by The Editors on April 14, 2009
Much has been written about Patagonia’s Yvon Chouinard, but when he was in Australia for the opening of a Patagonia store in Torquay (opened in partnership with surf legend Wayne Lynch) The Age’s Saturday Editor Michael Gordon got to check in with the businessman that Gordon calls a contrarian.
The contrarian streak is evident soon after our conversation begins, overlooking the surf at Torquay. “I don’t like authority and I always wanted to do it my way,” he says. “I wanted to have a company where I could do things differently and not end up like a grease-ball businessman.”
We’ve always thought Patagonia was a little too cool to be cool, but this profile on the man behind the brand made us like their whole groove a little more than we did before reading it. And that surprised us a little.
[Link: Sydney Morning Herald]
by The Editors on April 9, 2009
Electric Pig “the UK’s fastest growing tech news site” has alerted us to the fact that Skullcandy’s Snoop Dogg Skullcrusher headphones come in “gang colours.” Where you from, g?
What’s got us worried though is the blue bandana design: that’s the colour of infamous LA street gang the Crips, who Snoop Dogg was a proud member of in younger years. So much so that he even rapped about it on one song: “I keep a blue flag hanging out my backside/ But only on the left side, yeah that’s the Crip side.” For real. Watch yourself if you wear these Snoop Dogg headphones on the east side, or just buy the black version.
Yeah, you better watch yo’ self at least until the Bloods version comes out, homie.
[Link: Electric Pig]
by The Editors on April 9, 2009
Yesterday, while strolling the isles of our local Walmart in search of storage bins and Giant Cheetos we noticed some attractive women’s monokinis. They were from some brand called Op and selling for $20.
It got us thinking: what is the difference between a $20 Op bikini and an $78 Roxy suit? Aside from mean girl scorn all we could come up with was marketing. For people who don’t mind wearing a Walmart bikini (and there are millions of them) there is no reason to spend four times as much.
So last night when TransWorld Business and Shop-Eat-Surf were tweeting away about how the La Jolla Group was doing a special Rusty line for J.C. Penney we had to chuckle. Of course they are. And so is Ryan Sheckler and Zoo York. Because if you’re just in the game to get paid there is really is no reason to protect your distribution. If Op is any indicator this could be the biggest sales year ever for all three companies. And what is wrong with that? You know, aside from everything. . .
For the latest on the J.C. Penney action fashion coup follow the jump.
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by The Editors on April 8, 2009
Our bromance with Vans looks to see no soon end as the footwear giant just relaunched their Vans Customs site. This means anyone can start with fresh white pair of Eras, Slip-ons, or Old Skools and then jack them up until their eyes bleed.
After 20 minutes of making all kinds of customs we finally settled on the new Vans x Boardistan Old Skool. We dare you to find a shoe more delicious that this. Seriously. . . impossible.
[Link: Vans Customs]
by The Editors on April 8, 2009
What does the RS stand for? Real Sucky. Okay, couldn’t pass that one up. Sorry. All serious now. Ryan Sheckler, Inc. has teamed up with Wicked Fashions, Inc. to deliver a line of “graphic t-shirts, hoodies, thermals, woven tops and skate-fit denim for both Young Men and Boys, all of which mirror Sheckler’s signature style.”
“Skateboarding is my life and skating in something comfortable and stylish is a must. Ultimately, my goal is to take the clothes that my friends and I enjoy wearing and make them available to a larger audience at an affordable price,” says Sheckler. Retail prices for the line will range from $15 – $55 for Young Men and $12 – $48 for Boys.
RS By Sheckler (which joins Southpole in the Wicked fashion stable) drops just in time for the fall back-to-school buying season and will be available at major, leading retailers in July. Because major, leading retailers is where the mass market shops and the mass market is where the mass money is. Word. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on April 8, 2009
Piper Jaffray has just released the results from their 17th semi-annual survey Taking Stock With Teens and as might be expected the news is not good. Teens are now spending 14 percent less on fashion and in juniors it was down 19 percent. Looks like the bottom of the “discretionary recession” was not hit last summer as Piper Jaffray claimed in their last report.
“After the drop in teen spending stabilized last fall, it is apparent that the continued challenges in the economy are having a dramatic impact on teen spending this spring and the 14 percent decrease is a direct reflection of this,” said senior research analyst Jeff Klinefelter. “The decrease in spending leads us to believe that the economy is forcing parents and teens to cut back on spending across the board. Teens and their parents are still buying new clothes, footwear and accessories, but are more selective and increasingly price conscious. This will force retailers to discount prices and offer unique promotions to keep a steady flow of spending until the economy improves.”
Luckily, for the action sports fashion world the number one “brand” is still what Piper Jaffray calls “West Coast Brands.” Yeah, our category is so small that Piper continues to group PacSun, Volcom, Quik, and Zumiez together in one category, otherwise none of them would likely show up on the list. The rest of the list looks something like this:
Hollister, Nike, Forever 21, and American Eagle. Specifically among brands ranked by young women, Hollister took the “most preferred” position, while West Coast Brands continued to remain a favorite among young men.
For the rest of the highlights including notes on teen video games, digital, music and restaurant spending follow the jump.
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by The Editors on April 5, 2009
It seems that executives who leave the privately held Australian surf giant Rip Curl can pretty much forget about keeping any of the shares they got as part of their employment. Most recently Rip Curl has bought back 150,000 shares from former board chairman James Strong for $1 a piece, according to a story in the Sydney Morning Herald.
It appears that the company has only paid $1 a share for Mr Strong’s stake, as part of an arrangement to buy them back at the price they were issued seven years ago. . . . But Rip Curl’s C-class stock is set at $62 a share, valuing Mr Strong’s 148,412’s shares at a nominal $9.2 million, according to documents filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. . . The final amount paid to the former chairman was part of a “confidential settlement agreement” relating to his departure, the company said in ASIC filings on Friday.
You don’t stay “closely held” by letting voting shares get to far from the nest, apparently.
[Link: Sydney Morning Herald]
by The Editors on April 2, 2009
After the January 2009 ASR show we’d be surprised at nothing, but ASR today announced that they are moving the dates for 2010 to February 3-4 and August 14-16.
“By realigning ASR’s dates we believe the industry can best position itself for future growth,” says Andy Tompkins, ASR Group Show Director. “Through ongoing dialogue with both our exhibitor and retail attendees, it became apparent that the timing of the ASR January show was too early to completely service fall line breaks. In the future, August show dates will allow buyers to preview the entire landscape of action sports product before making purchase decisions.”
And according to quotes from VeeCo’s Tom Ruiz, and Lost’s Joel Cooper these dates are great. Follow the jump for the entire release.
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by The Editors on April 1, 2009
[April Fools Day Story 2009] With the warm shred weather finally hitting, 686 is happy to announce the release of their newest light weight jacket: the Multiple Wind Breaker.
Available in Kelly Green and Black, this lightweight, all-over printed shell jacket keeps you just the right temperature while tearing up the spring snow, yet is long enough to trap flatulence for extended personal enjoyment.
“There is nothing like smoldering on the lift and basking in the warmth of your own ass breeze,” said 686 social stench marketer Hoo Cheit. “In the winter wearing heavy gear it’s easy to trap odors, but in the spring it’s much more difficult. That’s why we added 8 inches to the waist of the jacket. But the best part is our patented third ‘multiple’ sleeve.”
The third sleeve? Yes, 686 has added an exhaust sleeve that runs up the back of the jacket from the seat and over the shoulder for riders who are more interested in mainlining their crack steam. Cheit says the sleeve can be placed over the nose and mouth for full force anal emission ingestion.
The Multiple Wind Breaker features reverse 1,000MM waterproofing/1,000 GM breathability rating to make sure the farts won’t get out until you let them.
[Link: 686]
by The Editors on March 31, 2009
TEC, the Ketchum, Idaho based producer of the ScotteVest has sued 32 jacket manufacturers including: Bonfire, Burton, Helly Hansen, Nike, Nikita, Quiksilver, and V.F. Corporation over a patent (US Patent Number RE 40,613) that among other things allegedly protects a pocket design which includes a slot that allows a headphone wire to pass through, according to a story on Sports One Source.
According to the complaint, “each and every defendant named herein makes, uses, sells and/or imports at least one jacket and/or model of jacket that is designed to provide the wearer with wire management capabilities for portable electronic devices, including, for example, cellular telephones, mp3 players, iPods, and the like, that facilitates the management of wires running from the electronic device to the user.”
According to his myspace page TEC owner Scott Jordan, 44, is “a corporate lawyer with no design experience.” This entire lawsuit will probably get more interesting before it goes away. We’ll keep you posted.
[Link: Sports One Source]
Much has been written about Patagonia’s Yvon Chouinard, but when he was in Australia for the opening of a Patagonia store in Torquay (opened in partnership with surf legend Wayne Lynch) The Age’s Saturday Editor Michael Gordon got to check in with the businessman that Gordon calls a contrarian.
