by The Editors on September 3, 2009
When the Royal Caribbean International cruise lines launches the world’s largest cruise ship, the Oasis of the Seas, in December it will be with a ship full of retail stores: 13 in all. One of them is called called Star Pier.
Star Pier is a hybrid of all things tweens and teens adore. . . . From clothing labels including Roxy, Quiksilver, and DC Apparel to an electronic games and accessories outpost alive with a DJ station and Wii game area, this is not the average teen clothing store.
The Quik boat soon will be making another run, the Quik boat promises something for everyone, set a course for adventure,
your mind on a new romance. And Quik won’t hurt anymore. . .
[Link: Reuters.com]
by The Editors on September 1, 2009
Backcountry.com’s President John Bresee discusses user generated content and how his company has been able to leverage all those free worker bees into increased sales, in an interview with BusinessWeek.
Our belief is that user content should exist to directly support the products we sell. So we don’t have a video area where people can upload videos of people snowboarding. We don’t have any authority in the world of snowboard videos, but we do have some authority in that we’re good at selecting products for snowboarding. So that’s where the content goes—right on the product description pages.
Not exactly a new idea, but it appears to be working for them.
[Link: BusinessWeek]
by The Editors on August 31, 2009
by The Editors on August 31, 2009
David Scott Olivet, the CEO of Oakley moved out of that position and into a newly created position called “chairman” last month according to a story in the Orange County Business Journal.
Olivet plans to start his own investment company and continue working for Oakley founder Jim Jannard’s latest venture, Lake Forest-based Red Digital Cinema Camera Co., a digital movie camera maker. . . The Laguna Beach resident has started Renegade Brands LLC, which looks to invest in apparel and other consumer companies. . . . “I will play a variety of roles, from investor to active board member to executive depending on the situation,” Olivet said.
Sounds like Olivet has decided to spend a little more time figuring out what to do with all his money. Meanwhile, Colin Baden, who has been president of Oakley since 1999 will step in as new CEO.
[Link: Orange County Business Journal]
by The Editors on August 31, 2009
The administration at Australia’s Sylvania High School took action when two Red Bull workers dropped off a few drinks and fliers at the school which had earlier “banned the product on health grounds,” according to a story in The Daily Telegraph.
School officers threw out several cans of the beverage left by the company and refused to hand out any of the stickers and flyers to students. . . The state’s most influential parents’ lobby group has called for a statewide ban on the controversial drinks amid increasing fears about their health risks. . . The Federation of Parents and Citizens’ Associations wants the crackdown because of concerns over students becoming loud and hyperactive in class after consuming cans of Red Bull, V, Mother or Cocaine. . . Experts said the drinks can cause mood disturbances, heart palpitations, dizziness, headaches and dehydration.
Yeah, just what high school kids need, right?
[Link: The Daily Telegraph]
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]
When the Royal Caribbean International cruise lines launches the world’s largest cruise ship, the Oasis of the Seas, in December it will be with a ship full of retail stores: 13 in all. One of them is called called Star Pier.
