by The Editors on June 2, 2008
According to a story on Forbes.com:
Shares of Quiksilver Inc. ticked higher on Monday, as an analyst predicted the outdoor apparel and equipment maker will report strong revenue when it releases its second-quarter earnings on Thursday. . . . The company is attempting to focus on its Quiksilver, Roxy and DC apparel and footwear brands and shed its equipment units, including French ski maker Rossignol, which Quiksilver acquired in 2005.
We’re going to guess that news won’t be that great. . . but what do we know.
[Link: Forbes.com]
by The Editors on May 7, 2008
According to c|net the hottest new action sports trend in Silicon Valley is kitesurfing (which is really no surprise).
For the uneducated (that’s the rest of us), kiteboarding (or kite surfing) is the trendiest adrenaline-junkie sport among Valley venture capitalists and high-tech entrepreneurs. In fact, mention you’re an amateur at a technology social function, and it could provide an entree to a conversation with the kite-savvy Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Second Life‘s Philip Rosedale, or venture capitalists Bill Tai and Ken Howery.
“I always joke that to kite-surf, you either need to be a venture capitalist or unemployed,” said Chris Sacca, a former Google executive who’s now a technology investor, referring to the flexible schedule that people need to surf between 2:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., which are peak wind times. The cars at the kite beach parking lot on 3rd Avenue near San Mateo, Calif., (a spot about 20 miles south of San Francisco that accesses San Francisco Bay) typically reflect that theory.
Seems like those valley types are always into sports with extremely low fun/equipment cost ratios.
[Link: c|net]
by The Editors on May 7, 2008
According to Forbes.com :
Zumiez Inc. late Wednesday said same-store sales rose 4.1% in April, topping the average estimate of analysts polled by Thomson Financial for an increase 2.3% for the month.
Total sales at the Everett, Wash., action sorts retailer rose 20% to $24.2 million from last year’s total.
The stock closed the regular session at $20.38, down 2.6%.
[Link: Forbes]
by The Editors on May 2, 2008
According to Investerms :
Volcom, Inc. (NASDAQ: VLCM) shares are soaring more than 25% midday Thursday on practically five times trading volume after first quarter results and an analyst price target upgrade.
The California-based clothing and accessory maker that sells products under the brand Volcom has added more than $100 million in market capitalization after reporting a 70.4% increase in first quarter net income. Net income rose to $9.3 million, or 38 cents per share, from $5.5 million, or 22 cents per share, on a 58.5% increase in revenues. Even with this drastic sales growth, Volcom managed to increase gross profit slightly to 52.4% from 52%.
Sometimes we’re glad we don’t own Volcom stock, and other times (like today) we’re bummed.
[Link: Investerms]
by The Editors on April 28, 2008
Looks like NBA China is going to be taking a little more of Heidi Ueberroth’s time in the coming months.
Heidi Ueberroth, global business executive of the National Basketball Association, has stepped down as a director of Huntington Beach-based Quiksilver Inc. as she works on launching an NBA league in China.
Seems like she could have done business for both brands while she was there.
[Link: Orange County Business Journal]
by The Editors on April 22, 2008
According to the Houston Chronicle William M. Barnum Jr., a director of Zumiez Inc. just bought 54,937 shares of Zumiez.
In a Form 4 filed with the SEC, William M. Barnum Jr. reported he bought the shares for $18.05 to $18.40 apiece on Thursday.
Wonder if he knows anything?
[Link: Chron.com]
by The Editors on April 17, 2008
For the past seven years Quiksilver has been in court fighting over the name “Roxy” with Kymsta Corp. makers of Roxywear. Quik has now announced thatis has “again prevailed” in Federal court. Bob McKnight is happy:
We are pleased with the decision of the court. As a matter of principle and financial responsibility, we are deeply committed to protecting and defending our trademarks and brands. We were always confident in our rights with regard to our longstanding usage and the fame of the ‘Roxy’ trademark. This victory protects our valuable mark, upholds our investment in the ‘Roxy’ brand, and protects consumers from confusion in the marketplace.”
For all the messy details of this on-going lawsuit, follow the jump.
[click to continue…]
by The Editors on March 31, 2008
Shop, eat, surf’s, Tiffany Montgomery attended the Quiksilver shareholders meeting on March 28, 2008 so we didn’t have to. Here are her take-aways. . . wait, she didn’t have any take-aways, just the facts:
Company goals include driving growth in apparel and footwear brands, divesting the equipment business, continuing its initiative to streamline global sourcing, cutting expenses, improving operating profit margins, improving cash flow and reducing debt. . . . Quiksilver now owns 406 retail stores, a $392 million business acounting for 20 percent of apparel and footwear sales last year.
You can read the rest on her blog.
[Link: Shop Eat Surf]
by The Editors on March 14, 2008
Luxottica Group SpA, the world’s largest eyewear manufacturer suffered it’s first profit decline in nine years according to a story on Bloomberg.com. And they’re blaming Oakley.
Luxottica dropped as much as 5.7 percent after the company said late yesterday fourth-quarter net income declined 3.7 percent on costs to combine sports-eyewear maker Oakley Inc. with its other divisions. The stock was down 79 cents, or 4.7 percent, to 16.21 euros at 9:40 a.m. in Milan. A close at that price would be the lowest since May 20, 2005.
What a nice welcome to the family. We’re guessing we’ll all see some pretty big changes at Oakley in the coming year. We’ll keep you posted.
[Link: Bloomberg.com]
by The Editors on March 14, 2008
Looks like Zumiez has at least one fan in the analyst crowd:
Oppenheimer & Co. analyst Roxanne Meyer maintained an “Outperform” rating on shares. She said any dip in same-store sales may hold back growth, but thinks the stock already reflects such expectations.
Much of this apparently “outperform” comes from the potential for the company to “double it’s store base.”
[Link: Forbes]
