Method Snowboard Magazine CEO Rasmus Ostergaard announced today that they moving to a free distribution model for the “pan-European” magazine.
It’s very simple, over the past 5 years it’s become increasingly clear that newsstand sales are in steady decline. Sadly, our target audience simply doesn’t buy magazines anymore. We could continue working with the old paradigm or radically change our business model to adapt to the market’s new realities. . . . Going free is a win-win situation for everyone –advertisers, retailers, readers, riders and photographers. From now on METHOD will be found where it counts most, namely core snowboard shops and other spots where snowboarders hang out.
We’ve always been big fans of free, plus, it’s just one step closer to 100% digital. Follow the jump for the official release and unleash the kitties. [click to continue…]
On Wednesday (July 14, 2010), when news began arriving that Mike Vallely was leaving Element Skateboards (and becoming one of the few objects to escape Billabong’s gravitational pull in recent weeks) we were too caught up in agreeing with Boil The Ocean’s take on the new company to get the official word from the man himself. And what a disservice that was. Here’s what Mike said on his blog:
You see, I still love Element and the people who I worked closely with there but unfortunately those people are ultimately powerless to steer the ship that is the conglomerate that owns Element. And it has become clearer and clearer to me that the parent company of Element is only looking to build their business and improve their bottom line on the backs of people like me. They can buy admiration but they can’t buy achievement. They can own skateboard companies but they’ll never be skaters. And this really bothers me. It bothers me so much that I can no longer give one ounce of my energy or another second of my time to their cause. Thus, I’ve started my own thing because I simply can’t and won’t be apart of their thing anymore.”
No one ever questioned Mike Vallely’s commitment, nor his ability to march directly into battle. We just hope he can liveBy the Sword, and not the other way around.
Mike “Chief” Nusenow has reportedly left his position of SVP Global Marketing for the Burton Corporation, according to a post on Shop-Eat-Surf.com.
Greg Dacyshyn, formerly senior vice president of creative, has been promoted to chief creative officer and will oversee all marketing and product. . . Sam Paschel, general manager of The Program, is now the Burton vice president of marketing and will oversee day-to-day marketing operations and execution, Janice [Nickloff ] said.
Lots of shifting around going on at Burton these days. . .
Billabong has been buying so many retailers lately that this one slipped under the radar. Billabong has apparently purchased four retail stores last week in Byron Bay, Australia own by brothers Gary and Mark Timperley, according to a story in the Byron Shire News.
It will be business as usual for Gary and Mark, who will stay on as store managers for at least two years and will retain the existing employee base. . . “I think these are always difficult decisions, but the fact we are selling to one of our original customers and then remaining in the business in a management capacity makes it a little easier,” Mark said. . . “When we started to talk about selling the businesses we realised we hadn’t stopped working since we left school in Fourth Form (Year 10).
The four sores include Bay Action, Big Kahuna, S-cape Byron, and not so oddly Billabong. We should probably start a Billabong tote board just to keep track of all of this.
It was a wonderful play while it lasted. Zumiez strolls, in says they’re going to one-up Billabong in the purchase of West 49 and then four days later decides that maybe it wasn’t such a good deal, according to the Associated Press.
Sports apparel retailer Zumiez Inc. said Tuesday it won’t be buying Canadian retailer West 49 Inc., saying it has not been able to reach an agreement over the due diligence process.
God know what kind of back room discussions have been going on in the last few days. Maybe this will allow Billabong to pay even less for the mall retailer now that they’ve been jilted? Or maybe West 49 will just have to go back to losing money on their own.
Paul Naude, SIMA Environmental Fund President; Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., SIMA Environmentalist of the Year; Tom Curren, SIMA Waterman of the Year; Scott Anderson of Channel Islands accepting Al Merrick’s Lifetime Achievement Award on his behalf. Photo Credit: Carl Steindler
Al Merrick may not have showed up to accept his SIMA Lifetime Achievement Award (family vacations are important) but 650 members of the surf establishment got dressed up for the 21st Annual Waterman’s Ball held at the super-plush Ritz-Carlton Laguna Niguel on Saturday, July 9, 2010.
Tom Curren won Waterman of the Year, Robert F. Kennedy (a favorite on the SIMA circuit) won Environmentalist of the Year, and SIMA raised $400,000 for charitable causes. Not a bad evening at all.
“Supporting the efforts of the 19 ocean-related Waterman’s Weekend beneficiaries has never been more necessary than before with the worst man made environmental disaster happening in the Gulf right now,” said Paul Naude, President of the SIMA Environmental Fund. “Thanks to the surf industry, this year we raised $400,000 and now Waterman’s Weekend has raised more than $5.4 million over the past 21 years for environmental causes. A special thanks goes to our honorees, Tom Curren and Al Merrick for their dedication to the sport of surfing. As well as our Environmentalist of the Year recipient, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. for fighting to protect and preserve our playground and livelihood and inspiring us all.”
At Bonnier Corporation’sTransworld Media it is a bit of a different story. All of Transworld’s titles (unfortunately, the only action sports publications tracked by the MPA) continued their downward slide–some more than others.
According to the MPA report page losses at TransWorld Surf the magazine that saw a 22.6 percent drop in Q1 has slowed to only 4.2 percent. Transworld Skateboarding page losses, however, have accelerated from 20.2 in Q1 to 34.1 percent in Q2.
One industry observer compared the first half of 2008 to the first half of 2010 and put it this way: “Transworld Skateboarding has gone from 802 ad pages to 463 in just two years.”
Transworld isn’t home to Bonnier’s only drops. Wakeboarding Magazine is down 32.6 percent for the quarter and Ski and Skiing, the two titles that were down in the mid double digits in Q1 2010, are missing from the Q2 reports.
One of the key things about Billabong is its respect for the creative independence of each of its brands and that level of flexibility will allow RVCA to maintain its identity while benefiting from the support of the wider Billabong group.”
The unofficial Billabong rumors list is getting shorter by the day. The only one we’re waiting on now is the Sun Diego acquisition. Maybe they’re saving that for next Monday.
Then again, the Sydney Morning Herald is suggesting that Billabong focus on some acquisitions at home and pick up the now profitable Globe brand from the Hill brothers. Really? That sounds like a bit of wishful thinking on someone’s part.
Today is the day the skate footwear industry has been waiting for. On July 11, 2010 Shaun White’s Target tennies go on sale in stores around the country and online. Wisely the line includes both a dunk (the Scrambler, which in men’s sizes is called the Mossimo Stone) and an old school (the Brickyard) as well as several other skate knock offs.
And the best part? They’re all less than $35 a pair. Hard to believe you can sell quality China shoes for that much, huh? What must the other companies be doing with all that money? Oh yeah. They’re supporting skateboarding. . .
In a story we posted June 16, 2010 about Zumiez expanding into Canada we mentioned jokingly that if Zumiez was interested in moving north of the border “wouldn’t it just be easier for Zumiez to buy West 49.”
Now, it appears that our joke could become a reality as West 49 is reporting that Zumiez has offered the Canadian action mall retailer a buyout “in excess” of the $1.30 offered by Billabong.
The Company’s board, after consultation with its outside legal and financial advisors, has concluded that the Zumiez proposal would reasonably be expected to lead to a superior proposal. However, the Company is concerned with Zumiez’s previously stated intent to enter the Canadian market, and therefore the board has instructed the Company’s management to seek to protect the Company’s competitive position. Subject to the terms of the existing agreement with Billabong International Limited, the Company’s special committee intends to seek to negotiate with Zumiez to determine if its offer can become a firm offer that is financially superior to the transaction with Billabong and that West 49 can otherwise treat as a superior proposal under the terms of the existing agreement with Billabong.
Guess that would give Billabong a few extra dollars to spend elsewhere. Even better: what if Billabong just waits for Zumiez to cover the West 49 acquisition costs and then buys the whole thing two years down the road when mall retailers are even cheaper. . . Follow the jump for the entire release. [click to continue…]
