In what could be called the “Day before St. Paddy’s Day Massacre” the Burton Corporation reportedly cut 4 percent of their 900 member global workforce on Wednesday, March 16, 2016 according to a story on Yobeat.com.
Burton President John Lacy framed it this way in a memo to the company’s remaining employees:
What that really means is that we had to let some good people go. Friends and colleagues were affected in every area of our business, and in multiple regions, and it isn’t easy to say goodbye. We’ve now talked directly with everyone affected by these changes, and our HR team is working with each of them to provide full service support during this transition. These decisions are not easy nor are they taken lightly. Please know we will be doing everything we can to help ensure these individuals have the tools and backing they need to take on this next chapter.
According to the post cuts include “multiple key sales roles, such as sales director for Anon/Analog, the women’s brand manager and some product developers.” We also hear the Burton LA store will be closing soon and the NYC store will move to a more economical location. For the entire letter from the president, please click the link to Yobeat.
Kering, the monstrous French fashion company that still owns Volcom, announced yesterday (March 16, 2016) that they have unloaded the Electric brand to CEO Eric Crane and his management team.
The transaction, which is effective today, includes all the assets of Electric and the rights attached to the brand. . . Electric, a Californian premium sports and lifestyle brand that sells accessories including sunglasses, goggles and watches, was acquired by Volcom in 2008.
That’s probably the best route to freedom for everyone involved. For the official, though vague, word from Kering, please follow the jump. If you pay for the executive edition of that shopping eating blog, you can get a little more info from Mr. Crane, via Tiffany right here. Or get an even better version for free at Tea-Dub Business.
Today (March 16, 2016), Nixon is at Switzerland’s world famous watch and jewelry expo Baselworld to rollout The Mission, their first ever smartwatch powered by Google’s Android Wear and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Wear 2100 system-on-a-chip. In otherwords, a real-deal Android smartwatch designed specifically with action sports in mind.
The Mission features a suite of custom applications tailored to action sports, as well as industry-leading durability and a category-first 10-ATM (100 meter) water-resistance rating. In addition to the full capabilities of the Android WearTM platform and apps, the smartwatch introduces Nixon’s custom Mission app powered by Surfline and Snocountry. The Mission app places live conditions information at a glance of the wrist and features a custom activity-tracking application developed in partnership with Trace, the leader in action sports activity tracking.
And with built-in GPS, this watch could be a prime replacement for the Garmin fenix 3 that is currently occupying our wrist. But we won’t be sure about that until we get one to test out for a couple weeks. For the official word from Nixon, please follow the jump.
Vans is continuing their 50th Anniversary celebration with the release of their Vans Pro Classic Anniversary Collection tomorrow, March 16, 2016.
Anecdoted by its original year of release, each style in the Vans Pro Classics Anniversary Collection pays homage to influential cultural milestones from Vans’ groundbreaking era of 1966-2000. What began as simple renovations in color, fabric and shape bolstered true connections with action sports icons such as original Dogtown Z-boy Stacy Peralta, celebrated surfer Duke Kahanamoku, and Vans’ skateboarding legend Christian Hosoi.
For the official word from Vans and a closer look at all the shoes, follow the jump.
Italy’s Leonardo Fioravanti is the newest member of the Smith Global Surf Team.
“Smith is very excited with the addition of Leo to our athlete portfolio,” says Carlos Alves, Director of Marketing at Smith. “Leo is a world class surfer who will bring lots of energy and authenticity to the Smith brand. We are honored to have Leo as part of Smith family.”
For the official word from Smith, please follow the jump.
Jack Freestone has joined Nixon’s global surf team. He’s been wearing the watches for a while, so this is really a promotion.
“It’s exciting to have Jack officially represent Nixon front-and-center,” said Nixon Marketing Manager, Michel Murciano. “He is a part of a new generation in professional surfing and has the ability, smarts and style to take Nixon to a new level.”
For the official word from Nixon, please follow the jump.
Vans is launching an all-new Anthony Van Engelen collection on March 12, 2016 and it has some some interesting stuff in it (like the AV Holser windbreaker). To check it all out, follow the jump.
According to a story in the Sydney Morning Herald, Rip Curl made at least some of their 2015 snowboard outerwear in North Korea, a country known for using slave labor in manufacturing. Of course Rip Curl didn’t mention it until after it was pointed out to them by Fairfax Media. Now the surf wear company is doing everything they can to blame it on their China based contractors.
After Fairfax Media sent Rip Curl photos of its garments being made in North Korea, the company’s chief financial officer Tony Roberts released a statement that said the firm “takes its social compliance obligations seriously. . .We were aware of this issue, which related to our Winter 2015 Mountain-wear range, but only became aware of it after the production was complete and had been shipped to our retail customers. . . This was a case of a supplier diverting part of their production order to an unauthorised subcontractor, with the production done from an unauthorised factory, in an unauthorised country, without our knowledge or consent, in clear breach of our supplier terms and policies.”
Hey, you can’t keep those margins in check without cutting production costs, right? In other news, Kim Jong-un may be getting the boot from his own country for a failing economy.
Timbaland breaks down the world of pop cultural business success like no one else in this interview with Ebro and Rosenberg from Hot97. We don’t pretend to know a thing about the music, or the beats, or the scene, but the wisdom he conveys on what hits are, how they come about, and how to play the hit business game — especially his theories on the rise of “programmers over producers” and his own six-year cycle (26:40) — apply to every angle of action sports business.
As part of their 50th Anniversary celebration Vans is kicking down 50 different colorways on the Sk8-Hi (our favorite shoe of all time).
The Sk8-Hi serves as a canvas for new color offerings, vibrant prints and premium material upgrades, while its timeless form provides a framework for design enhancements including deconstructed uppers, zip back detailing and slim sole construction. Each new enhancement stands alongside the original Sk8-Hi colorways that were first introduced almost 40 years ago.
What a great way to celebrate. For the official word from Vans, please follow the jump.
In what could be called the “Day before St. Paddy’s Day Massacre” the Burton Corporation reportedly cut 4 percent of their 900 member global workforce on Wednesday, March 16, 2016 according to a story on Yobeat.com.
Kering, the monstrous French fashion company that still owns Volcom, announced yesterday (March 16, 2016) that they have unloaded the Electric brand to CEO Eric Crane and his management team.
![Sp16_ProClassic50_LineHoriz_Concrete[mwrC]](http://www.boardistan.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/Sp16_ProClassic50_LineHoriz_ConcretemwrC-450x284.png)
![weld-av-hero-1[lrNi]](http://www.boardistan.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/weld-av-hero-1lrNi-450x280.png)
