by The Editors on July 2, 2008
Hurley International has now doubled the reward for information regarding the death of intern Dane Williams to $20,000, according to a story on CBS8.com. The 23 year old went missing in San Diego’s Gaslamp district last January during the ASR Show.
Notices seeking tips in the case have been posted on 45 bus shelters in San Diego and Orange Counties.
Williams’ mother is pleading for the public’s help. “I’m hoping that somebody that knows something about this is brave enough to come forward and not be afraid of it and do the right human thing,” Valen Williams.
Info should be be sent to CrimeStoppers at 888-580-TIPS.
[Link: CBS8.com]
by The Editors on July 2, 2008
Most of this is old news (especially after all the conference calls last month), but hard times in the financial world have impacted teen fashion spending according to a story on Blumberg.com.
“There is absolutely a slowdown in teen spending,” said Holly Guthrie, an analyst at Janney Montgomery Scott LLC in Philadelphia.
Retailers dependent on that group are feeling the pinch. First-quarter net income at American Eagle plunged 44 percent because of discounting, and the retailer may post its first annual profit drop in five years. . . . At Gap Inc.’s Old Navy chain, sales in May were off 25 percent from a year earlier. Abercrombie’s same- store sales dropped in five of the past six quarters.
“While we believe the teen customer has slightly more discretionary income than their parents, they’re still impacted by the sluggish economy,” Zumiez Inc. Chief Executive Officer Richard Brooks said on a May 22 earnings call.
Zumiez’s 309 stores . . . reported its first quarterly profit drop since going public in 2005.
[Link: Bloomberg]
by The Editors on July 2, 2008
And the latest in Billabong’s run to soak up every solid brand in the US comes news that the company has purchased Sector 9 for and undisclosed sum.
Queensland-based Billabong expects the business to add about 2% to group sales, implying the business generates $25 million to $30 million in sales.
“Sector 9’s products, primarily its longboards, really differentiate it from other brands in the boardsports channel and have appeal to surfers, skateboarders and the broader youth market,” Billabong chief executive Derek O’Neill said.
Steve Lake, Dennis Telfer and co-owner Dave Klimkiewicz will continue on with what we’re guessing are nice looking buyouts for increasing sales down the road. Watchout, Burton.
[Link: The Age]
by The Editors on July 1, 2008
Okay, so what if the Burton and DC stores on Melrose have been a little as one person described them “crickets.” We know there was a ramp there for the opening party, then no ramp for the next party, and now, according to the website the LAist.com the roof, the roof, the roof is all ramped.
This isn’t a skate-park, and access to the ramp will be limited to who-ever the skate manager says can skate it. (Does he take bribes?) For the most part they intend on having Burton employees and Burton’s pro skateboarders doing their thing on it.
Maybe after we apologize for all the bad things we’ve said, they’ll let us up on the roof. We’ll get back to you on that.
[Link: The LAist]
by The Editors on June 30, 2008
How’s this for heard it from a friend who, heard from a friend who? The sfist is reporting that unaesthetic is posting that the two pieces of Barry McGee art featured in the picture above were stolen from the SF RVCA store.
The above two pieces of art were stolen from the SF RVCA store two days ago (not during the opening). They are from permanent/private collections and, without going into detail, have a great deal of sentimental value to the artists.
If you have any information about this, or means of having the artwork returned – there will be absolutely no questions asked and no legal efforts made to follow up on you or any involved parties. They just want the pieces back. You may contact me privately (art@unaesthetic.net), any of the RVCA staff (415-701-7822), or set up an anonymous third party to communicate through.
That pretty much sums it up. By the way, we love stories that allow us to tag them Art, Crime, Fashion. It just seems to right.
[Link: SFist via unaesthetic]
by The Editors on June 13, 2008
For a long while people didn’t really understand that Dragon was owned by Oakley. Then when Oakley was purchased by the largest eyewear company in the world, most didn’t realize that Dragon was a tiny piece of that deal.
Now, according to a press release Dragon has announced that Founder and CEO Will Howard and General Manager Aaron Behle were able to take Dragon private.
“We want to thank Scott Olivet and the rest of the Oakley team for their support over the years and during this transition,” says Howard. “In two very different business plans, we collectively saw an opportunity to allow Dragon to break off and do its own thing in the marketplace.”
“We have restructured Dragon to fully leverage a decade of brand authenticity and capitalize on what we believe is a paradigm shift in the action sports market,” said Behle. “We have a unique position with a unique plan. More importantly, we have a young and passionate team with the ability to ‘zig’ while the market ‘zags’ and enjoy ourselves along the way.”
Congrats, Will. It’s about time.
[Link: Dragon Alliance via Freeskier]
by The Editors on June 12, 2008
Guess everyone needs more side projects these days. In an announcement today Kohl’s big box clothing stores based in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin said they were bringing Hang Ten back to life with a little help from Quiksilver, the company who helped them with the Hawk line of clothing.
The licensing agreement with American Brand Holdings will make Kohl’s (NYSE: KSS) the exclusive U.S. retailer for the California lifestyle brand. Kohl’s also announced an agreement with Quiksilver Inc. (NYSE: ZQK) to design the collection and its packaging. Quiksilver, of Huntington Beach, Calif., designed the Tony Hawk action sportswear brand that Kohl’s launched in 2006.
What are Quiksilver’s designers just sitting around with nothing to do?
[Link: Bizjournals.com]
by The Editors on June 9, 2008
Steve & Berry’s (200 super-stores in 33 states) has figured out that if Quiksilver can sell more trunks because of Kelly Slater, and Kohls can sell most stuff because of Tony Hawk, why shouldn’t they help move some of their cheap action clothing with Laird Hamilton. Enter Wonderwall.
Last month, Hamilton unveiled his surf-and-skate-inspired men’s board shorts, graphic T-shirts, cargo shorts and polo shirts. All 200 pieces of his new Wonderwall clothing and accessories are $8.98 or less at area Steve & Barry’s stores. . . . “I’d like to say I discovered Steve & Barry’s, but they approached me about the concept,” Hamilton says. “I had little to no knowledge of their business philosophy. After a very short discussion, I realized it was something that I definitely wanted to be part of.”
We are just glad that Laird is getting paid. Because that is what he does best.
[Link: The Detroit News]
by The Editors on June 9, 2008
According to a press release posted on Boardsport Source Burton has announced that Francesco Navach will be the company’s first “European Director of Retail.”
Francesco will strengthen Burton’s retail business and drive all of Burton Europe’s retail initiatives. He will report directly to Hermann Kapferer, Burton Europe’s General Manager and Cathy Quain, VP of Retail in the US.
. . . Francesco spent nearly 10 years working for The North Face, where he oversaw the opening of around 40 Stores, first as Retail Manager EMEA and from 2005 on as Retail Director EMEA.
Burton is bringing in the retail hitters.
[Link: Boardsport Source]
by The Editors on June 6, 2008
Grenade keeps the collab party bus rolling with their Grenade Artist Series piece with Rogue Status. And guess what? It has guns all over it. Can you believe it? A Rogue Status project with guns on it.
[Link: Hypebeast]
Hurley International has now doubled the reward for information regarding the death of intern Dane Williams to $20,000, according to a story on CBS8.com. The 23 year old went missing in San Diego’s Gaslamp district last January during the ASR Show.
