit. Hot damn. It appears there’s a future in marking up China products. Q1 was so good that even CEO Wooly was surprised.
