by The Editors on October 23, 2013
Mike Olson and Pete Saari (pictured right), the co-founders of Mervin Manufacturing, once again have new owners to stun and amaze as Quiksilver announced today that it had sold their Washington State based snowboard and surfboard manufacturing company to Extreme Holdings, Inc. “an entity advised by Altamont Capital Partners.”
Steve Brownlie, Principal at Altamont, said, “Mervin Manufacturing represents an opportunity to invest in a special company with two of the industry’s finest action sports brands in Lib Tech and GNU along with a passionate team, including first-rate leadership in Ryan, Mike and Pete. We look forward to building on Mervin’s strong brand position of authenticity, premium products and service and its history of driving innovation that advances the sports of snowboarding, skiing, skateboarding and surfing.”
And yeah, Altamont is the private equity firm that wanted to buy Billabong and did buy Dakine in July 2013. This should be interesting. For the official word from Quik, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on October 23, 2013
This didn’t take long. Jaime Owens, the former editor of GrindMedia’s discontinued title Skateboarder Magazine has been named editor in chief at Transworld Skateboarding Magazine. Since they’re all in the family this makes perfect sense.
“Jaime Owens is an incredible addition to the TransWorld SKATEboarding team,” said TWS Publisher Monica Campana. “Jaime’s work within the industry extends itself into multiple areas of relevance, influence and expertise. Jaime is a solid individual with a sincere love of skateboarding. We all are excited and proud to have him on our team.”
Owens has worked for GrindMedia of 15 years and knows what’s up, for certain. For the official word from GrindMedia, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on October 21, 2013
Vans‘ parent company VF Corp isn’t going to let a few rumored layoffs at Reef get in the way of their march to global fashion domination. This morning, the company announced a four-for-one stock split and a 21 percent (pre-split) increase in this quarter’s dividends.
“During the past decade, VF has returned nearly $5 billion to shareholders through dividend payments and share repurchases,” said Eric Wiseman, VF Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Today’s announcement is the result of VF’s strong financial and stock price performance, and the confidence we have in our ability to create long-term profitable growth and returns for our shareholders.”
Some will tell you that splits don’t matter. Those who own loads of pre-split shares would likely argue. For the official word from VF follow the jump. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on October 17, 2013
Well, if the contest was about who could link up with the most forward facing brands in the shortest amount of time it looks like the minds behind the Association of Surfing Professionals have done a right nice job of it for 2014. The ASP has reportedly done deals with Youtube, Facebook, and ESPN.
“Professional surfing is a truly global sport which demands media distribution partners with significant reach. Our newly announced partners have tremendous presence in the innovative media arena and, together, they build the foundation for the ASP media platform,” Paul Speaker, ASP CEO, said. “I personally believe surfing is one of the most dramatic and dynamic sports on the planet and it’s an honor to work with tremendously inspirational athletes in bringing their feats and stories to the public.”
Here’s how the deals sort out: Youtube will host the live stream of 26 events, Facebook will be the “primary social platform parter” and ESPN will “showcase the sport’s elite events” by hosting highlight shows (for those sorry saps who still watch TV) immediately following the events. How much money will these deals generate for the organization? They didn’t say, but at least they’re moving in the right direction. For the official word from the ASP, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on October 15, 2013
The Mavericks Invitational has a new title sponsor now that Body Glove has announced a “multi-year” deal with the big wave surfing contest.
“We are thrilled to work with the community of Half Moon Bay to make the Body Glove Mavericks Invitational the premier event that it deserves to be,” states Robbie Meistrell, CEO of Body Glove International. “Body Glove has had an extensive history of involvement in surf competitions in the last 60 years and is proud to say that it has launched many careers of today’s surfing elite. It’s only natural that we partner with Mavericks Invitational, an event that is the absolute pinnacle of adrenaline, fueled by big wave riding. We look forward to having a long lasting and prosperous relationship.”
This should help keep the Mavericks contest on some firm footing for a while. For the official word from Body Glove, follow the jump.
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by The Editors on October 15, 2013
German boarding brand Goodboard Snowboards has a new distributor in Scandinavia, France, and the UK. You know, since you were wondering. And that new distributor is Surf2Go.
Krijn Moens, owner of Surf2Go, is very pleased with the acquisition of Goodboards Snowboards. “I first saw Goodboards on the ISPO 2013, and I immediately fell in love with the brand. The clean designs with the natural look, the hand-crafted and eco-friendly boards, for me, Goodboards was the showstopper.”
For the official word from Surf2Go, follow the jump.
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by The Editors on October 10, 2013
With the addition of action fashion industry icons Danny Kwock (formerly of Quiksilver) and Troy Eckert (formerly of Volcom) the What Youth team may be headed in some new directions. Here’s the low-down on the new “strategic partners.”
Kwock will be taking on a primarily advisory position, while Eckert will have significant involvement in the marketing of the What Youth brand, as well as an active role in content creation and project management. Kwock and Eckert also both bring their extensive relationship networks in action sports, and beyond, to this fast growing media brand. . . What Youth Editor/Founder Travis Ferré is very excited to explore the opportunities both Eckert and Kwock bring to the table. “To have the opportunity to strengthen and grow What Youth, while simultaneously adding the creativity and experience of Danny and Troy to our team is a huge honor and incredibly exciting for us. We’ve all been inspired by the creative work Troy has done — especially in Magnaplasm and The Bruce Movie — and Danny has proven to be one of the surf world’s most revolutionary visionaries who continues to push surfing and surf culture.”
Kwock and Eckert also bring a lot more than creativity and experience to the What Youth table (if you know what we mean). And that could be even more important to the brand over the long term. For the official word from What Youth’s parent company Trade Gothic, LLC, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on October 9, 2013
It’s official. Try and run a Cinch Fly on your shorts without permission from Volcom and you’re going to be breaking the law.
“The Cinch Fly was created to eliminate the bulkiness and maximize comfort,” says Joe Frizzelle, senior men’s board short designer. “Through the strategic design on the fly, we were able to discard the zipper without adding an inner gusset/extra fabric.. This dramatically reduced the amount of fabric & construction on the front of the garment which in turn makes the board short more comfortable in the water.”
That’s fashion with a function right there. That’s what that is.
[Link: Volcom]
by The Editors on October 8, 2013
Wend, the high performance snow wax brand brought to you by the same people who make Sticky Bumps surf wax, has just signed a four-year agreement to be the official competition wax supplier to the US Snowboarding Team.
“We look forward to working with the USSA and their athletes to help push performance to the highest levels. Our innovative and exclusive MF natural plant wax technology improves acceleration beyond the limitations of the existing Mid Fluoro compounds. WEND waxes provide measurable increases in speed and durability and should be a key component to success in Sochi 2014,” said John Dahl, President, Wax Research.
Wend will also supply wax to a couple other USSA sports involving long sticks that attach to each foot and operate independently. For the official word from Wend, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on October 7, 2013
Foam and resin surfboards from the heart of Oceanside, California. And all they need is a little Kickstart.
[Link: Kickstarter]
Mike Olson and Pete Saari (pictured right), the co-founders of Mervin Manufacturing, once again have new owners to stun and amaze as Quiksilver announced today that it had sold their Washington State based snowboard and surfboard manufacturing company to Extreme Holdings, Inc. “an entity advised by Altamont Capital Partners.”
