by The Editors on September 15, 2008
As we overhead someone say last week, “Ol’ Naude has had a pretty good year.” And we would agree. According to a report in Australia’s The Age Billabong’s Paul Naude unloaded a few shares last week:
Last Monday he sold 250,000 shares at AUS$13.35 each. The AUS$3.3 million was the most he had raised from share sales for quite a while. . . . Last year he disposed of 100,000 at AUS$15.52 a share, while going right back into history — March 2006 — he raised AUS$2 million when he flogged 125,000 shares at AUS$16.06 a share.
Taking a little money off the table probably isn’t a bad idea right now.
[Link: The Age]
by The Editors on September 13, 2008
Wonder why we never see product from Hollister on sale at CostCo?
by The Editors on September 9, 2008
When we look back at our time at the fall ASR Show we think of all the great things we missed: the people we didn’t talk to (like Hurley’s Bar Rafaeli, the skateboarding we didn’t see, and the amazing product that we missed. But then we realize that at least we have these photos to remember the show a by.
Follow the link for more photos and captions.
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by The Editors on September 8, 2008
It may have been held September 4-6, 2008, but this ASR show felt a lot like a typical January show in terms of size and scale. Still the must-attend trade show of the season, this year buyers, retailers, and exhibitors were gritting their teeth and smiling through a show that comes in the midst of a sliding U.S. economy.
At the surface, things seemed status quo—models in skimpy swimsuits handing out flyers, a full beer garden, after-show parties, and free-flowing drinks come 5 o’clock. But spend more than five minutes talking to nearly anyone on the floor, and the word recession rose quickly to the surface.
“I’m one of the few people here old enough to remember the last real recession,” says Jeff Harbaugh, market analyst and industry consultant. “It’s bad, and it’s going to be a while before we see the end of this one.”
Even those booths and brands who seemed unaffected were keeping their guard up. “As quickly as it comes, it can go,” says SkullCandy’s Luke Edgar in reference to his brand’s current meteoric popularity. “It’s especially important in hard-economic times to keep our heads down, be humble and treat our retailers with respect, and keep charging ahead.”
Click continue for the rest of the story. . .
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by The Editors on September 8, 2008
We hate to say it, but anyone who thought the 80s revival was over is thankfully wrong. Who would think that anyway?
From the look of some of the products on the floor at the September 2008 ASR show, the neon wave is just beginning to peak. Which is great for those who lived through it the first time. And even more fun for kids who’ve never seen color before.
Funny thing is: we like it all. Bright colors are rad. Video games are rad. And, the Dragon Domos (pictured above) are totally rad.
Follow the link for a few more rad things we saw at the show
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by The Editors on September 8, 2008
Some pretty large brands were missing from the ASR show floor this September. While a few disappeared from the San Diego trade show scene completely (Analog, Podium), others like WESC, Nikita, Sole Technology, Gravis, Supra, and 686 all opted for little stalls at the Agenda Trade Show.
Located less than a mile away from the San Diego Convention Center in the San Diego Concourse, Agenda is five and half years old and has shadowed ASR’s dates eleven times. But this is the first time we’ve ever made it over to see the much talked about show in person.
This year Agenda featured 107 brands (The Hundreds, Cre8tive Recreation, Crooks & Castles, Obey, etc. . . ) which cater to the T-shirts and sneakers boutique crowd.
Agenda likes getting people from ASR to come over for a visit. They like it so much that they have 12 limos running all day to shuttle “guests” back and forth between the shows. The limos were hot and stinky and the “10 minute ride” seemed much longer.
More story and photos after the jump. . .
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by The Editors on September 8, 2008
After all those times we’ve been hassled by the man while trying to get a skateboard on an airplane without checking bags it was great to see the new Incase P. Rod skateboard bag at San Diego’s Agenda trade show. This thing is the perfect bag for skate travel and while we’d seen it popping up on all the hype sites, it is much better in person.
And this is just one of a well-thoughtout three-piece line that includes an overnight bag and a skate backpack. It will all be available in October.
[Link: Incase]
by The Editors on September 7, 2008
Olympic medalist Gretchen Bleiler will be signing autographs at the Oakley store at the at the Irvine Spectrum September 13, 2008 from 2-3 PM as part of the mall’s Style Week Orange County festivities. Bleiler will be reportedly gearing “up to launch her first ever, highly anticipated Signature Apparel Series” outerwear line which hits stores in October.
[Link: Style Week OC via Fibre2Fashion]
by The Editors on September 6, 2008
Foam Magazine, Neff Headwear, and The Skateboard Magazine are helping Active President Shane Wallace welcome the world into Active Ride Shop’s newest retail location. It’s Thursday night September 4, 2008 and the place is packed.
Located at 319 7th Avenue in the heart of San Diego’s Gaslamp District the high ceilinged, 7,000 square foot, brick building sits literally on Petco Park’s left field line directly next the gate that 15,000 people walk through each time there is an event. And Shane Wallace is pretty happy about it. “We have the best retail location at the best ballpark in the nation,” Wallace says.
A DJ is spinning to the side of the woodgrain-and-mirrors eyewear display and skateboarder Terry Kennedy and his crew are making some noise. It’s hard to see much of the detail of the store thanks to the sea of people filling ever bit of floor space. One thing that is visible is the bark-covered trunk of an evergreen tree reaching for the roof. “That’s where the snowboards will go,” Shane says. “We had to wait until after this party to get that set up.”
The interior, which was designed by JPS Designs, The Goodwins, and Shane Wallace, is expansive yet retains a boutique feel. Doors open both onto the street and into the ballpark grounds, so in theory people could walk out of an event and through the store on their way home.
With 27 stores in the heart of what Wall Street is calling the worst “housing state” in the nation, Wallace knows that it hasn’t been all parties and DJ’s in action sports retail lately. “I won’t lie to you,” he says. “It’s been really tough year. But it’s going to turn around.”
He smiles proudly as he gazes across the packed store on opening night. “We have a few more adjustments to make, but this is our future,” he says. “This is Active.”
[Update 09.06.08: Just got word that sales in the store’s first two days of operation have been “stronger than expected.”]
Follow the jump for all the photos (click to see them full size).
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by The Editors on September 5, 2008
The other day when we said that Virtue was ASR’s new trade show for jacked up shit, we didn’t mean street brawler and EliteXC fighter Kimbo Slice. The guy is so tough that we ran away after snapping this photo.
But we wonder if he’s making as much money as that guy on the right. We’re guessing no.
