We should have known when we boarded our flight to NYC just behind two penguins (in pet carriers, seriously) that it was going to be a cold, cold week in New York City. As the Agenda Show NYC opened their doors at 9 AM on January 23, 2013 the temperature on the street outside 82 Mercer St. was hovering in the mid teens and the entire city seemed to be bundled up like Arctic explorers on business trips. Inside the brick walled Agenda space, however, more than 120 street, skate, and even snow brands heated things right up. The free coffee didn’t hurt either.
Each year the Agenda NYC show becomes a more important gathering for street brands and East Coast action and style retailers, and no one was going to let the Manhattan deep freeze keep them off their Agenda game. Click the link for a full photo gallery and you’ll see what we mean.
Big, big, big. Earlier this month in Orlando, Florida Surf Expo had it’s biggest show in its 37 year history. And here’s a little video to prove it, if you weren’t there to see it in person.
Sales of snowboards and snowboard equipment have slipped 21% over the last four years, while sales of skis have climbed 3% in the same period, according to SnowSports Industries America, a trade group that tracks the $3.5-billion snow sports and apparel industry. . . Baby boomers aren’t the only ones bailing. Last season alpine skiing replaced snowboarding as the most popular snow sport among kids ages 6 to 17, according to the trade group.
We’re reminded of something crusty surfers are always overheard saying, “Fewer surfers means more waves for me.”
Even if VF Corp. and Altamont’s letter of intent is not a “binding offer” they still seem pretty serious about their bid for Billabong. Altamont Capital Partners has already named Skullcandy board member and former Nike and Oakley exec D. Scott Olivet as the guy who would run the non-Billabong brands including Element,RVCA, and Tigerlilly should the deal go through, according to a story in The Australian.
Mr Olivet is a clothing industry veteran and former vice president at Nike. He is currently a director of headphones company Skullcandy, and was chief executive of Oakley between 2005 and 2009 before moving into the chairman’s role through November 2011.
The former Oakley CEO ready to swoop down not he non-Billabong brands? That’s got to have some people at Billabong’s other brands starting to look a little more seriously over their shoulder for a soft place to land.
“Over the last 20 years we have built a unique and valuable collection of resorts, action sports camps and a niche television network. The creation of Powdr Enterprises will help us leverage the network we’ve built and strengthen all of our brands into the future,” said John Cumming, chief executive officer of Powdr. “As a well-respected, visionary leader and entrepreneur, Wade is the perfect person to lead Powdr Enterprises. He has an unparalleled track record of successfully creating and leveraging events, media and sponsorships to turn companies into powerhouse brands.”
Don’t want to have to spell this out, but this is huge, huge news. As the balance of power in action sports has moved away from the media to event and content owners, this new division could seriously disrupt a few old, tired business models. Will be interesting to see where Martin takes this. For the official word, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
In a move many thought should have happened a while ago, Vans and Reef parent company VF Corp (along with San Francisco, California based private equity firm Altamont Capital Partners) has offered $555.5 million for Billlabong, according to a story in the Washington Post. That is the same amount offered by former Billabong USA President Paul Naude and his investor partners. According to a statement from VF they aren’t interested in the entire company.
VF’s primary interest in the transaction is in the Billabong® brand. This interest is consistent with VF’s stated intent to pursue acquisitions, particularly in the Action Sports category, to continue to build shareholder value. Altamont’s interest lies in acquiring Billabong’s other brands and related assets, and is predicated on the firm’s mandate to invest in situations where it can provide strategic and operational support to build business success stories.
It would be sad to see that Billabong brand portfolio broken up, but at this point it really about what’s best for the shareholders. We’d put odds on VF corp getting the deal getting done, if Billabong is sold. Guess we’ll know in six weeks. For the official word from VF, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
Terry Snow, the founder of World Publications who folded his company into the Bonnier Corp and then purchased 18 magazines titles from Time Inc. (including TransWorld Media) has announced that he will officially retire on January 14, 2013, according to a story in Folio. Taking over for Snow will be his long-time number two and current SVP of Bonnier Active Interest Dave Freygang.
“I’ve worked closely with Dave for many years, and I am very happy to see him take over the leadership role,” says Snow in a statement. “For me, it’s been an amazing journey working with so many talented people at Bonnier who day-in and day-out create fabulous brands. I know Bonnier Corp. has a great future ahead and I look forward to contributing in new ways.”
Snow will reportedly continue as a shareholder and member of the board of directors. Seems like Snow timing continues to be almost perfect.
Billabonghas chosen to go with a CFO who has worked neither in fashion nor in retail, but in the media space for the past two decades. Peter Myers was CFO of APN News & Media and Network 10, but now he’s going to up to his waist in trunks.
“Peter has over 30 years of experience and insight at both a corporate and an operational level,” said Billabong CEO Launa Inman. “He understands the company’s current position, has a deep understanding of working with a wider team in implementing transformational strategies and will make a valuable contribution.”
He also has “extensive experience” with takeovers and acquisitions, so that’s good. Follow the jump for the official word. [click to continue…]
“Transformation is key for Billabong,” she said. “I’m sure there are people that don’t like to see the changes. . . They want the business to be what it was. I’m here to increase shareholder value. That’s my job. We have a lot of unhappy shareholders.”
We don’t really cover Skullcandy all that much anymore because they’re really more of consumer electronic company than they are anything else, but it is interesting to note that thanks to their currently low, low stock price Bloombergis mentioning today (January 9, 2013) that they are a perfect “takeover target.”
Down 66 percent since it began trading in July 2011, Skullcandy has performed worse than all but seven of the 185 U.S. IPOs completed since its debut, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The stock sank to a record low of $6.70 last week after Jefferies Group Inc. recommended selling the shares. The company’s enterprise value of 3.9 times earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization is cheaper than than 96 percent of stocks in the Russell 2000 Index, the data show. . . While increasing competition for in-ear headphones and the company’s move into lower-margin designs prompted the Jefferies downgrade on Jan. 2, Skullcandy shareholder Royce & Associates LLC says its brand may appeal to buyers such as Bose Corp. or Sony Corp. (6758) Even though Skullcandy’s revenue growth has slowed, the shares have fallen more than is justified and that might prompt a takeover, Roth Capital Partners LLC said.
Sony? Bose? What about Monster Cable? Any one of those wouldn’t be a bad exit strategy. Skullcandy shares are, of course, up on all the takeover talk.
