by The Editors on August 27, 2009
Globe International Limited has released financials for the 08-09 fiscal year, and while sales in the US were down 20 percent and the company lost A$8.9 million, they are optimistic moving forward, according to a story on Sports One Source.
Globe International Limited Chief Executive Officer Matt Hill said “At the announcement of the company’s first half results in February this year, we outlined the operational restructuring and cost rationalisation plans that were being implemented. It is therefore pleasing to have seen the positive impact of these initiatives in the second half of the year despite difficult trading conditions.” . . . “It is difficult to predict when a recovery will take effect, and as a result we maintain conservative expectations of trading conditions as we enter the 2010 financial year. Now though, as a business we are in a better position to deal with these trading conditions due to the changes that have been implemented over the past twelve months.”
As Mad Men’s Duck Philips said last season, “When the economy is down, people don’t buy things.”
[Link: Sports One Source]
by The Editors on August 26, 2009
Shop-eat-surf.com’s Tiffany Montgomery is reporting that DC Shoes cut 10 percent of their employees today. And we believe her.
The spokesman said about 10 percent of the workforce was cut previously at Quiksilver and Roxy, and the DC reductions are of similar size on a percentage basis. . . DC has been Quiksilver’s best-performing brand and its major growth vehicle. A new financing deal with the private equity firm Rhone allowed Quiksilver to keep the brand rather than sell it to pay off debt.
We knew with two people placed firmly on the Quik board of directors that Rhone would handle their business.
[Link: Shop-eat-surf.com]
by The Editors on August 21, 2009
by The Editors on August 21, 2009
The Courier-Mail says Billabong got hit with a “wave of excess boardshorts” and that has caused the company’s annual profits to drop for the first time ever (13.3 percent).
Chief executive officer Derek O’Neill (pictured right) said retailers worldwide were cautious and curbing their forward orders. But he ruled out deep discounting. . . “Late last year we couldn’t unwind our costs fast enough,” Mr O’Neill said. “We were left with a lot of inventory after we saw a rapid slowdown in sales, especially in the US and our wholesale customers were holding back deliveries. . . “Our model was excellent for a long time and we got a bit of a slap but our brand is still strong. . . “Ultimately we need to work with the retailers to get the best product, but they need to give us the indication of what they want and when they want it otherwise it’ll be like a lucky dip with product shortages. . . “Everyone says they are buying less product so I hope the dice comes up how they want it but it’ll come back, I just don’t know how long it’ll be.”
The company still made a profit of AUS$153 million.
[Link: The Courier-Mail]
by The Editors on August 21, 2009
Zumiez didn’t really have the greatest news to report yesterday during their Q2 conference call (click here for a complete transcript). Their same store sales were down 18.8 percent vs. last year, total sales fell $6.5 million, and they operated on a loss of $3 million ($.10 a share) for the quarter (down from a $2.7 profit a year ago). But, it wasn’t as bad as analysts thought, according to a story in Puget Sound Business Journal.
Over at Pacific Sunwear things were a little different. Their Q2 same store sales dropped 24 percent and they had a net loss of $14.2 million ($.22 a share) for the quarter.
Discussions on Twitter yesterday were asking why there was such a difference between two retail chains that basically sell the same product in the same malls. To us the answer is obvious. From the sales people at the mall all the way up to the executives running the company, Zumiez knows that first and foremost they are selling a lifestyle. And they know that in order to sell the style they need to be connected to the life. This shows in Zumiez promotions, branding, and especially in their employees. PacSun, on the other hand, appears to be simply trying to sell clothing.
This is why, more than anything else, we believe Zumiez is doing better the PacSun in what is a pretty dismal market. And with Zumiez stock up 17 percent this morning and PacSun is down 12 percent, it would appear that the street agrees.
[Link: Puget Sound Business Journal, Forbes, and Seeking Alpha]
by The Editors on August 20, 2009
Today the two big action sports fashion mall retailers are going to kick down their quarterly earnings and make their pitches to analysts who have an inordinate amount of control over the companies’ stock prices.
Pac Sun will go first at 1:30 PST followed by Zumeiz at 2 PM. Both will likely be reporting more dismal news from the shopping centers of North America, but we never know. Back to school could be coming up hard.
Click the links below to listen in.
[Link: PacSun Conference Call and Zumiez Conferenc Call]
by The Editors on August 19, 2009
It would appear that Greensboro, North Carolina based online and brick and mortar retailer Boardparadise.com has been forced into “involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings,” according to a story in The Business Journal.
Crossroad Sports Inc., the corporate name of Triad-based action sports equipment and apparel retailer Boardparadise, has entered involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings following complaints from four out-of-state creditors who say they’re owed more than $785,000. . . Burton claims it is owed about $563,000. . . Sole Technology Inc., based in Lake Forest, Calif., joined the petition Aug. 7, saying it is owed about $113,000. . . Robert M. Weinstein, a Greensboro attorney representing the four creditors, said Crossroad Sports has until Aug. 27 to respond, which the company had not done as of Wednesday.
And there are even more creditors interested in getting paid . . .doesn’t sound good.
[Link: The Business Journal]
by The Editors on August 17, 2009
Big hat company New Era Cap Co. Inc has reportedly purchased the Miami based apparel manufcaturer 5th & Ocean according to a story in the Buffalo Business First.
5th & Ocean, a privately held firm, is a minority-certified manufacturer of licensed team sports and private-label items ranging from fleeces and tank tops to hooded sweatshirts and athletic shorts. Its client list includes Major League Baseball, Victoria’s Secret/PINK, Disney Theme Parks, the Dallas Cowboys and K2 Sports. . . “To ensure the long-term growth of New Era in this changing economic landscape, we need to look for strategic ways to diversify our business,” said Chris Koch, New Era chief executive officer. “This acquisition of 5th & Ocean continues to move us forward with our strategy to become a well-rounded lifestyle brand. This was an opportunity we simply could not pass up.”
Big hats, big wallet.
[Link: Buffalo Business First]
by The Editors on August 13, 2009
We always thought that Swell.com was missing out on a large piece of the action sports fashion business by not setting up white-label sites that would allow smaller brands to easily sell direct by jumping on Swell.com’s quality distribution system.
They still haven’t done that, but with Coreshops by Swell they are branching out into an equally cool and potentially large side business, according to an interview with Swell.com CEO Stacy Clark on Shop-Eat-Surf.com.
CoreShops by Swell is doing two things: one, it is aggregating the branded apparel from these shops and offering it for sale on Swell.com. (Want a Whalebone Surf Shop T-shirt from Nags Head, NC? Click here); and two, it pulls together an easy to search listing of core shops from around the US that makes it easy for anyone to find a nearby core shop, event, or promotion.
This works out well for shops and for Swell.com according to Clark.
Yes, it will generate revenue for the shops as well as Swell. What we are most excited about is that it’s a brand differentiator that also helps strengthen a very important industry distribution channel that we do not compete in. Oversaturation by leading industry brands has forced us to think differently about how we partner to do business and create a unique customer experience online.
Truth is, there is really nothing more core in “surf fashion” than T-shirts from local surf shops and shapers. For the rest of the story and the press release, follow the link.
[Link: Shop-Eat-Surf.com]
by The Editors on August 13, 2009
When financial magazine Inc. released their recent list of the top 5,000 fastest growing private companies in America, skatepark builder Spohn Ranch Skateparks bumped up nearly 2,000 spots on the list to number 2,950, according to the Spohn Ranch blog.
“Being recognized by Inc. Magazine is a great accomplishment, but getting today’s youth off the couch and into safe, engaging recreational facilities is the true reward, “said Kirsten Bradford, CEO of Spohn Ranch. “It’s great to see that even in an economic recession, cities are still committing funds to recreational facilities for the kids.”
The company did $4.8 million in revenue in 2008 with 25 employees. How is that for getting all respectable? Nice work.
[Link: Inc. via Spohn Ranch Skateparks]
Globe International Limited has released financials for the 08-09 fiscal year, and while sales in the US were down 20 percent and the company lost A$8.9 million, they are optimistic moving forward, according to a story on Sports One Source.
