In a handful of Schedule 13gs filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday (January 31, 2009) investment firm BlackRock Inc. reminded us all that they own action fashion. After they purchased Barclays Global Investors from Barclays Bank PLC on December 1, 2010 they own just over five percent of the shares of Volcom, Quiksilver, VF Corp, and Pac Sun.
In fact, with 1.5 million shares of Volcom, 9.6 million shares of Quk, 6.4 million shares of VF Corp and 3.4 million in Pac Sun they’re in to action fashion for over half a billion dollars. . . that’s swinging some pretty large . . . shares.
In a filing today with the SEC among the list of purposes for Quiksilver’s next shareholders meeting (March 26, 2010) was item number three (directly following a proposal to increase the number of authorized shares of common stock by 100 million):
3. To consider and vote upon a proposal to approve the grant of 3,000,000 shares of our restricted common stock to Kelly Slater as part of his sponsorship agreement;
Getting Kelly Slater to buy-in on the future of the company is a pretty good idea, actually. Few things are more motivating than the idea that you could make $20 million (or more) in the next couple years if Quik’s stock ever climbs up out of the dumps. Nice thinking.
Eddie Wall has signed with Bond Outerwear and Weekend Snowboards according to an announcement that went out last night just in time for day one of SIA Show in Denver.
“Our whole philosophy with our brands is to work with people, whether they are reps, riders, or our accounts, that get what we are doing and have the same passion for it that we do,” stated Dan McNamara, co-Founder of Bond Outerwear. “Eddie is a great fit for us because he is one of us, and having him as part of the family means the world to Christian and I.”
Eddie joins Heikki Sorsa and TJ Schneider on Bond and Mark Carter and Heikki on Weekend Snowboards. Sounds like the Laguna Beach, California scene is back on the up.
Pharrell is looking all winterfresh these days with some Nike Danny Kass snowboots and his newly designed chair that looks to have borrowed some design stylings from a Kassbohrer PistenBully. What now, the Billionaire Snowboys Club?
The crew at IllicitSnowboarding.com has created a beautiful little “infographic” that illustrates how a few corporations run most of the brands in action sports. It makes a nice little quick reference card for those times when you’d like to do business with a small guy.
When the mainstream media visits the action sports world (even a corporate giant like Luxotica’sOakley) their sense of gee-wizness is always entertaining. This mood is pretty self-evident in the title of Tom McNichol’s Time.com’ story on their visit to Foothill Ranch: Oakley’s Pursuit of Cool.
It’s not fair to say that the inmates are running the asylum at Oakley, the hypercool eyewear company–they’re designing and engineering the joint as well. . . . “Pursuit of cool” is not part of the company’s mission statement, but it’s a heck of a recruiting slogan. “Most of my engineering friends went into horribly stifling jobs where they get to design things like an on-off switch that clicks,” says Neil Ferrier, 26, an advanced-product-development engineer. “The freedom here at Oakley is fantastic. Once you’re given the basic aims of a project, you’re free to run with it.”
It would appear that the days of buying Von Zipper shades just to knock out the lenses and replace them with prescription glass are over according to a new section of the Von Zipper website.
Von Zipper Optical is bringing the focus back to the eye chart. So, lock and load your pocket protectors, pack up your scientific calculators and light up the Busen burner. . . Mixing geek chic contemporary looks with renegade sheik forwardness, this collection has every angle on your protractor covered to get you through all the fine print for life.
The new frame launch goes down in March 18-21, 2010 at Vision Expo in NYC.
Core mall retailer Zumiez apparently wasn’t happy with the performance of their store at The District at Tustin Legacy mall in Southern California’s Orange County, according to a post in the OC Register.
Kim Daskas, spokeswoman for Vestar, which owns The District sent me this statement: “The Zumiez closure comes at a time when many chains are downsizing and restructuring to meet the challenges of the recent economic downturn. As always, Vestar will take the lead role in finding an appropriate replacement store selected to improve and complement our retail mix.”
You gotta know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em.
Apparently, UNIV’s Tim Swart will occasionally speak when a camera is rolling. Guess Jim Shubin and the ASR Live crew are tame enough, and check that Class @ ASR plug at the end. . . that’s called synergy.
Frankfurt, Germany’s skate and sneaker show Bright goes down this weekend. It’s a little late to book tickets, but if you live down the street check it out.
In a handful of Schedule 13gs filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Friday (January 31, 2009) investment firm BlackRock Inc. reminded us all that they own action fashion. After they purchased Barclays Global Investors from Barclays Bank PLC on December 1, 2010 they own just over five percent of the shares of Volcom, Quiksilver, VF Corp, and Pac Sun.
