by The Editors on January 30, 2009
Nokia Corp. and Skullcandy have apparently agreed to settle their differences outside of the courtroom according to a post on Law360.
A judge has signed off on a request to drop Nokia Corp. without prejudice from an infringement suit brought by Skullcandy Inc. over two patents for an integrator that allows a user to use a music player and a mobile telephone through one set of headphones after the two sides agreed to resolve the dispute out of court.
So that’s where Skullcandy’s next big funding round is coming from. It’s beginning to make sense.
[Link: Law360]
by The Editors on January 30, 2009
Nixon founders Andy Laats and Chad DiNenna were recently interviewed on video by a journalism student at Cal Sate San Marcos for the San Diego Source Daily Transcript and story on the company in which the two discussed some of the secrets behind the launch of the action sports watch company.
DiNenna was looking for a watch that fit his lifestyle: outdoorsy — but not the type a hiker would wear; and sophisticated — but not a timepiece you’d expect to see on your grandfather. The problem was that it didn’t seem like anyone was making what he was looking for.
Outdoorsy? Yes. It is nice that Andy and Chad take the time to work with students and do these interviews, because we love watching Chad smirk.
[Link: San Diego Source]
by The Editors on January 30, 2009
We’re kind of glad to be done with the show, but we’ve got one more batch of photos. Follow the jump for 53 more from the floor.
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by The Editors on January 28, 2009
Wasserman Media’s action agent Circe Wallace rolled out her new Circe Snow line of sophisticated outerwear for women to an intimate group of friends and retailers on the 62nd floor of The Hotel in Las Vegas last night.
Circe says she dreamed the line up after doing a deal for Travis Rice. “This whole thing came about because I did a deal for Travis Rice with Quiksilver,” she said. “I told Travis I wanted a signing bonus and I told him I wanted a Chanel one-piece ski suit but I couldn’t find one anywhere.”
After looking around for what was available for a more sophisticated snowboard customer Circe discovered that there really was nothing out there that she really wanted to wear. “I was going to make my own pattern and then I decided why not make something fun and fabulous for every one my age,” Circe said. “And from that spawned the idea of an interchangable adornment system.”
The line is made up three basic pieces: pant, jacket, and a one-piece suit. And they come in only two mix and matchable colors: champagne and black. “I’m all about the one piece,” she said. “I don’t think a women should ride in anything else ever. You can make a snow angel and it’s all good. Back gap is bad for girls.”
Follow the jump for the rest of the story and more photos.
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by The Editors on January 28, 2009
Pacific Sunwear has cut 11 percent of its headquarters and management staff by laying off 47 people, according to a story on Forbes.com.
The actions announced today are aimed at putting our company in a stronger position to weather the continuing challenges in the macroeconomic environment while enabling us to continue moving forward with the key strategic initiatives we have under way,” said Sally Frame Kasaks, chairman and chief executive.
Rough times for mall fashions, huh?
[Link: Forbes]
by The Editors on January 27, 2009
With all the rumor mongering going on about Quiksilver selling this or being bought by that, it is interesting to see that there is at least one analyst out there who is still rating Quiksilver a buy thanks to the company eliminating 200 jobs and a possible debt restructuring in February.
However, KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Brandon J. Ferro said the news means “an outright sale of Quiksilver or one of its brands is much less likely now than it was when we initiated coverage in early December 2008, as it helps to indicate the Company has made significant progress in resolving near-term liquidity issues.”
We really don’t know who to believe at this point.
[Link: MSNBC]
by The Editors on January 27, 2009
It’s been available to team riders for years, but now Sole Tech is rolling out a full outerwear line in “finer snowboard shops next winter.” And we hope there are a few of them left in this economy (rim shot, please).
“ThirtyTwo saw a need for something different in the snowboard outerwear market, outerwear that guys want to wear again – no man-jamas or aspiring fashion models here. I feel that our outwear line listens to the call from those guys,” said Brad Alband, ThirtyTwo sales and design manager. “The line takes its inspiration from classic outdoor gear and this theme is reflected across the color palette of the collection.”
We haven’t seen the line but we’re looking forward to doing that just as soon as we get to Vegas; and that should be any hour now.
by The Editors on January 26, 2009
Last night when we said that Tuesday January 27, 2009 was “bring a box to work day” at Quiksilver we had no idea that so many boxes would be required.
Now that we’ve seen the press release on the Quiksilver site we better understand what was meant when we were told “the list is so long Bob doesn’t even want to look at the names.”
The company will eliminate 200 positions as part of the plan, including a reduction-in-force of approximately 150 employees which is expected to account for roughly one-third of the annual cost reductions. Quiksilver expects to record a charge of approximately $5 million in its first fiscal quarter as a result of these actions. . . Robert B. McKnight, Jr., commented, “All levels of our organization are affected by these actions as nearly 20 percent of the employees involved in the reduction hold manager-level titles or higher.
Now it sounds more like “bring a box to work week.” The worst part of all of this is that most of the people going to work tomorrow at Quiksilver have no idea if or when they will be called into HR, laid off, and given an exit interview.
Follow the jump for the entire press release and Bob McKnight’s memo to Quiksilver employees.
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by The Editors on January 26, 2009
We’re guilty. Like many others we spent most of Friday standing around in the isles of the ASR Show talking about how bad things are, how much worse they’re going to get, and whether buying or selling Quiksilver stock is a good idea. The opinions on the later were mixed, regardless of what personalized license plates may have been telling us.
Mixed in with all the gloom, however, were some words of encouragement. Ocean Minded CEO Gary Ward was walking the isles with his lovely daughter Shannon and when we hit him with the “how bad is it” question he set us straight directly.
“Let’s put it this way,” he said. “It’s ten times better than we thought it would be. This industry is a family and no one is stopping this family.”
We wondered if the “family members” who committed to the January ASR show might be benefiting a little from the fact that many of their larger competitors weren’t showing. “Are you kidding? Nauds is laughing right now,” he said of Billabong’s Paul Naude. “He’s had a great year and look at their booths; they are packed. For sure, the people who stuck it out are reaping the benefits.”
Follow the jump for the rest of the story.
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by The Editors on January 26, 2009
Find more videos like this on AdGabber
Bob McKnight is apparently using “technology” to help Quiksilver stay ahead of the “wolf pack” and surf a thrilling “tsunami” and still “rip it up” according to this new commercial for Microsoft.
Could the launch of this commercial possibly be more poorly timed? Microsoft does it again.
Nokia Corp. and Skullcandy have apparently agreed to settle their differences outside of the courtroom according to a post on Law360.
