by The Editors on August 19, 2008
Shark attack survivor Bethany Hamilton, 18, has designed jewelry for Claire’s, perfume for her own line, and now she’s designed a new flip-flop for Ocean Minded called “the Meilani,” which is Hawai’ian for “heavenly flower” according to a story in the Long Beach Press-Telegram.
Hamilton said her shoe is made for “people who are really happy and like to (be) a positive influence on everyone and enjoy life and a healthy lifestyle.” . . . She said she is encouraged by the green-living movement and wants her flip-flops to serve as a subtle reminder to respect the environment and keep the oceans clean.
The flips are made of sustainable materials and come in six colors. Cool.
[Link: Long Beach Press-Telegram]
by The Editors on August 13, 2008
We knew it wouldn’t be just hats and accessories very long at Brixton. Now, the company is branching out into a “limited collection of timeless jackets and flannels.”
The Clampdown is a classic worker’s jacket altered for a slimmer fit. A quilted nylon interior accents the heavyweight cotton and is available in black and grey herringbone twill. The Debaser is a military jacket tapered for a modern fit. It is available in a heavyweight black canvas and grey herringbone twill. The third addition, the Cedar, is a classic flannel with a contemporary cut and detail.
This thing has “back to school” written all over it.
[Link: Brixtonltd.com]
by The Editors on August 13, 2008
Ever wonder what happened to Westbeach founder Chip Wilson? No? Well, as many will tell you he left the snowboard industry that was littered with sweaty men 11 years ago and went after an industry loaded with sweaty, hot women: Yoga.
Now, Chip’s yoga clothing company Lululemon Athletica has 80 retail stores across Canada and the US and is valued at US$2.3 billion, according to a story in The Montreal Gazette.
To what does he attribute all this success? The Landmark Education Corp. a.k.a. The Forum.
Wilson believes his pursuit of mega-material success has made the world a better place by popularizing yoga and by helping Lululemon staff and others take courses offered by the controversial Landmark Education Corp., the motivational education company developed by people connected to Erhard Seminars Training (est).
Hey, if joining something the French government has classified as a “cult” brings this much success, maybe we should have listened when our lawyers suggested we attend.
[Link: The Montreal Gazette]
by The Editors on August 13, 2008
Looks like 2008 is shaping up pretty well for Spy Optic’s parent company Orange 21. In a financial report released yesterday the company showed that net sales increased 17% to $14.0 million for the three months ended June 30, 2008. That’s up $2 million over the same period in 2007. The company still had a net loss.
A net loss of $0.3 million was incurred for the three months ended June 30, 2008 compared to a net loss of $1.6 million for the three months ended June 30, 2007.
For all the details click the link.
[Link: Trading Markets]
by The Editors on August 12, 2008
As if the ass ponies who “race” in the Gumball Rally 3000 need anything else (on top of all the money they blow on hanging out with “players” in their little jaunt across the West Coast and China), when the racers got to Las Vegas on August 11, 2008 they were each given a brand-new Nixon Watch as a “thank you” from race founder Maxmillion Cooper, according to a post on The Vegas Eye.
Guess even the over-paid (and poorly-aging b-list celebrities) need to occasionally know the correct time.
It’s nice that Nixon, Spy and Puma can help them out like that.
[Link: The Vegas Eye]
by The Editors on July 28, 2008
It’s not like creating epic shapes doesn’t run in the family, so we don’t know why we were surprised to see Al Merrick’s daughter Heidi Merrick profiled in the LA Times as a fashion designer.
Her clothes have a California romantic quality in bright sherbet-colored satins and chiffons and are sold at Lisa Kline, Dari and Wendy Foster. And she makes more relaxed pieces too, such as the Nonnie caftan, which Merrick was wearing on a recent afternoon in her breezy Moroccan-style abode in Silver Lake. “I try and push the way I live into my clothes,” she says. “When I get dressed, I pay attention to what I want my silhouette to be, what I’m comfortable in, the pieces I gravitate to first. And then I get to my studio and note all those things down. It’s the same thing with surfboards: They are shaped from the thought, research and the time in the water my dad’s put in.”
Heidi’s designs probably aren’t going to win any WCT events, but they’re actually pretty smooth.
[Link: LA Times]
by The Editors on July 28, 2008
Things haven’t been going so well since last Thursday’s Volcom Conference call. Shares are down, the market is down, but the Motley Fool investing site is still “stoked” on the stock.
Volcom is one of the smartest consumer-goods companies I can think of, boasting what I consider an intense, in-depth understanding of its customers. That kind of deep understanding of and affinity for a specific client base similarly attracted me to Urban Outfitters (Nasdaq: URBN). . . Furthermore, Volcom’s recent stock’s weakness is giving investors a great opportunity to buy, although the short term might be rough.
Rough, indeed.
[Link: Motley Fool]
by The Editors on July 25, 2008
If you were basking in the sun at Huntington Beach yesterday (like much of the surf industry) and missed the Volcom conference call, here it is transcribed in it’s entirety. Here’s how Wooly kicked it off:
We are no more than half way through the year and I feel good about the progress that we have made managing our business in the U.S. running our new European operation and integrating Electric. The power of Volcom brand continues to capture the attention of consumers around the world and we are excited about the global opportunities that lay ahead.
His comments about electric:
Last quarter we added the full product line from electric, which includes sunglass, goggles, soft goods and accessories. During this period we launched three new sunglass styles, the Technician XL in May and the Detroit and Hoodlum the last week of June. So far the initial sell-through on all three styles has been very positive and we look forward to continuing to build on this excitement.
The Laguna Surf & Sport story:
The multi branded concept of the LS&S stores is a little different for us, but we believe it helps diversify our retail business by providing us with greater insight about our customers and market trends. It also brings an experience team to the company adding strength to our overall retail infrastructure. We plan to keep these stores operating under the LS&S name with the same employees, management and general product and brand mix.
For the rest of the call (including analyst questions) click the link.
[Link: Seeking Alpha and Reuters]
by The Editors on July 24, 2008
DC Shoes has rented out all 12 floors of The Standard Hotel in downtown LA July 31st-August 3 for the X Games.
Conceived by DC, The Gold Standard 2008 is a hosted hotel takeover during the 2008 X Games, developed as a tribute to DC’s X Games athletes over the past 14 years. Here, DC and Monster Energy along with presenting sponsors FUEL TV and Complex Magazine will occupy all 12 floors of the swanky hotel in the heart of LA.
Sounds like X Games party central to us. Guess that’s what you can do when you’re not spending all that money on X Games event sponsorship.
[Link: EXPN]
by The Editors on July 23, 2008
Tomorrow, July 24, 2008 at 1:30 PST Volcom will host a conference call to discuss their financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2008.
The conference call will be available to interested parties through a live audio Internet broadcast at www.volcom.com. Volcom intends to utilize this webcast event to discuss financially-oriented goals and objectives and to disclose material company and industry-based topics in an open manner. The company does not plan to report or comment on its progress during the current fiscal quarter.
For those who are not available to listen to the live broadcast, the call will be archived for one year on the Volcom website. A telephone playback of the conference call will also be available until 11:59 p.m. EST, Thursday, July 31, 2008. Listeners should call (800) 642-1687 (domestic) or (706) 645-9291 (international) and use reservation: 55485369.
[Link: BusinessWire]
Shark attack survivor Bethany Hamilton, 18, has designed jewelry for Claire’s, perfume for her own line, and now she’s designed a new flip-flop for Ocean Minded called “the Meilani,” which is Hawai’ian for “heavenly flower” according to a story in the Long Beach Press-Telegram.
