by The Editors on May 18, 2009
According to legal documents linked up by Josh Hunter at Transworld Business, Zumiez has apparently offered $7.2 million for The Active Wallace Group.
Based on the offer made by Zumiez, Active proposes to sell its assets for a total consideration of up to as much as $7.2 million cash, depending upon the outcome of Zumiez valuation of inventory and determination of number of stores to acquire. The total consideration offered to be paid by Zumiez in this case is based on the following formula:
1.) Inventory valued at the lower of cost or market, as determined by an appraiser hired by Zumiez;
2.) $100,000 per store to be purchased by Zumiez; and
3.) Assumption of gift card certificates up to $1.3 million, with total consideration to be adjusted if gift card liability is in excess of $1.3 million.
Crazy days indeed. Odd how quickly things can turn around. Click here to download the entire legal document from TransWorld Business. We’d suggest you read Tiffany Montgomery’s story on Shop-eat-surf.com, too, but you’d have to become an executive member to access the entire piece.
[Link: Transworld Business via Boardistan Commentor]
by The Editors on May 18, 2009
According to a story on Bloomberg.com VF Corp’s CEO Eric Wiseman is letting people know that he and the company are in “active discussions” on an outdoor/action sports acquisition. Wonder who that could be?
“There are lots of really interesting discussions about brands that may be appropriate,” Wiseman, 53, said in a May 15 interview at VF’s headquarters in Greensboro, North Carolina. “I hope we can make an interesting acquisition this year.”
The word before was that VF was gunning for DC Shoes. But with everything going down lately, we’re wondering why VF would take one little bite, when they could just chomp down on the whole thing. . .
[Link: Bloomberg]
by The Editors on May 18, 2009
We all know that Ryan Sheckler’s new Wicked clothing line RS by Sheckler is hitting JCPenney this summer just in time for back to school, but what we didn’t know were WMG’s Steve Astephen’s plans for the brand.
In a story on Sports Business Journal he says they play to make millions.
Sheckler’s agent . . . hopes to build the new brand, which launches this summer, into a $100 million business that earns Sheckler $10 million a year.
Possible? With JCPenney as the “official retail partner” of the Dew Tour some synergies could happen. If people still shop at Penneys. Do they?
[Link: Sports Business Journal]
by The Editors on May 18, 2009
Spy Optic’s parent company Orange 21 announced financial results for the quarter ending March 31, 2009 and while sales were down 36 percent and they lost $804,000 it was still better than last year at this time when the company lost $851,000.
“As stated last month, the current recession continues to have a significant impact on our global sales,” commented Stone Douglass, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer. “During the first three months of 2009 compared to the first three months of 2008, we have reduced total operating expenses by approximately $1.8 million. In addition, we have been seeking new opportunities on a global basis.”
Looks like things are moving in the right direction for the company. For all the color tune into tomorrow May 19, 2008 at 1:30 PDT for the quarterly analyst’s call by clicking here. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on May 17, 2009
Looks like analysts were right both ways when they guessed last week that Billabong was either looking to raise more money or going to announce a lower profit outlook thanks to the flailing American clothing market, according to a stories on Reuters, The Australian and The Sydney Morning Herald.
Australian surfwear retailer Billabong International (BBG.AX) is looking to raise A$290 million ($217.6 million) to pay down debt, with a share sale priced at a 29 percent discount to its last trade. . . Billabong said on Monday it was raising the money through a fully underwritten 2-for-11 rights offer to institutions, at A$7.50 a share, worth A$200 million, and a matching offer to retail shareholders, which would raise up to A$90 million. . . The company has adopted a six-month freeze on hiring new staff across all markets and will not replace staff who leave the company.
[Link: Reuters and The Australian]
by The Editors on May 14, 2009
Billabong’s stock went into a trading halt soon after the market opened yesterday, according to Australia’s the Age and now analysts are stuck trying to figure out exactly what that means.
You’ve got two choices,” one analyst said. “A capital raising for who-knows-why, or a profit downgrade. Or if you want to be really, really wild, how about an upgrade. There’s enough anecdotal evidence to say it’s not on the upside.” . . .A second analyst agreed, saying: “Most of the market’s expecting their profit to come in below their guidance, but not dramatically so.”
We’re not even going to guess on this one. We’ll all know soon enough. But it doesn’t sound good.
[Link: The Age]
by The Editors on May 13, 2009
American Insurance Group, the company that owns Vermont’s Stowe Mountain Resort announced today that they are putting the resort up for sale according to a story in the Burlington Free Press.
“We’re actually putting Stowe up for sale. So it’s official now,” Peter Tulupman, spokesman for AIG, told The Burlington Free Press this morning. . . Tulupman declined to comment on how much American International Group Inc. — which is mostly owned by the U.S. government after a sequence of federal bailouts in the wake of Wall Street’s collapse last fall— is seeking for the iconic resort which includes the lavish Stowe Mountain Lodge and the mountain’s operations.
As we learned in Hal Clifford’s book Downhill Slide resorts are all about the real estate that surround them and it is a buyers market right now. Anyone?
[Link: Burlington Free Press via Yobeat]
by The Editors on May 12, 2009
As creditors rifle through former Billabong CEO Matthew Perrin’s estate his wife Nicole Perrin is now claiming that she didn’t sign several documents and that they must have been forged, according to a story in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Mrs Perrin made the claim in a restraining order she has sought to stop the bank repossessing her $15 million Surfers Paradise mansion. The bank is trying to recoup $13.5 million Mr Perrin borrowed against the family home and a Mermaid Beach apartment last year. . . Lawyers for Mrs Perrin argue that as the signatures on the loan documents are a “counterfeit forgery”, the mortgages and guarantees are “mere nullities having no legal force or effect”. It is alleged the signatures of Mr Perrin’s brother Fraser Perrin, a Gold Coast solicitor who “witnessed” Mrs Perrin’s signatures, are also fake.
Nicole reportedly bought the house with money from her personal sales of 13 million shares of Billabong stock and never signed it over to anyone. This might buy her at least a couple more weeks in the house, huh?
[Link: Sydney Morning Herald]
by The Editors on May 11, 2009
Get all the details from Volcom’s recent SEC filling right here. We haven’t read the entire document, but this caught our eye:
Sales to Pacific Sunwear increased 21.8%, or $1.5 million, for the three months ended March 31, 2009 compared to the three months ended March 31, 2008. We currently expect a decrease in 2009 revenue from Pacific Sunwear compared to 2008. It is unclear where our sales to Pacific Sunwear will trend in the longer term.
As PacSun sales fall, Volcom gets further into bed with the mall. Maybe that’s because VeeCo is the only brand that is checking. Read the rest for yerself.
[Link: MarketWatch]
by The Editors on May 7, 2009
When you’re $1 billion dollars in debt and you have a huge payment to European lenders coming due on June 30, 2009 you have to cut back: even on the annual report, according to a story in USA Today.
Every spring, Quiksilver’s (ZQK) investors could look forward to having a thick annual report land in their mailboxes, filled with colorful photos of tanned bodies and monster waves. Not this year. . . As part of cost cutting not only at the Southern California surf wear company but at many companies, the traditional printed annual report to shareholders is slimming down if not disappearing completely.
Every little bit counts. Wonder if they’ve ratcheted back on Fed Ex, too?
[Link: USA Today]
According to legal documents linked up by Josh Hunter at Transworld Business, Zumiez has apparently offered $7.2 million for The Active Wallace Group.
