by The Editors on June 13, 2017
K2 Snowboarding has named former We Are Camp Director of Marketing Thomas Johnson as their new marketing manager.
“We couldn’t be more stoked to have Tom leading our snowboard marketing efforts,” said Hunter Waldron, K2 Global Brand Director. “His skill set and experiences are spot on and will no doubt lift our marketing abilities. Equally valuable to us is his energy and stoke for snowboarding as a sport and a culture. I can’t wait to see what we are able to do with him onboard.”
For the official word from K2, please follow the jump.
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by The Editors on June 1, 2017
Over the past decade Billabong has had nothing but trouble running their own retail stores. Not to rehash it all, but they’ve bought retailers and online retailers and partnered with other retailers all without ever gaining traction or experiencing any real success. But they’re planning to fix all that with the hire of Jim Howell as chief financial officer of the company.
Mr Howell has spent the last 10 years leading the finance and treasury division at Nordstrom, one of the largest retailers in the United States, where he oversaw significant cost management improvements, capital management and growth initiatives. . . He played a key role in the implementation of Nordstrom’s highly successful omni- channel retailing strategy, which has demonstrated consistent best in class financial performance.
Sounds like they have the right guy for the job. We hope Mr. Howell is up for a challenge. He starts at the Bong on June 12, 2017, and will be based in California. For the official word from Billabong, please follow the jump.
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by The Editors on June 1, 2017
On May 25, 2017 Snow Industries of America sold the annual SIA trade show to Outdoor Retailer, Interbike, and Surf Expo owner Emerald Expositions for a reported $16.7 million. SGB Media has a great overview of the details along with a full rationalization by SIA President Nick Sargent. Here’s how he spins it:
“The sale of the SIA Snow Show to Emerald ensures the best path forward for a vibrant and successful trade show and it expands SIA’s ability to help support our members and drive the winter sporting industry forward,” Sargent says. “That’s been the goal for me in this organization from day one and I’m proud to report that we’ve accomplished that goal and are setting ourselves up forward on a new mission.”
It’s a nice way to explain it, but in reality this is simply consolidation in a down market for trade shows. The name of the new show says it best: Outdoor Retailer + Snow Show. It’s a rough time for trade shows and for SIA to get any cash out of the show is nice work by the team, but don’t be surprised if “snow show” is dropped from the official name of the show in 2019 and everyone goes back to calling it OR Summer and OR Winter.
The biggest question for us is what is SIA without a trade show? Well, according to Sargent it’s SIA 2.0. He says the organization will now have more time, resources, and funding to focus on things like retail support, education, participation, industry gatherings (but not trade shows), research, and consumer outreach. In other words, all that stuff that we get press releases for, but never pay much attention to.
The best news for us, however, is that Emerald is still hunting for a new show location after pulling out of Salt Lake City and currently Denver, Minneapolis, Las Vegas, Chicago, Indianapolis and Portland are in the mix. The possibility that the show could end up back in Las Vegas (where it should be) as soon as 2019 is filling us with joy. If Las Vegas is all we get out of this deal, we’ll be happy.
[Link: SGB Media]
by The Editors on May 27, 2017
We’ve never understood the East Coast streetwear fashion thing. Growing up in the infinite expanse of the West, we never felt the crush of tight urban spaces or came face to face with the idea that anything was in scarce supply. East Coast kids don’t have that luxury. Many things are scarce in New York City and that may be why brands like Supreme are able to monopolize style and make kids believe that a product is worth hundreds of dollars more than another simply because it is difficult to get.
As Supreme met the Internet it became more important for them to make their highly coveted, limited supply fashion items available online when their product drops. Which is nice because not everyone can camp out on Lafayette St. each week to grab the latest before it’s gone. Problem is, it’s just as tough to get an order in as it is to get in line. Two Florida computer kids noticed how hard this was and they created a bot (The Supreme Saint) that (for a price) will dive in on the Supreme website and buy up product for customers in a matter of seconds, according to a story in Wired Magazine.
The breakthrough came within a couple of months, when Supreme released a version of Nike’s Air Jordan 5 sneakers. The shoes were offered in three color options, what sneaker fans call colorways: white, black, and desert camo. That day Matt and Chris charged $100 for each pair a customer wanted to buy. One of the colors received around 200 orders, making the duo roughly $20,000 in five seconds. Chris and Matt won’t say how much they make from their bot, the Supreme Saint, but they’ve formed an LLC.
Nice to know it’s still possible to jump in on street fashion and siphon off a little cash on the side. Then again, how exclusive is this stuff if anyone willing to spend a little extra can get it whenever they want? And what will the future hold now that Supreme is clamping down on bots in general? Click the link for the rest of the story.
[Link: Wired Magazine]
by The Editors on May 26, 2017
K2 Snowboards, Ride Snowboards, and the rest of the Newell Brands winter sports businesses have a new owner. This time they’ve been snagged by New York based private equity firm Kohlberg & Company for a reported $240 million. From the press release:
Net sales for the divested business were approximately $330 million during 2016 and annual adjusted EBITDA for the divested business is approximately $25 million. The transaction is expected to close late in the second quarter or early in the third quarter of 2017, subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval.
Not much to see here. Kohlberg is just another multi-billion dollar PE group that buys relatively boring companies and creates a quality return for their investors. We can’t even make any Rubbermaid jokes this time around. Other brands sold include Volkl, Marker, Dalbello, Madshus, Line, Full Tilt, Atlas, Tubbs, and BCA. For the official release, please follow the jump.
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by The Editors on May 22, 2017
Australian retailer SurfStitch (formerly partially owned by Billabong) is expecting its losses to double this year, according to a story on Sky News. In what has been one piece of bad news after another, the company will also be closing their US office a.k.a Swell.com.
SurfStitch on Monday announced that weak apparel and footwear sales in its key markets, particularly in the UK, will drag it deeper into the red than the $5 million-$6.5 million loss it had forecast in February. . . The company now expects a loss of between $10.5 million and $11.5 million for its 2017 financial year.
Guess the suits haven’t been able to turn the retailer around like they’d hoped.
[Link: Sky News]
by The Editors on May 17, 2017
Shaun White and former Bad Things drummer Lena Zawaideh have finally settled their differences without going to court according to a story in USA Today.
Zawaideh first sued White and his company in May 2016, alleging breach of contract for lack of payment of her $3,750 monthly retainer from September 2013 until August 2014. The original lawsuit didn’t contain any sexual harassment allegations. . . She then switched attorneys and filed an amended complaint in August that added the sexual harassment claims in detail with screen shots of alleged text messages from White attached as exhibits. It sought punitive and compensatory damages, including lost wages.
When the suit was filed last August, Shaun said he would defend against the charges “vigorously in court,” apparently, he changed his mind. No details were released on exactly what the settlement was, but we’re guessing Zawaideh got money in exchange for dropping her case. Isn’t that how it usually works?
[Link: USA Today]
by The Editors on May 16, 2017
Davis Allen Cripe (pictured right) was a 16-year-old high school student who died in April 2017 from what Richland County, S.C. Coroner Gary Watts is calling a “caffeine induced cardiac event” after drinking “a large Diet Mountain Dew, a cafe latte from McDonald’s and an energy drink over the course of about two hours,” according to a story in the Sacramento Bee. In other words, he didn’t do anything that the action sports industrial complex isn’t encouraging kids to do all the time.
Cripe’s father explained it like this:
“It wasn’t a car crash that took his life,” he said of his son. “Instead, it was an energy drink. Parents, please talk to your kids about these energy drinks. And teenagers and students: please stop buying them.”
No one mentioned exactly which energy drink it was, likely out of fear of getting sued, but we could probably guess. We just wonder when the action sports industry is going to wake up and stop selling off their lifestyles and athletes to promote drinks that can be straight up harmful to kids. Anyone?
[Link: Sacramento Bee]
by The Editors on May 9, 2017
Five Orange County, California and three Austrailian surfers are suing Rip Curl after the 8 were allegedly left to fend for themselves after the charter surf boat they were on (the Quest 1, formerly known as the Indies Trader II) began sinking during the night of July 18, 2015, according to a story in the Orange County Register.
The eight men are now suing surf giant Rip Curl, which organized the excursion, alleging the company knew the vessel was in disrepair and failed to provide any aid or assistance after they were rescued. The lawsuit, filed last month, also names Rip Curl executives and the boat’s operators, PT Neptune Adventures, which is described in the suit as a “shell” company set up by Rip Curl to “avoid liability and circumvent regulatory compliance” for the Quest 1.
Click the link for the rest of this nightmare surf story. From the sounds of the complaint, the surfers are lucky to be alive.
[Link: Orange County Register]
by The Editors on May 8, 2017
Scott Lewis has been named to the newly created role of global brand manager at Otis Eyewear. Lewis, who has formerly served as Director of International Sales at Oakley Inc, Commercial Director of Oakley Europe, International President at Globe and Director of Sales and Business Development EMEA at Fox Head, Inc. He will start at Otis’ home office in Australia in June.
For the official word from Otis, please follow the jump.
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