by The Editors on December 20, 2010
Former Billabong CEO’s Matthew Perrin’s financial travails are becoming more and more difficult to follow as of late. Commonwealth Bank says that Perrin’s wife secured $13.5 million in loans with her Gold Coast home and now that Perrin is bankrupt they want it. But Nicole has another story, according to News.com.au.
In her defence filed at the time, Mrs Perrin countered that her signature had been forged on mortgage documents. . . In the latest documents filed to the court, Mrs Perrin now alleges her husband forged her signature and was responsible for fabricating a fake power of attorney.
You can’t blame her for trying.
[Link: News.com.au]
by The Editors on December 17, 2010
It would appear that Tony Hawk has found a new home Birdhouse Skateboards, the brand he bought from Blitz Distribution back in October of 2008.
Today, Birdhouse announced a new partnership with Syndrome Distribution.
Birdhouse will continue it’s tradition of quality products and team progression while joining forces with Syndrome for manufacturing and distribution of the brand. Syndrome Distribution is a worldwide distributor and quality manufacturer of professional skateboard brands including Silver Trucks, BLVD Skateboards, FKD Bearings and Traffic Skateboards. . . “We’re excited about our new relationship with Syndrome Distribution,” said Birdhouse owner Tony Hawk. “We like what they represent within the industry and feel they are the final piece in keeping Birdhouse’s long legacy intact.”
Sounds like it works out well for everyone. New Birdhouse product will be available January 1, 2011. Follow the jump for more.
[click to continue…]
by The Editors on December 17, 2010
We’ve seen several seemingly conflicting headlines regarding the Q4 numbers that Quiksilver reported yesterday (December 16, 2010). Bloomberg pretty much called it out like this:
The company, based in Huntington Beach, Calif., said it reduced its debt significantly during the fourth quarter, in part by swapping some of its debt for equity, and that should help it seize growth opportunities in coming years. . . It foresees a 5 percent drop in its first-quarter revenue. . . Quicksilver posted a loss of $22.1 million, or 14 cents per share, for the quarter that ended Oct. 31. That’s compared with a loss of $1.8 million, or a penny per share, a year earlier. . . Its fourth-quarter revenue fell 8 percent to $495.1 million from $538.7 million. . . For the year, Quiksilver reported a net loss of $9.7 million, down from $192 million in fiscal 2009. Its revenue was $1.84 billion, compared with $1.98 billion in fiscal 2009.
Aside from the net loss improvement it doesn’t sound like the greatest news, however, CEO Bob McKnight seemed pretty upbeat about the performance.
I’m very pleased to report exceptional fourth quarter and full fiscal year results,” he said in his opening remarks. “This performance resulted from many factors, but most important is our innovation, execution, developing and delivering great products. Our creative and impactful marketing efforts; we’re taking good care of our customers; and from the efforts of our teams of employees and reps, these talented people who have worked really hard this year; and from a focused business discipline that we’ve made standard practice throughout the year.
The market seems to agree with McKnight’s rather rosy view. This morning Quiksilver was trading up nearly 5 percent to $5.25.
For the entire transcript of the call, click here.
[Link: Bloomberg and The Street]
by The Editors on December 15, 2010
Billabong has announced that profits in the quarter ending December 31, 2010 will be 8 – 13 percent down over last year according to a story on SmartCompany.com.au.
The company now expects net profit for the full financial year will be flat, after earlier predicting profit would increase 2-8%. . . Billabong shares have fallen 9% in initial trade to $8.09, as investors reacted angrily to the shock downgrade. . . Finally, the company said it has had problems getting Billabong brands into the host of retail outlets it has purchased in the last few months, including the Surf Dive ‘n’ Ski and Jetty Surf chains, the Rush Surf chain in Queensland and the West 49 chain in Canada. . . It appears Billabong is having troubling selling out the stock in these stores, which it needs to do before it can start fitting out these stores with goods from the Billabong family of brands.
Seems like retail is always the weak link in the surf fashion business. (Click here for the entire call transcript)
[Link: SmartCompany.com.au and The Australian]
by The Editors on December 14, 2010
Not be left out of the Billabong retail gobbling game Rip Curl has announced that it has just picked up 15 Perth-based retail stores according to a post on Ragtrader.com.au.
The Torquay-headquartered surf company revealed it has bought nine ‘Wave‘ surf stores, two ‘City Surf’ stores and four ‘Cite’ streetwear stores. . . Rip Curl Asia Pacific CEO Steven Kay said he hopes to build on Wave’s 25-year history, overseen thus far by Wave founders Chris and Vicki Prastidis. . . “Perth is the gateway to one of the great surfing and youth markets in Australia and Rip Curl want to put more effort into the region,” Kay said.
Independent action sports retailers are getting few and far between.
[Link: Ragtrader]
by The Editors on December 13, 2010
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of the Homeland Security Investigations raided three Abilene, Texas retailers last Thursday (December 9, 2010) and rounded up more than $100,000 in counterfeit DC Shoes, Fox Racing, Famous, and other branded merchandise.
The targeted stores have been previously identified as openly selling counterfeit clothing through the store fronts. ICE HSI agents had conducted surveillance and made undercover purchases at all three locations. Items purchased through the undercover operations were determined to be counterfeit by industry representatives. . . Some of the counterfeit items seized include: t-shirts, polo shirts, jeans, purses, hats, jackets and sweatshirts.
Nice of Homeland Security to watch out for corporate America like that because American corporations are America (or something like that.) Follow the jump for the official release. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on December 13, 2010
Maverick’s big wave pioneer Jeff Clark opened his new Maverick’s Surf Shop at 25 Johnson Pier, Pillar Point Harbor, Princeton-by-the-Sea, according to a story in The Mercury News.
The new shop will put Clark, a father of three, front and center as the public face of surfing in Half Moon Bay. Clark’s previous shop was harder to find, on a narrow street in the warehouse district of Princeton. Now when tourists come to the harbor looking for directions to Mavericks Beach, they’ll be able to ask the man himself.
It’s about time. . . Congrats.
[Link: The Mercury News]
by The Editors on December 13, 2010
The lawsuits against No Fear appear to be piling up as the Carlsbad, California based company has reportedly failed to pay their rent in many of their mall locations, according to a story in the Los Angeles Times.
Among the malls that have taken No Fear to court are the Irvine Spectrum and Block at Orange, both of which filed lawsuits in Orange County Superior Court; and shopping centers in Arcadia, West Covina and Valencia, which filed suits in Los Angeles County Superior Court. . . Irvine Co., which owns the Spectrum, obtained a judgment against No Fear in October after the retailer failed to defend a lawsuit that said it was $49,000 behind in rent. The judgment opened the door for an eviction, but an Irvine Co. spokeswoman said the No Fear store at the Spectrum is still open. The clothing company settled each of the Los Angeles County lawsuits out of court.
As many retailers are probably saying this time of year, “If we can just make it through Christmas everything will be alright.”
[Link: Los Angeles Times]
by The Editors on December 13, 2010
A month ago Burton Snowboards released a new board that features a design created in partnership a local Burlington, Vermont bong builders The Bern Gallery. The board is called the “Nug” and the Burlington Free Press used this local collab as the perfect hook for a story on one of Burlington’s coolest businesses..
Inside, Burton looks like a ski lodge, combined with an ad agency, a retail store, a mad scientist’s laboratory and a dog kennel. Dogs are everywhere — big ones, little ones, short-haired ones and furry ones, playing in people’s offices, staring sweetly from beneath people’s desks, and tearing around corners in hot pursuit of something, although it’s not always clear what.
See, the Burlington Free Press occasionally does nice stories about Burton, too.
[Link: The Burlington Free Press]
by The Editors on December 9, 2010
Quiksilver stock rocketed up this morning on rumors the company may be taken over by French multinational holding company PPR, according to Reuters.
French newspaper La Tribune reported that the owner of the Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Puma and Bottega Veneta brands is looking to buy a sports brand and could be attracted by the Huntington Beach, California-based seller of adventure sports apparel.
The stock was up nearly 18 percent on the news. The French certainly do love them some Quiksilver, don’t they?
[Link: Reuters]
Former Billabong CEO’s Matthew Perrin’s financial travails are becoming more and more difficult to follow as of late. Commonwealth Bank says that Perrin’s wife secured $13.5 million in loans with her Gold Coast home and now that Perrin is bankrupt they want it. But Nicole has another story, according to News.com.au.
