by The Editors on December 3, 2008
One and Co., a San Francisco design shop that has done work for Adidas, Burton, K2, Salomon, and Nixon among other was recently purchased by Taiwanese electronic manufacturer HTC, according to a story on cnet.com.
One & Co is excited to bring our lifestyle, user focused approach to HTC and we look forward to creating iconic, compelling products together,” said Scott Croyle, partner of One & Co. “Knowing about HTC’s cutting edge technology and proven track record of innovation, we are excited to collaborate with HTC as a global lifestyle brand.”
Not a bad exit strategy.
[Link: Cnet.com]
by The Editors on December 3, 2008
It took a primer from Boil The Ocean to get us headed in the right direction on this one but it seems Bob Denike and the NorCal skate mob has has picked up another brand as Flip becomes part of NHS’s “brand roster.”
Bob Denike, President and CEO of NHS had this to say, “The addition of Flip strengthens our position to be the #1 skateboard supplier in the industry. The NHS strategy is simple; strong brands across all categories, innovative product development and working with the best pro skaters; past, present, and future. The Flip brand together with the global Flip team are a powerful and welcome addition to NHS. And frankly, it’s about f*#king time!”
It’s all just painted plywood anyway, right?
[Link: Transworld Business via Boil The Ocean]
by The Editors on December 1, 2008
In a race to crush the action sports media competition, NBC is loading up. First, NBC’s AST Tour brought in MTV. Now, an entirely new alliance has been created aggregating the Action Sports Tour properties (AST) with Maloof Money Cup, AMA Motocross Championship and King of Wake series. It’s called Alli: The Alliance of Action Sports.
Alli’s mission is to facilitate the momentous growth of action sports by showcasing both the competition and lifestyle aspect of these sports. We believe these are the sports of a new generation and Alli will bring together the best properties, athletes, and brands globally for the fans of action sports,” says Wade Martin, President of Alli, the Alliance of Action Sports.
Alli has an entirely new, updated website to go with new events. Seems like a nice preemptory strike by NBC against the much rumored (though obviously delayed) relaunch of action sports on ESPN. Now all NBC needs is a magazine group to go with it.
Follow the jump for the whole press release or check out this story on Sports Business Journal.
[click to continue…]
by The Editors on November 30, 2008
We know this has gone on way, way, way too long (we’ve already said that three times we think). But now, Jake Burton Carpenter has written an editorial for the Burlington Free Press regarding the Love board debacle in which he outlines all the amazing financial benefits Burton has brought snowboarding and the state of Vermont, and then issues a veiled threat that he would “rather relocate the company to another state than compromise our commitment to listen to core snowboarders.”
We’re so over this whole story that we’re not even going to comment.
[Link: Burlington Free Press]
by The Editors on November 26, 2008
Australia’s former Brother Neilsen retail chain apparently owes Billabong International AUS$674,000 and the company wants to get paid. That’s apparently why Billabong’s subsidiary GSM Operations is taking them to court, according to Goldcoast.com.au.
GSM Operations has filed a statement of claim in the Queensland Supreme Court seeking damages from Paul Neilsen and Ahmed El Safty, along with an associate of Mr El Safty, John Hassan. . . .The debt is alleged to have been accrued by Brothers Neilsen between November last year and May this year.
What else can manufacturers do if a retailer has a going-out-of-business fire sale on product that they haven’t even paid for.
[Link: Goldcoast.com.au]
by The Editors on November 26, 2008
Nothing shows a CEO’s commitment to a bright and glorious future like buying stock on themselves. That’s what PacSun’s Chairman/CEO Sally Frame Kasaks just did, according to a story on StreetInsider.com:
After the close, Chairman/CEO Sally Frame Kasaks disclosed a purchase of 200,000 shares on 11/24 at prices from $1.10-$1.14, bringing her stake to 390,000 shares. In addition, Director Grace Nichols bought 10,000 shares on 11/24 at $1.13, encompassing her entire stake.
If we were interested in owning stock in the retail sector, this might be an interesting cue, or just a last ditch effort by a CEO attempting to boost her company’s stock price. On Wall Street you never know.
[Link: StreetInsider]
by The Editors on November 25, 2008
The Extreme Group just bought up the UK’s online action sports retailer UrbanSurfer.co.uk adding a decidedly stylish well-designed property to their already turbo extreme business.
Al Gosling, chief executive officer for the Extreme Group, said UrbanSufer.co.uk is another win for Extreme and adds to the extensive portfolio of products and experiences the company already offers consumers. . . “We are continually looking for ways we can further enhance and spread the core messages of Extreme and this website was the perfect fit. At Extreme we live by the philosophy of passion, vision, freedom and irreverence; this is radiated through everything we do, and now UrbanSurfer will be included in that mix,” he said.
Who said the word “extreme” would kill an action sports business?
[Link: Fashion United]
by The Editors on November 24, 2008
Many in the action sport media business have been asking what Wasserman Media Group was doing spending so much money on their Sportnet property. It appears someone inside the company asked the same question and answered by cutting 41 percent of the staff.
Twenty-eight of the group’s 68 employees were laid off late Friday, including Gabe Huerta, VP-product development, and a number of others from product development and support.
An email to Luke McDonough, the former president of Studio 411 was returned with the following message: As of November 21st 2008, Luke McDonough is no longer an employee at Wasserman Media Group/Sportnet.” And the recently launched Snowboarder.com has cut recently hired editor James Sullivan and is reportedly being run by a “project manager” at the company.
Some would say it was only a matter of time.
[Link: Paid Content]
by The Editors on November 24, 2008
Joplin, Missouri based American Ramp Co., makers of mostly steel, wood, and composite skateboard ramps is busily consolidating the pre-fab skateboard park manufacturing business, according to a story in the Joplin Globe.
About four months ago, American Ramp acquired Solo Ramps, a Canadian company that specializes in prefabricated concrete ramps. . . ARC also recently acquired a competing business, Sk8parks International.
Apparently, there is a huge market out there for funky, pre-fab parks. “Last year, the company built about 130 parks and made almost $12 million. It employs about 80 people.”
[Link: Joplin Globe]
by The Editors on November 24, 2008
Lately we’ve been sitting in on quarterly conference calls and at first when we heard that the market was “getting extremely promotional” we didn’t know exactly what they were talking about.
Then, last week, week when PacSun’s CEO Sally Frame Kasaks said they were going “aggressively clear inventory while holiday traffic is available,” we began to understand.
Looks like PacSun isn’t the only one. Here is a perfect example of what we’re calling “extremely promotional” on a flyer someone sent us from SoCal’s 10 store retailer Sun Diego.
President Dave Nash is not fooling around. On the biggest shopping weekend of the year, his crews are knocking prices down by 20 to 50 percent. Notice the extra savings? Shoppers who get to the store between 7 and 9 AM on Black Friday get an extra 10 percent off on the the low end.
Happy Holidays.
One and Co., a San Francisco design shop that has done work for Adidas, Burton, K2, Salomon, and Nixon among other was recently purchased by Taiwanese electronic manufacturer HTC, according to a story on cnet.com.
