by The Editors on July 10, 2009
According to the 2008 SIMA Retail Distribution Study released yesterday by the Boulder, Colorado based research firm Leisure Trends Group 2008 saw a slight decrease in skate/surf retail sales (down 3.5 percent to $7.22 billion) and the “softness was most apparent in the fourth quarter of 2008.”
Apparently, December 08 was a bad month in retail. Who knew? Or how about this insight. Did you know that: “Passion and youth largely drive the surf industry. Surfers and skaters view the industry as a lifestyle, not a passing trend.”
But don’t worry, according to SIMA President Doug Palladini the “powerful brands” will see us through:
“While the surf/skate retail industry is not immune to the downward pressure on retail sales nationwide caused by the global recession, the resiliency of the surf/skate industry is very positive and promising,” says Doug Palladini, SIMA President and Vice President of Marketing for Vans. “Powerful brands with close connections to their consumers will see us through these challenging times and put us in a strong position as the overall economy rebounds.”
Thank god for the titans of industry. For more of this kind of in-depth analysis into last year’s retail disaster, follow the jump.
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by The Editors on July 8, 2009
It’s 2009 and the SIA Trade Show has just now figured out that it might be a good idea to offer daycare during the Denver show being held January 28-31, 2010. How’s that for a first? No more dragging grandma along to sit in the hotel room all day.
SIA announced plans to offer on-site childcare services during the 2010 SIA Snow Show (January 28-31, 2010) at the Colorado Convention Center. The Colorado Convention Center was the first convention hall in the nation to designate an area specifically for childcare. Managed by New Thomas Learning Centers, the childcare facilities will include two separate rooms totaling 2,000 square feet equipped with toys and furniture appropriate for children between the ages of six-weeks to ten-years-old.
Wonder if this is a bandwagon the Action Sports Retail is fast enough to jump on?
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by The Editors on July 5, 2009
Australian market analysts Fat Prophets believe that any problems Billabong will have in the near future are tied pretty directly to the sagging economy in the US, according to a story in the Courier Mail.
“Although the economic downturn in Australia will, in our view, prove comparatively light, that is not the case for the US,” the Fat Prophets report said. . . “This is likely to prove a significant headwind for the company in the months ahead, potentially extending into the 2010 calendar year.”
Other analysts agree and say the company could have similar problems in “Europe and Australasia in fiscal year 2010.”
[Link: Courier Mail]
by The Editors on July 2, 2009
Amer Sports, the parent company of Salomon, Bonfire, and Atomic, just lost one of its larger investors as Novator Finland Oy announced today that it sold its entire 20 percent stake in the company to “institutional investors” at a 15 percent discount vs. Wednesday’s closing price, according to a story on Reuters.
Amer Sports shares were 15.4 percent lower at 7.02 euros 0718 GMT. . . Novator sold its 14.7 million shares at 7 euros each through SEB Enskilda.
Doesn’t exactly sound like a confidence building revelation.
[Link: Reuters]
by The Editors on July 2, 2009
We have to admit, since the former ASG head’s run on the old Sacklunch message boards we haven’t really kept up with exactly what Don Meek has been up to. We know he’s always in the middle of something big, so this latest bit of news wasn’t all that surprising.
In a bid to leverage its advertising sales infrastructure, the parent company of the Los Angeles Times has reached an agreement to sell national print and online ads for the Dallas Morning News, the flagship media division of A.H. Belo Corp. . . “We are going to take advantage of what we have built as a company to give advertisers access to the top markets in the U.S. You add Dallas to Chicago and Los Angeles and you have three of the top five markets in the country,” said Don Meek, president of Tribune365 National Solutions Group.
Newspaper ad sales? Mr. Meek never has been afraid of a good challenge.
[Link: LA Times]
by The Editors on June 25, 2009
Joel Gomez has sold the Sessions brand and trademark to a new company that is backed by Samsung America, according to press release on TransWorld Business. The new company will, not surprisingly, be called Sessions, LLC and will continue to do the same thing they’ve been doing only now they’ll be doing it with someone else’s money.
“Even in these difficult times, Cindi and I felt strongly that, with the right business model and team, we could capitalize on over 20 years of experience and brand equity” said Joel Gomez in a statement. “Cindi and I have great confidence in the viability of this brand. We have a strong and experienced team and with Samsung as a partner, we now have the necessary capital to assure a smooth transition and continued success.”
One more reminder that in these economic times there’s nothing better than a big, fat paycheck. Follow the jump for the entire press release.
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by The Editors on June 25, 2009
While we’re no fans of super flaired Flash websites, if a website owner is going to over-load their regular site with Flash graphics and other wiz-banglia, then the least they can do is build out a little mobile site for those of us who are riding the web with our phones all day. That’s exactly what Dakine has just done and the site works really well.
A newly launched, interactive site gives users access to DAKINE goodies while on the go. Content is broken down into categories including snowboard, ski, surf, skate, bike, windsurf, kiteboard, girls and music. An abbreviated version of DAKINE’s website, the mobile site, www.DAKINE.com/mobile, is compatible with most media rich-enabled cell phones.
In fact, if we were going to bookmark Dakine’s site on our home rig, we’d probably link up to the mobile site because it’s that much easier to use.
[Link: Dakine Mobile] [click to continue…]
by The Editors on June 23, 2009
Adrenalina CEO Ilia Lekach isn’t done with Canada’s action sports retailer West 49 just yet, according to a story in the Globe and Mail. But not just yet, as Lekach says he’s busy.
“Right now I’m in the middle of another acquisition,” said Mr. Lekach, who put forth the offer two months ago. . . “I’m going to wait until I finish it, and then I’m going to go back to West 49.”
Hmmm, wonder what active acquisitions Mr. Lekach has going on right now? Either way, he says that later this year he’s going to get back on West 49 and buy it.
[Link: Globe and Mail]
by The Editors on June 23, 2009
We’re pretty sure this won’t be the last, but Quiksilver has announced that 168 more people will lose their jobs at the company, according to the OC Register.
The layoff notice says 153 workers will be let go by July 21 and another 15 will leave by Oct. 1. . . Last year, the company laid off 397 workers in Orange County, according to records filed with the EDD.
Condolences to those who will lose their jobs.
[Link: OCregister via @ocbeachs]
by The Editors on June 23, 2009
Hollister, the surf fashion brand that doesn’t waste money on silly things like sponsored surfers, surf advertising or surf contests, is joining Quiksilver and Billabong in New York City with a new store called EPIC Hollister at the corner of Broadway and Houston. And the press release is enough to make Miki Dora roll over in his grave.
It’s 40,000 square feet of pure California fantasy. It’s walking along Huntington Pier, hanging with the hottest crowd at the beach while the waves crash around you…literally! “The EPIC store is what Hollister is all about–big waves, surf, sun, and hanging out on the pier,” said a Hollister rep. “The laidback HCo. vibe is effortlessly cool, and we’re bringing the SoCal lifestyle to SoHo. . . . The first of its kind in the world, Hollister Co.’s EPIC store is about sight, sound, scent, taste, touch, and most of all, positive energy. It is without a doubt the coolest store to open in NYC. EPIC will be SoHo’s must see destination!
It’s so fake, it almost feels real. We can hardly wait!
[Link: Yahoo Finance]
According to the 2008 SIMA Retail Distribution Study released yesterday by the Boulder, Colorado based research firm Leisure Trends Group 2008 saw a slight decrease in skate/surf retail sales (down 3.5 percent to $7.22 billion) and the “softness was most apparent in the fourth quarter of 2008.”
