Quiksilver today announced today (March 4, 2013) that they’ve hired former Nike Global Brand Director Tom Hartge as Global Head of Footwear and former Lands’ End SVP, Global Sourcing Kasey Mazzone as Global Head of Supply Chain. Here’s what President and CEO Andy Mooney has to say about the changes.
“We are centralizing key functions and responsibilities across Quiksilver, Roxy and DC in order to strengthen our brands, grow sales and drive operational efficiencies,” said Andy Mooney, President and Chief Executive Officer of Quiksilver, Inc. “Both Tom and Kasey bring world class expertise to their respective roles, as well as extensive experience with global brands. These appointments, along with Pierre’s new role and the addition of a Chief Marketing Officer, will make our company more competitive and are key elements in our evolution from a regional management structure to a global structure with experienced leaders guiding each key functional area of the company.”
Guess this is all part of Quik’s recent reorganization. For the official word from Quik, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
Tony Hawk discusses how he got started, his break with Per Wilander and how he learned to say, “No.” In a Inc. magazineHow I Got Started feature.
When we first started, I was doing all the marketing and all the promotional materials myself. I was OK at it, but I wasn’t the most qualified person. Finally, one of our team members said, “Your ads aren’t very good. You’re better at skating. Why don’t you let me take this over?” . . . So I took a step back from the business and focused on skating. I stopped being so involved in the day-to-day operations and became more of an adviser. The company was growing, and everything was working out pretty well. But all that changed when we started to move outside of the skate world.
It’s obvious to us, the Phillips family, the fans of Jim Phillips Sr. and Jimbo Phillips, and fans of the brand Santa Cruz Skateboards, as well as many in the global skateboard and skate art community that there is clear and obvious infringement by Mr. Scott. We are discussing this with our legal team to determine our next steps. . . I hope that Mr. Scott sees that his actions have hurt and affected many people, including the Phillips family, and that he has also severely damaged his own reputation. It is not too late for him to do the right thing, as an artist and creative person, and fix his error in judgement.
Look at all those happy, smiling faces. It’s Laura Enever, Joel Parkinson, Lakey Peterson, newly-appointed ASP CEO Paul Speaker, newly-appointed ASP Interim Commissioner Kieren Perrow and Brett Simpson. And what are they smiling about? The start of the new season? The demise of Quiksilver and Billabong? No, apparently they’re smiling because things are looking up at the ASP, and the fans are going to be number one. ZoSea Media says so.
“The surfers, the events and the current ASP staff have all been, and will continue to be, instrumental in elevating the sport during this transitional year,” Paul Speaker, ASP CEO, said. “Our focus this season is protecting the interests of professional surfers, preserving the integrity of competition, refreshing the ASP brand and establishing a new commercial model for the sport. The ASP will be more fan-centric – the structure of tours, the production of broadcasts and everything in between will be geared towards enhancing the fans’ experience. Good luck to all our competitors and events in 2013 and we look forward to taking this next step with you.”
One thing is certain, the next year or two of professional surfing will not be boring. For the official word from Coolangatta, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
The Silver Mountain Resort auction includes an indoor waterpark, a property management contract for more than 270 condo units, another 14 commercial units, the 1,600-acre ski resort and its Morning Star Lodge, the nine-hole Galena Ridge golf course plus a restaurant and other development property. Also included in the sale is the 3-mile-long Silver Mountain gondola that carries people from Kellogg to the lodge.
The currently owner, window and door maker Jeld-Wen has decided to get out of the resort business to “focus on its core business.” The online auction runs until March 19, 2013 and any of the pieces are available for purchase. We’re currently checking out that waterpark.
In the race for corporate “efficiencies” Quiksilver is making some pretty big changes.
In addition to COO and Global Brand President Craig Stevenson resigning (he’ll be paid through October 31, 2013), the company is apparently cutting the snowboarding team (but keeping Travis Rice) and cutting the skateboarding team (but keeping Tony Hawk). The Quiksilver surf team has also been reportedly trimmed by several surfers. There are also rumors that Quiksilver Women, the Waterman Collection, the VSTR brand and Dane Reynolds side project Summer Teeth were also set aside.
Over at DC Shoes they’ve cut their entire BMX team and their surf team. There is also mention of auto (and co-founder Ken Block himself) being cut as well. As one surf industry stalwart ironically put it, “Can’t wait until the same thing happens at Billabong.”
One thing to remember: Hollisterdoesn’t spend a dime on “core teams” and they don’t seem to be having any problem in the “So Cal inspired clothing for Dudes and Bettys” space. Still no official word from Quik, but then again, their information distribution department never has been very effective. We’ll let you know if and when anyone shares any information on what is obviously a very bad day for action sports athletes, media, and the industry in general.
[Editors Note: The details in this post have been in flux all day thanks to various sources adding and subtracting details. So far, no replies to emails sent to Quiksilver corporate PR and other contacts.]
We’ve ignored Adam Miller’s skateboard to skateboard circus trick backflip for a while now, but when Ad Age decides to call this 15 second edit out as the “lift” Tony Hawk’s Ride Channel needed we just couldn’t pass it up any longer. Turns out this board-to-board stunt is the Ride channel’s “most view video with 2.5 million views.”
A second Miller video, one that shows the skater practicing for the trick and falling repeatedly (a.k.a. a “slam video”), is the channel’s trending video this week with more than 300,000 views. Those videos helped Ride, which is backed by Tony Hawk, capture the No. 7 spot on our YouTube Tracker as well as the designation Biggest Mover of the Week. The channel views grew by 399% over last week.
You see where this leads, right? More whack edits of amazing circus stunts. Yay!
La Jolla Group CEO Toby Bost is making his network television reality show debut tonight (February 22, 2013) when the fashion executive goes undercover with his own employees on the CBS show Undercover Boss. On the show Bost will apparently be playing the part of O’Neill CEO (as opposed to Metal Mulisha CEO, or Rusty CEO, FMF CEO or The Berrics CEO) as he puts on a “medical school” drop out disguise and hangs out with employees he’s never met, you know, retail store employees, the guys in the warehouse, and the screen printers. Bost, who does amazing job as a nerdy middle aged worker, enjoyed the experience greatly.
“The UNDERCOVER BOSS experience was intense, and it certainly prompted me to remember the importance of little details,” said Bost. “The opportunity allowed me to examine our company from a new perspective and learn important lessons from our employees. In my position, you aren’t often able to replicate the retail experience through the eyes of an entry-level employee, for instance, so this allowed me to see the challenges they face every day. It also provided a closer view into our training and communications procedures that I wouldn’t have had the same access to otherwise.”
It will be interesting because the employees who work for La Jolla Group and don’t know who Bost is are probably some pretty entertaining people (or paid professional actors). The show airs tonight, February 22, 2013 at 8 PM on CBS. Check your local listings or follow the jump for the official word. [click to continue…]
We just breezed over Billabong’s half year financial results for the six months ended December 31, 2012 and found a few things interesting and not all that surprising items. Here they are:
• Previously announced due diligence by Paul Naude and VF Corp is expected to conclude next month
• Sales fell in the Americas by 5.3 percent (blame Canada)
• Billabong lost AUS$ 536.6 million in the last six months.
• There will be no dividends paid in 2013
• Full year EBITDA guidance is now “in the range of $74 million to $85 million” as opposed to the “$85 million to $92 million” range reported in December.
• The performance of Nixon has not met expectations
• Trading conditions in Europe are difficult
Craig Woolford, a Citygroup analyst is warning investors that Billabong “could downgrade full-year earnings guidance when it delivers its first half result this Friday,” according to a story in the Wall Street Journal.
“We see risk the full-year guidance of 85 million Australian dollars (US$87 million) to A$92 million in Ebitda may be revised lower,” the broker said in a note to clients, explaining that the surfwear retailer may seek to provide significant clarity about its earnings trends given two private equity-backed consortia are conducting due diligence.”
Maybe this comes as one more reason Launa Inman (right) and the Billabong board should just take the VF Corp money and go their own ways.
Quiksilver today announced today (March 4, 2013) that they’ve hired former Nike Global Brand Director Tom Hartge as Global Head of Footwear and former Lands’ End SVP, Global Sourcing Kasey Mazzone as Global Head of Supply Chain. Here’s what President and CEO Andy Mooney has to say about the changes.
