by The Editors on December 6, 2007
The Quiksilver Foundation, a tax-releif/philanthropic arm of Quiksilver Inc, has funded the creation of a community health training centre at Katiet, in the Mentawai Islands, off Indonesia’s West Sumatran coast.
SurfAid Founder and CEO, Dr. Dave Jenkins, said the opening of the centre was the culmination of a long and successful partnership with Quiksilver. “The Quiksilver Foundation has been supporting SurfAid’s relentless pursuit of cost effective results that create lasting change and break the cycle of poor health and health behaviors that have been part of Mentawai life for up to 5000 years,” he said.
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by The Editors on November 29, 2007
After selling K2 to the Jarden company for $1.2 Billion how is Richard J. Heckmann filling his free time? By starting up a new public company that’s only business is buying other businesses.
Heckmann . . . has based his new Heckmann Corp. at the business education center that bears his name, the Richard J. Heckmann International Center for Entrepreneurial Management at UC Riverside’s Palm Desert campus. Partners in the new venture, in addition to [Dan] Quayle, include ESPN sports commentator and former University of Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz and Alfred E. Osborne Jr., senior associate dean at UCLA’s Anderson School of Management.
According to the initial public offering Heckmann’s confidence rating is pretty high.
[Link: The Desert Sun]
by The Editors on November 28, 2007
After years of making skis and snowboards on an island, K2 has finally moved in to Seattle and they’re apparently enjoying being part of the known world again, according to a story in the Seattle Post Intelligencer.
[K2 Sports President Robert] Marcovitch also believes being in Seattle will get people thinking about all sorts of ventures with K2. The name, he says, is already established. When he goes to events wearing a K2 lapel pin and tells people where he works, “Everyone has a story — every accountant, every lawyer.”
It’s hard to believe it took them so long.
[Link: Seattle Post Intelligencer]
by The Editors on November 17, 2007
Jarden, the company that now owns K2, Ride, Volkl, Adio, Planet Earth, Mr. Coffee, and many more businesses has announced that Gregory S. Shearson has been named president and chief executive officer of Jarden Outdoor Solutions.
Mr. Shearson, 42, has more than 20 years of experience in the consumer package goods industry. He has held senior management positions at PepsiCo Corporation since 2001. Most recently, Mr. Shearson served as President of Tropicana Beverages North America where he delivered significant revenue and profit improvement.
Watch out snowboard business. It’s going to be interesting to see how a sugar water pusher does with action sports. We’ll keep you posted.
[Link: CNNMoney.com]
by The Editors on October 31, 2007
As if the Rossignol part of the Quiksilver purchase wasn’t enough, the Cleveland Golf numbers were a huge drag on Quiksilver’s otherwise strong position in the sports marketplace. Now, it appears Quik can become even lighter on its feet now that it has announced the sale of Cleveland Golf to SRI Sports Ltd of Japan for a reported $132.5 million.
Quiksilver Chief Executive Robert McKnight said in a statement that Cleveland Gold was “not a strategic asset for us as we strive to maximize our core businesses and brands.”
How right he is.
[Link: Reuters]
by The Editors on August 24, 2007
Even though Billabong has reported a net profit of $167.25 million (up 14.6 percent) for 2006/07, and sales revenue that grew 20.1 per cent to $1.22 billion, shares in the company still fell five percent after the announcement today.
Sales in the Americas, the group’s biggest region, rose in the double digits, while EBITDA rose by 12.3 per cent to $US111.9 million ($A136.03 million). Mr O’Neill said the Americas region was backed by strong performances in Canada and South America.
Oddly, an analyst “who did not wish to be named” said the Americas were “disappointing” because of the Aussie dollar. Can you be a quoted stock analyst and not wish to be named? We’re all for anonymous comments, but still that seems shady.
[Link: The Age]
by The Editors on August 23, 2007
Zumiez, Inc. shares are down today after a Piper Jaffray downgraded their rating from “outperform” to “market perform.”
Shares of Zumiez (nasdaq: ZUMZ – news – people ) declined $1.40, or 2.9 percent, to $46.49 in premarket trading. A Piper Jaffray (nyse: PJC – news – people ) analyst cut the stock’s rating to “Market Perform” from “Outperform,” saying shares are fairly valued.
This is in spite of the fact that Zumiez reported higher than expected profits and sales in the second quarter. Zumiez stock is up 96 percent in the past 52 weeks. Not bad if you’re in it.
[Link: Forbes]
by The Editors on August 22, 2007
Investors Business Daily is big on Zumiez the day before they announce their quarterly earnings:
But when Zumiez reports fiscal 2007 second-quarter results Wednesday, watchers expect it to shine. July’s strong same-store sales followed a 13.7% gain in June’s same-store sales and an 11.2% rise in May. Total July sales were up 42.4% from the prior year. June’s rose 48.8%, and May’s gained 51.6%
Get all the details by clicking the link.
[Link: Investors Business Daily]
by The Editors on July 19, 2007
It’s a good day for Volcom’s Vice President of Sales Tom Ruiz. As part of a prearranged 10b5-1 trading plan Tom exercised 5,000 options of Volcom at $19 today and then immediately sold them off at approximately $49 netting himself a healthy profit of $150,000. Congrats, Tom.
[Link: Forbes via AP]
by The Editors on July 12, 2007
The Motley Fool’s Alyce Lomax says she was amused by Volcom’s presenting at the buttoned-down CIBC World Markets’ Consumer Growth Conference.
Of course, given this two-time Motley Fool Hidden Gems pick’s impressive recent growth, it’s no wonder that Wall Street wants to hear more about the magic behind its success. I took a peek at the transcript from the conference.
Click the link for a comprehensive outsider’s look at what makes Volcom function in the world of youth fashion.
[Link: The Motley Fool]
The Quiksilver Foundation, a tax-releif/philanthropic arm of Quiksilver Inc, has funded the creation of a community health training centre at Katiet, in the Mentawai Islands, off Indonesia’s West Sumatran coast.
