Kering, Volcom’s Paris, France based owner, has apparently decided they need someone from the home office in charge. So they’ve moved out longtime CEO Jason Steris and consolidated Volcom’s (and Electric’s) leadership under Kering’s chief executive of the Action Sports Brands Todd Hymel (right), according to a story in Orange County Business.
Hymel, a 41-year-old U.S.-French national, moved to Orange County in May to take on “a more active role in the development, expansion and performance of the Volcom and Electric brands worldwide.” He joined Kering in 2008 as deputy director of mergers and acquisitions and was appointed chief operating officer of its Sport and Lifestyle Division in 2012.
See, the new owners always move their people in eventually. Seems Kering was just a little more polite about it, waiting a full four and a half years before officially putting the company under the control of someone fluent in French.
Richer Poorer, the other Orange County, California sock and apparel brand has been purchased by Shoes.com according to a story on Orange County Business Journal.
“We’ve been acutely focused on building a strong brand identity, authentic voice and quality product since we launched five years ago,” company co-founder and Chief Executive Iva Pawling said in a news release. “The next growth phase for Richer Poorer requires significant resources, e-commerce expertise and ability to scale, all of which the Shoes.com team brings to the table.
The SnowSports Industries of America has created a video series to help communicate what they feel is the current “State of The Industry.” The above edit is the snowboard version. Here’s their pitch:
“We understand people are short on time and the State of the Industry Video Series provides a quick snapshot of last season. We focus on the stats that mean the most to all snow sports professionals – be it retail sales, marketing or manufacturing — to help everyone make sound business decisions in the year ahead,” commented Kelly Davis, director of research for SIA.
What do you think? Are they on target? We’d tell you what we thought, but that would means watching the video and really, who has time for that?
Don’t lie. You own a soft top and so do your friends. At the beach on the weekends it seems everyone is on one. Most of these boards are coming from the same place: CostCo. Bloomberg Business has the story behind one of the biggest shifts in surfing hardgoods ever.
Since its debut in 2007, Wavestorm has become the most popular surfboard in the U.S., with about half a million sold. Novices and veterans have embraced the mass-produced soft-foam boards, which cost much less than competing products. Entry-level soft boards typically sell for around $300, and hand-shaped long boards can go for upwards of $1,000. . . Unlike just about every other surfboard brand, Wavestorm wasn’t started by a revered “shaper” (board designer) or surfer. It’s the brainchild of Matt Zilinskas, a onetime hockey player from landlocked Waterloo, Ont., and John Yeh, a Taiwanese businessman.
Zilinskas shoots straighter than anyone in the surf industry when he explains his business model:
“We don’t want to mess around collecting money from little surf shops and sporting goods stores. Margins are slim at Costco, but we pump out volume and get paid on time.”
Yep, it’s apparently the future of board sporting. And, the boards are popular for similar reasons: they’re cheap, fun, indestructible, and most importantly, a great excuse for sucking at surfing. Seriously, who expects you to rip on one of those foam boats?
Quiksilver CEO Bob McKnight is reportedly selling his 108-acre piece of the North Shore (just across from Sunset Beach) for $15 million, according to a story in the Pacific Business News.
The 108-acre agricultural-zoned parcel is located between two private roads and a newly-paved road from the Sunset Chevron gas station and Paumalu Road in Haleiwa . . . Bob’s Paumalu LLC, which is headed by McKnight and Eddie Rothman, founder of Da Hui, has owned the property since 2005.
The property can be subdivided or you could build “four dream homes surrounded by acres of incredible rich soil, lush terrain, magnificent trees, and gorgeous timeless views.” Will be sad to see that land go.
Pretty Great, the Portland, Oregon based parent company of Bonfire, Nikita, Sessions, and SLVDR has hired former Quiksilver sales worker David Kozak as global sales director.
Dave brings with him 15 years of sales experience in the action sports industry, working first with Volcom before a tenure at Quiksilver, Roxy and DC, where he most recently served as the Director of Sales for Snow for all three brands in the Americas region. . . “Based on Dave’s multi-brand sales experience, ease to work with, creative sales perspective and work ethic, I could not think of a better person to lead sales for Pretty Great,” said Pretty Great President Rob Myers.
For the official word from Pretty Great, please follow the jump.
Cherokee Global Brands, the fashion giant who licenses Tony Hawk’s name for apparel has announced that they’ve signed a new deal that will see a “broad assortment of Tony Hawk® signature apparel, accessory and footwear categories for young men’s and boy’s sizes 4-20” roll into Canadian Walmart stores. Here are Tony’s thoughts on the deal:
“I’ve worked closely with the team at Cherokee Global Brands to create a launch plan appropriate for the number one retailer in Canada. In my many visits to Canada on skate tours, I am consistently humbled by the response that Canadians have given to me, the Tony Hawk brand and skateboarding in general. I will be fully committed to the success of this launch through my social media, marketing, and appearances. It’s going to be a great ride!”
Indeed. Walmart Canada has 395 stores and more than 1.2 million customers each day. Cha-China!
The US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware has agreed to the terms of Quiksilver’s $175 million financing deal with Oaktree Capital and Bank of America, according to a post on Just-Style.
“We are pleased to have court approval of the final DIP financing allowing our reorganisation to proceed on track as well as an additional $10m to pay pre-petition claims for critical vendors, said Pierre Agnes, CEO of Quiksilver. “We will continue to work in close cooperation with the Creditors Committee to execute our financial and operational restructuring, which is designed to restore the company to long-term financial health. We look forward to emerging from the Chapter 11 process, a stronger company better positioned to prosper into the future.”
Wonder what will be so different this time around (aside from getting out from under a bunch of debt and having a new load of cash)? We’ll all have to wait and see.
Bloomberg Business is reporting today that an investment banker who is reportedly working with Quiksilver (Durc Savini) “testified” that “at some point” Oaktree Capital Management “may” merge Billabong and Quiksilver in an effort to dig Quik out of the financial hole it is currently wallowing in.
Savini added that he never directly approached Oaktree about a transaction with Billabong and that he doesn’t believe Billabong “has the balance sheet to support” such a deal. Oaktree owns about 20 percent of Australia-based Billabong.
The story also mentioned another item reportedly in The New York Post that claimed “a Quiksilver-Billabong combination was being considered.” Guess the media just get to make stuff up and then we can link to it like it’s news.
Arnette Eyewear has apparently shut down their world headquarters in Encinitas, California and laid off the employees that worked there, according to a story in the San Deigo Reader.
The general manager, Fab, said the brand is owned by Oakley, the global line of action sports apparel and equipment. He assumes the product line will continue through Oakley’s world headquarters in Foothill Ranch in Orange County. But he’s not sure about the plans for the future of the Arnette brand.
Looking at the upside, we guess this means we can park in Arnette’s lot while getting Ironsmith Coffee without having to worry about getting towed.
Kering, Volcom’s Paris, France based owner, has apparently decided they need someone from the home office in charge. So they’ve moved out longtime CEO Jason Steris and consolidated Volcom’s (and Electric’s) leadership under Kering’s chief executive of the Action Sports Brands Todd Hymel (right), according to a story in Orange County Business.
