by The Editors on October 30, 2009
LG Corp, the giant Korean electronics company has not renewed its presenting sponsor of the Quiksilver Pro on the Gold Coast, according to a story in the Tweed Daily News.
Quiksilver event manager Jamie Wood yesterday confirmed the departure of LG from the first-class event. . . “They did not renew their contract with us,” Mr Wood said. . . LG were presenting-sponsors for the 2008 and 2009 events. . . “We are talking with a number of companies at this time about the presenting-sponsor. . . “We are expecting to make an announcement in the next 30 days.”
As one of Australia (and the world’s) premiere surfing events we doubt the Quik Pro will have much trouble landing a new presenting sponsor.
[Link: Tweed Daily News]
by The Editors on October 29, 2009
Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. may be in the process of considering the sell off Fuel TV to help finance an approximately $800 million purchase of Travel Channel from Discovery, according to a Media Memo column by All Things D’s Peter Kafka.
If News Corp. does part with the channel, it won’t be a whopper of a deal: Fuel TV, which features skate and surf-themed programming like “The Adventures of Danny and the Dingo” (I know. Me neither) boasts just 25 million subscribers — about half of what cable networks need to get taken seriously by operators and advertisers.
Kafka said he spoke to several Wall Street analysts and no one could come up with an approximate price for the channel, which isn’t all the surprising. No one knows what it’s actually worth, if anything.
[Link: All Things D]
by The Editors on October 27, 2009
Marc Ecko just turned 51 percent of his clothing business into $63.5 million dollars in cash by selling the majority stake to Op and Mossimo parent Iconix Brands.
Iconix said it will form a joint venture company with an affiliate of the sellers of Ecko, whose brands include Ecko Unlimited, Marc Ecko, Rhino logo and Zoo York. . . “This new venture provides me the bandwidth for my brand and allows me the resources and freedom to extend my professional and creative ambitions beyond my current platform of fashion, video gaming and publishing,” said Mr. Ecko in a statement. He will continue as chief creative officer.
Wonder how Zoo York is going to get along with Walmat, Target , and Kohls?
[Link: Reuters and Crain’s New York Business]
by The Editors on October 26, 2009
At Billabong’s annual shareholder’s meeting today CEO Derek O’Neill explained a down year as well as the negative effects of the rising value of the Australian dollar, according to a story in the Sydney Morning Herald.
. . .after-tax profits had dropped more than 13 per cent to $152.8 million last financial year. . . O’Neill said the company’s net profit after tax would decrease by $500,000 for each one cent rise in the monthly average value of the Australian dollar against the US dollar.
For Billabong’s sake let hope the Australian dollars bites down hard in the next few months.
[Link: Sydney Morning Herald]
by The Editors on October 26, 2009
If we owned stock in VF Corp (Vans, Reef, and The North Face’s parent company) we’d be all excited right now about their quarter three numbers. Not because Q3 revenues declined 5 percent (though, that’s pretty good considering). And not because they had a gross margin of 44.3 percent (a near record level). We’d be happy because they’re raising their quarterly dividend for the 37th consecutive quarter.
The Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $.60 per share, an increase of $.01 per share. The dividend is payable on December 18, 2009 to shareholders of record as of the close of business on December 8, 2009.
We’ve always wondered what would be like to own a stock that paid dividends. Just think: if we owned 5,0000 shares of VFC that would be $3,000 or more than 20 years of World of Warcraft!
Oh, and then there was this:
Global revenues of The North Face® and Vans® brands grew 10% and 4%, respectively, in the quarter on a constant currency basis. Total coalition revenues in our Americas businesses rose 1%, while international revenues were up 4% in constant dollars, led by exceptionally strong growth in Asia. Total direct-to-consumer revenues for our Outdoor and Action Sports coalition rose 17% in the quarter, with double-digit growth in our The North Face®, Vans® and Napapijri®brands.
[Link: Reuters]
by The Editors on October 20, 2009
We know at least a few people (some competitors) who will be happy to hear that Ricky Irons is leaving the publishing world and moving over to the fashion industry as global brand manager of Dragon Alliance. With the state of action media in general it seems like a pretty smart move on Iron’s part.
Irons is leaving Surfer Magazine after 15 years as publisher. The only person to hold that job longer was Steve Pezman (1970-1991). His last issue as publisher will be the 50th Anniversary Issue. Not a bad way to exit, really.
“Dragon is a great fit for me because they are the real deal,” said Irons. “They have always been true to their roots and have supported the core athletes, retailers, and customers since day one. Their team of athletes is unmatched, the product is better than ever, and they have a great vision for the future of the brand. They are also an independently owned brand, which in this day and age is a beautiful thing. It helps them be creative, innovative, and agile in this ever changing market.”
What does this mean for Surfer and ASG? We’re guessing it means one less mouth to feed.
[Link: Global Surf News]
by The Editors on October 20, 2009
While we’ve never, ever heard anyone say, “Portland could use a few more good coffee roasters” we’re still hyped for Wille Yli Luoma on today’s official grand opening of Heart Roasters on 2211 E. Burnside St, in Portland, Oregon.
All the hipsters were out for the opening party on Saturday, October 17, 2009, but today, at 6 AM the doors opened for the rest of us.
Check it out next you’re in the City of Roses Roasters.
[Link: Heart Roasters via Yobeat]
by The Editors on October 8, 2009
Word was flowing late last week, but now it’s official. Anon optics is the latest Burton brand to pull up its SoCal stakes and get sucked back to the mothership in Burlington, Vermont.
Under the leadership of anon Vice President of Product, Jeff Gilberti, the transition will be complete by early November and will allow anon to strengthen its focus on its goggle business and invest more in developing and marketing great winter products. anon plans to expand its staff in Vermont with the addition of brand and sales management positions.
Apparently, everything is cheaper in Vermont. . . Follow the jump for the entire press release.
[click to continue…]
by The Editors on October 1, 2009
Employees of Source Interlink Media, the parent company of Action Sports Group (Surfer, Surfing, Snowboarder, and Skateboarder magazines) are reportedly being required to take 10 non-paid vacation days between September 2009 and February 2010 in what amounts to a four percent cut in annual pay.
We can’t imagine the employees are happy about this. Then again, they still have their jobs. . .
by The Editors on September 30, 2009
When Warren Miller the man appeared in a new ski movie called Refresh from Level 1 Productions, someone at Warren Miller Entertainment didn’t like it, according to a story in the Aspen Daily News.
Last week, Warren Miller Entertainment, a Delaware corporation that is a division of Bonnier Corporation, filed the lawsuit claiming trademark infringement as it owns the rights to the name “Warren Miller,” “Warren Miller Entertainment” and other terms associated with Miller.
For his part Warren, who says his non-compete expired in 1999, says the trademarks that Warren Miller Entertainment owns “do not prevent him from ‘using his fame and status to identify himself and to participate in Level 1’s Refresh ski film.’
It gets much messier and funnier, but we’re guessing this lawsuit is the best thing that could ever happened to Refresh.
[Link: Aspen Daily News]
LG Corp, the giant Korean electronics company has not renewed its presenting sponsor of the Quiksilver Pro on the Gold Coast, according to a story in the Tweed Daily News.
