The Agenda Trade Show has a new director of women’s sales and marketing, it’s former Insight Marketing Manager Vanessa Chiu.
Her addition to the team represents AGENDA Founder Aaron Levant’s recognition of the shifting culture in the industry—with an ever-growing number of female-centric brands, athletes and enthusiasts. Chiu, who spent eight years with the Australian surf/lifestyle brand Insight, most recently as head of marketing and PR for the U.S. division, will focus on aligning strategic partnerships with women’s brands and nurturing a more female-focused experience at AGENDA’s three bi-annual shows in Long Beach, New York and Las Vegas.
Yes, it’s a special issue of Surfing Magazine that is filled with bikinis, but as most girls we know will tell you, it’s a great way to check out all the new bikinis without having to pull them off the rack and try them on. The print version officially launches on April 2, 2013. Spring break, forever!
Bear Mountain, Neff, and Malakye are hooking up the entire shred industry with a free day of riding at Bear tomorrow (Friday, March 29, 2013) for Office Booyz Snow Industry Day. If you work for a snow industry company just bring your most recent pay stub and a valid ID and you can ride all day. There’s no pre-registration. Just show up and ride. Springbreak! Springbreak! Follow the jump for all the details. [click to continue…]
It has to be one of the downsides of having a popular brand, but two men wanted in sexual assault cases (one in LA, the other in Hawaii) were both described as “wearing a black RVCA baseball cap.” In LA:
Jason Maynard Kies, 37, is being held in lieu of $4 million bail in the Van Nuys jail after detectives arrested him while he allegedly stalked his next potential victim. . . He was described as wearing sunglasses, a black RVCA baseball cap, black shoes, gray shorts and a gray shirt during the attacks.
Meanwhile in Hawaii:
Authorities say that on Jan. 28 at around 3:25 p.m., an unidentified man touched a female minor while engaging in an indecent act on a Hele-On bus in Waimea. . .The suspect was reportedly wearing a RVCA hat and white Beats headphones with a red cord at the time.
So, the next time you see someone in a black RVCA hat, you know, keep an eye on the guy. Especially if you’re on the Big Island, because they’re still looking for that guy.
Kering (formerly known as PPR pending approval), the parent company of Volcom, Gucci, and Puma has announced that they’ve just purchased France Croco “one of the leading independent tanneries. . . specializing in the sourcing, tanning and processing of crocodilian skins.”
Owned, developed and headed by the founder’s son Dan Lewkowicz, France Croco supplies high quality crocodilian skins for watchstraps, leather goods, ready-to-wear and shoes to most of the world’s best known Italian and French fashion and accessories houses, including houses belonging to Kering. France Croco’s sourcing activities also set high standards for sustainability and conservation of wildlife species.
We’re looking forward to some France Croco + VeeCo collar trunks with crocodile pockets, or even better yet, some crocodile Volcom boots, maybe? Follow the jump for the official word. [click to continue…]
Yes, it appears the Alana Surfer Girl train is showing no signs of stopping. Here we see Alana Blanchard work out, talk about working out, and go surfing.
While it seems difficult to understand it appears that Pacific Sunwear’s net loss for the fourth quarter over twice as large as analysts expected according to a story on NASDAQ.com.
Loss from continuing operations for the fourth quarter was $22.5 million or $0.33 per share, compared to a loss from continuing operations of $26.7 million or $0.39 per share in the prior year quarter.
Analysts reportedly expected a lost of $0.16 cents a share. Which reminds us two things: never underestimate the loss potential of PacSun, and analysts are rarely good for much of anything.
Spy Optic continued on its long road to profitability in 2012 with a 13 percent increase in sales over 2011 and a $3.8 million cut in losses (Down to $7.2 from $11.02 million in 2011). With sales of $35.1 million in 2012, the company still has a ways to go, but President and CEO Michael Marckx is confident that things are headed in the right direction.
“With continued strong SPY® brand sales, and an annual growth of 13% for 2012 over 2011, we are happy to have achieved our 7th consecutive quarter of year over year growth of SPY® brand products. This is very encouraging for our efforts in 2013, as we have major initiatives lined up, the most important of which is our SPY® Happy Lens™ — the most innovative product SPY® has ever launched. These results also again suggest the strength of our renewed brand positioning and strategies, as also evidenced by increased market share driven by our unique new product collections,” said Michael Marckx, President and CEO. “We are also pleased that our efforts have really paid off with improved gross margins compared to the fourth quarter and annual results of last year. Our top line results were achieved despite significantly lower operating expenses, which in the fourth quarter of 2012 were 29% lower than the fourth quarter of 2011 and sequentially 25% better than the third quarter of 2012. These factors together with our strong annual growth, nicely improved margins, and substantially lower spending, are the hallmarks of a strengthening brand.”
Billabong yesterday hit it lowest stock price since going public, losing 22 percent to 63 Australian cents on worries about the news that maybe coming out as the March 28, 2013 offer deadline approaches, according to a story on Bloomberg.
“Volume today is quite heavy which suggests that something might be up,” said Anson Rosewall, an institutional dealer at BBY Ltd. in Sydney. “It may have been operator error, the second thing going round is that there’s going to be no bid.”
That may have been why Billabong has placed the stock in a trading trading halt “until the commencement of normal trading on Monday, 25 March 2013, or when the announcement is released to the market.” Wonder what the news will be?
After less than a year-and-a-half at Nike (most recently as GM of Nike+Digital Sport), former Volcom General Counsel Hoby Darling has apparently accepted the job of CEO at Skullcandy, according to a story in the Portland Business Journal.
“I am extremely excited to join the Skullcandy team at this early stage of the company’s global growth cycle,” Darling said in a statement.
Interim CEO and founder Rick Alden has to be the happiest of the two, however.
“On behalf of our board, I can’t be more pleased to welcome Hoby to the Skullcandy team,” said Alden, in a news release. “The board is acutely aware of the needs of this organization and has moved swiftly to find the greatest resource to meet those needs. Hoby’s involvement with both emerging and global brands makes him the ideal person to lead this company.”
The Agenda Trade Show has a new director of women’s sales and marketing, it’s former Insight Marketing Manager Vanessa Chiu.
