by The Editors on January 5, 2011
So this is what everyone was tweeting about last night. Long-time Rip Curl surfer and four time Womens ASP World Champion Stephanie Gilmore has reportedly signed a five-year contract with Quiksilver (not Roxy, to be clear), according to a post on the Mountain and Wave.
Under terms of the agreement Stephanie will ride for the Quiksilver team and has become a Quiksilver brand ambassador, joining a diverse and talented group which includes 13 other female artists, musicians, photographers, philanthropists and fashion designers representing Quiksilver’s lines for women. “I have had exceptional support throughout my career and I am excited to have this bright opportunity with the respected team at Quiksilver,” says Gilmore. “I am looking forward to pushing myself to new levels and feel this is a move which will help me stay inspired while competing at the highest level as a professional surfer on the ASP Women’s World Tour. It’s thrilling to be a part of an innovative and globally respected brand like Quiksilver. Its rich history and creative direction are well aligned with my personal ambitions.”
It really is the perfect match, especially if reports of Stephie being the $5 million woman are true.
[Link: Mountain & Wave and Daily Telegraph]
by The Editors on January 5, 2011
Vrrrroooom. Vrrrrrrmooon. Transworld Media today announced that former Transworld Motocross and BMX Publisher Marc Fiore has been promoted to vice president of Sales and Marketing at the company and will report to Group Publisher Liam Ferguson.
“I am very excited to have Marc take the reigns as head of Sales and Marketing,” Ferguson said. “He has been a key part to our success, and we are thrilled to promote him to this position. Working closely with him over the years I’ve seen him evolve as a leader with a passion for action sports.”
Follow the jump for more..
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by The Editors on January 4, 2011
by The Editors on January 4, 2011
Stance’s Ryan Kingman gets interviewed on TransWorld Business and he takes the opportunity to explain how they got their feet in the door.
Stance saw an opportunity to address a category that has been neglected and overlooked by most brands over the years and bring it to the surface, show it off, champion it. Whenever there’s a product being manufactured in a space with an excited and loyal consumer base there’s an opportunity to develop the category and make it shine. As it turns out there are a lot more sock enthusiasts and aficionados than we had hoped for.
Yep. Some people are just into feet. . .
[Link: Transworld Business]
by The Editors on December 22, 2010
Spy Optic parent Orange 21 announced that it is getting out of the manufacturing business almost entirely—something it had formerly touted as one of its advantages.
According to an announcement today Orange 21 is selling 90% of its Italy-based manufacturing facility LEM to the eyewear companies senior management.
A. Stone Douglass, Orange 21 Inc.’s CEO, commented, “We believe this is an opportunity for us to refocus our primary efforts on our sales and distribution of our multiple brands, Spy Optic, O’Neil, Margaritaville and Melodies by MJB through our remaining wholly-owned subsidiaries, Orange 21 North America Inc. and Orange 21 Europe S.r.l.”
Follow the jump for the entire release.
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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.
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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]
So this is what everyone was tweeting about last night. Long-time Rip Curl surfer and four time Womens ASP World Champion Stephanie Gilmore has reportedly signed a five-year contract with Quiksilver (not Roxy, to be clear), according to a post on the Mountain and Wave.
