by The Editors on September 20, 2010
Jeff Harbaugh checks in on the progress Quiksilver has made lately. He says things at the action fashion giant are looking up.
Quik is the poster child of a company that’s done what it needed to do following the twin blows of the Rossignol acquisition and the recession. As somebody who’s done a bit of turnaround work, I can tell you it’s no fun, for either management or employees, to be dealing with negative stuff month after month. Quik maybe has a little more work it wants to do on its balance sheet, but it’s largely out from under the reverberations of that deal though, like all of us, not of the recession.
And all they had to do was trade off a chunk of the company. Click the link for the rest of the analysis.
[Link: Harbaugh’s Market Watch]
by The Editors on September 20, 2010
We knew when Fuel TV’s Australian mates started including mixed martial arts in their “action sports” content mix in December of 2008, that it was only a matter of time before the American Fuel TV began rationalizing why it was the perfect fit for their audience. And when Ken Block’s Gymkanna 3, Part 2 became the most watched video on Youtube.com last week (with 6.5 million views), it’s almost a no-brainer if young male eyeballs is all Fuel is after.
That’s why we were not surprised to learn that beginning today (September 20, 2010) Fuel.TV will be adding MMA and rally racing to their growing mix of board and motor sports, according to a CJ Olivares interview on Transworld Business. Olivares explains:
We took all of the six core sports and asked ‘what are the things that they share? Who are the participants? What attracts the aspirants to them?’ And we came up of a list of like 10-12 concepts, if you will, that we believe define the audience. . . Things like freedom and defiance, individuality, independence, courage, confidence, innovation, aggression, exploration, and humor. And one that we really keyed in on was risk. Risk became a really central concept in conjunction with the others, because we started to look at the total landscape of sports that are out there. . . . The two that really jump out immediately are MMA and rally car. . . . There’s an opportunity there for us to look at those two sports—and other things—it’s a constant exploration for us to identify: what are those other things? We’re about this new generation of sports where risk is the only rule.
In other words, the business realities of cable television require Fuel.TV to air shows that people want to watch and as we’ve said repeatedly, the mainstream doesn’t really care about action sports. But two sweaty, muscled, nearly-nude men locked in a cage grunting, punching, and hugging each other into kama sutra like poses or dudes driving ridiculously over-powered small cars recklessly; who doesn’t want to watch that?
[Link: Transworld Business]
Follow the jump for the official press release. . .
[click to continue…]
by The Editors on September 13, 2010
According to a story in the Daily Breeze Black Flys is still in business a year after Jack Martinez sold the trademark to the company’s Asia distributor Carrozzeria Japan Co. Ltd.
“This past year we have been doing everything we can to just gain the relationship and trust back from our old clients,” Black Flys Inc. co-manager Cary Hokama said. . . The 32-year-old manager – dressed in a white collared shirt – said the company plans to . . . attract younger customers who embody an “absence of restraint,” in addition to its older, “hard-core” loyalists.
Stranger things have happened.
[Link: Daily Breeze]
by The Editors on September 13, 2010
Nike 6.0 has reportedly nabbed the title sponsorship position of the Winter Dew Tour’s Breckenridge, Colorado stop according to a Tripp Mickle story in the Sports Business Journal.
In an effort to promote the first line of Nike 6.0 winter outerwear this year, Nike has signed on as the title sponsor of the Winter Dew Tour’s Breckenridge, Colo., event this December. The three-year deal . . . is valued in the low seven figures annually. . .
It’s nice, but it means we won’t have the Totino’s Pizza Open to kick around any longer.
[Link: Sports Business Journal]
by The Editors on September 10, 2010
Yesterday, (September 9. 2010) it was announced that Metacafe had “acquired” action sports site Go211.com for what MetaCafe CEO Erick Hachenburg called an “equity transaction,” according to a post on All Things D by Peter Kafka.
So what does he get for his equity? In addition to the four million visitors that Action Sports’ Go211 gets a month, MetaCafe will also get a new chief revenue officer, in the form of former Action Sports CEO Sean Aruda.
Ignoring for a moment that Go211’s traffic numbers have always been highly suspect, it is interesting that Aruda finally found someone to rescue his site.
From almost the the minute Go211.com launched in early 2007 rumors began swirling that Aruda was already trying to flip the site. While he may not have gotten a buyer exactly, at least he’s got a new paying job. It looks like he’s in good company, too. According to MediaWeek, Metacafe plans to “double its revenues next year and reach profitability.”
And that’s just the kind of talk that keeps those bubbles bubbling.
[Link: All Things D and MediaWeek]
by The Editors on September 10, 2010
Jeff Harbaugh just wrote up his analysis of the most recent Zumiez quarterly report but the part of his column that has everyone talking is something he mentioned about Zumiez purchasing 14.3 percent of an unnamed apparel and hardgood manufacturer.
On May 11th, Zumiez bought a 14.3% interest in a manufacturer of apparel and hard goods for $2 million. I emailed Zumiez asking for more details but they aren’t disclosing any, which is what I expected. Zumiez has the right to sell its interest back any time between the fifth and the seventh anniversary of the investment. And the company they invested in has an option to buy their stock back on or after the seventh anniversary of the initial investment.
And it makes us wonder: what brand is so important to Zumiez’s that the core mall retailer was willing to pay $2 million to keep them in business. If you have any ideas, please leave them in the comments
.
[Link: Jeff Harbaugh’s Market Watch]
by The Editors on September 8, 2010
Starting Friday September 10, 2010 Weezer fans can buy the new Weezer album Hurley at PacSun three days ahead of its official release, according to a story on Stereogum. Not only that, but there will reported be “Weezer-inspired” clothing for sale as well.
If “Weezer-inspired” refers to the band’s nerdy, ’90s look of worn cardigans/hoodies, plaid shirts buttoned up to the throat, ’70s sportswear, etc., then isn’t it more to the spirit of the band to get the originals in thrift stores?
Nope. Rivers is an aging rock star and as anyone who’s read Bill Flannagan’s Evening’s Empire knows, the most important thing about being a rock star is getting paid.
[Link: Stereogum]
by The Editors on September 8, 2010
by The Editors on September 7, 2010
by The Editors on September 6, 2010
Billabong is apparently refinancing to the tune of US$780 million, according to a story on ifrasia.com.
Billabong International, an ASX-listed surf and skate lifestyle retailer, has signed a US$790m refinancing split equally between a three- and four-year loan. The four Aussie majors – ANZ, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, National Australia Bank and Westpac – were the bookrunners on the deal, which saw three others joining.
Looks like everyone is taking advantage of new lower interest rates.
[Link: ifrasia.com]
Jeff Harbaugh checks in on the progress Quiksilver has made lately. He says things at the action fashion giant are looking up.
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