by The Editors on August 18, 2022
Bloomberg, a company known for running with pretty much any business rumor they blindly stumble into, announced yesterday (August 17, 2022) that Burton Snowboards was looking for a buyer with the following: “The owners of snowboard gear manufacturer Burton are exploring a sale that could value the family-run business at as much as $800 million, people with knowledge of the matter said.”
Oddly, it appears that people with knowledge of the matter may have been a bit mistaken with their information as Burton Snowboards Donna Carpenter imediately set the record straight on IG with the following.
Since the beginning of owning this company, there’s always been rumors about us selling. So many that one year we made t-shirts that said, “Not for sale!” A recent report came out that we’re for sale. It’s 100% bullshit. It was for a nice price, but as I’ve always said, we are family-owned and will remain family-owned.
Wanting to know how much someone would pay for your company and wanting to sell it are often two different things. Not saying anyone was looking around for valuations, but Donna’s message seems pretty clear. That said, with the current state of the world (and weather), it might not be the worst time to take some money from the private equity clowns. Glad to see that isn’t happening just yet.
[Link: Bloomberg]
by The Editors on July 25, 2022
Walmart, the massive, big box, retailer, and obesity promoter, is a hulking bag of putrescence for so many reasons that it’s not worth listing any of them. But here’s one anyway. Back in February 2022 we mentioned a story about Vans filing a lawsuit against the monster retailer for knocking off most of Vans shoes.
Vans won an injunction against the company in March 2022 that required Walmart to stop selling the infringing shoes. But did Walmart follow that injunction? Of course not, according to a story on Reuters.
Vans told the court Friday that Walmart was “doubling down” with new shoes that are “even more similar” to its designs. It also said that Walmart was still selling other shoes that had been banned by the order. . . Vans’ court filing said Walmart has told the company it would stop selling the infringing shoes but “has not shown that it is actually putting its words into action.”
Vans wants Walmart to be fined $3,000 a day until they stop selling the shoes. But that probably won’t even stop the retail whale from continuing to plow ahead through the waters of copyright infringement, because why should they stop? They’re making boatloads of money. And they do the same thing in almost every category they sell in.
[Link: Reuters]
by The Editors on July 14, 2022
We’re all soft. We get easily triggered. So it’s nice to see that the Vermont resort formerly known as Suicide Six is changing its name to “Saskadena Six,” a name that celebrates the indigenous people of Vermont, and is more sensitive to mental health issues, according to a story on VT Digger.
“Much time, care and thought has been invested in the process to choose a name more representative of our values, one that celebrates its 86-year history, honors the Abenaki tradition, and will welcome future generations,” Courtney Lowe, president of the Woodstock Inn & Resort, which owns the ski area, said in a statement. “While the name might be changing, the experiences offered on this beloved mountain are not.”
The new name reportedly means “the standing mountain” in the Abenaki language. But how will the new name affect people who can’t stand? And is this simply another appropriation of Indigenous cultures for business gain? If these questions are in your lane, please weigh in.
[Link: VTDigger]
by The Editors on May 27, 2022
It’s only taken 28 long years, but the Federation International de Ski, the governing body of Olympic snowboarding since 1994, has finally added the word “snowboard” to the official name of their organization.
At the 53rd International Ski Congress, held May 26, 2022 in Milan, Italy, the delegates “approved changing the official name of FIS to include ‘Snowboard’.” The new official name of the organization is the International Ski and Snowboard Federation, however, they don’t want to confuse anyone by adding an “S” to the logo so the acronym will stay the same: FIS. Otherwise, it might look like the logo on the right.
For all the details and more amazing stories from the still inappropriately named 53rd International Ski Congress please click the link.
[Link: FIS]
by The Editors on May 16, 2022
By clicking the “continue” link at the bottom of this blurb, you will encounter a list of headlines that refer to our topics, namely, skateboarding, surfing, snowboarding, fashion, and finally, business. Many of these stories have been read by “The Editors,” and many have not.
The list of headlines style is evidence of the slow evolution of this site and The Editors themselves. Snark has been annoying for nearly a decade (deja vu from last month), and The Editors realized there is no longer any reason to restate what other people have written to make it funnier. Few have time for witty nor funny when it slows the speed of information consumption.
Nothing is getting in the way here. Follow the jump and read the list. If there are brands, people, or topics that interest you, please use the search function in your browser and jump to it straight away. Enjoy.
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by The Editors on April 16, 2022
Chris “Gunny” Gunnarson, the guy who long ago built a business out of shaping snow at resorts around the world (Snow Park Technologies), has been named the new President of Woodward, the “action sports experiential” company owned by POWDR, who also own Snowbird, Park City, Mt. Bachelor, Copper Mountain, Killington, and six other mountains.
POWDR’s CEO, Justin Sibley, commented, “Woodward is an amazing brand with world class facilities and a focus on safe progression that are a critical ingredient to the future of action sports. I don’t know anyone with a better track record in the action sports, snow sports, and youth programming than Gunny. He is an invaluable advisor to our leadership team, and I look forward to his vision and counsel going forward as we continue to strive to grow, expand, and unify the Woodward brand.”
Yes, indeed. It looks like Gunny is doing well these days. Big job. Woodward now consists of Woodward Park City, Woodward PA, Woodward Copper in Colorado, Woodward Tahoe, and Woodward West in Stallion Springs, CA. (And yeah, Woodward PA still does dance, cheer, and gymnastics camps among other things.) For the official word from POWDR please follow the jump.
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by The Editors on March 24, 2022
This was going to be the Ides of March news listers. Then the Holi lister, now it’s just the late-in-March list of news stories that caught our eye and might be of interest to you. That’s all. No snide asides, no out-of-context comments, no misinformed snark, and no 200 word headlines. Just links to stories that are at the top of the news tonight.
Follow the jump for all the stories.
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by The Editors on March 22, 2022
We’ve got no backstory on this one. We left the controls for a few days to catch the tail end of the winter that wasn’t and celebrate Holi while avoiding the St. Pats day madness only to return to news that VF Corp chose March 17, 2022 to announce that the company had named long-time Vans (and former Vans president) Kevin Bailey as the new global brand president for Vans.
This appointment marks Bailey’s return to the Vans brand after holding several enterprise leadership roles at VF. Bailey was Vice President of Retail for Vans when the brand was acquired by VF in 2004. He was later appointed as President of Vans, a role he held from 2009 to 2016. Under Bailey’s leadership, revenue for the brand more than doubled to $2.2 billion.
As for Vans comment on former president Doug Palladini (pictured right)? Well, they thanked him for his dedication and passionate service for the past 18 years and wished him “all the best” in his next chapter. Wish we had more info. If you see something, say something. Please. For the official word from VF click the link.
[Link: Business Wire]
by The Editors on February 16, 2022
We all need some good sunnies, and who better to drive your style than Jamie Thomas. That’s why OTIS has signed him up with a “multi-year partnership.”
“My idea of a perfect collaboration is two forces coming together to create a delicate mixture of quality, style, purpose and passion,” continues Jamie. “I feel that we accomplished that with Overkill and I’m pleased to present the first of hopefully many collections to come.”
And yes, they look good, and will be available at retail March 1, 2022. Please follow the jump for the new collection and the official word from OTIS.
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by The Editors on February 14, 2022
It’s newsies time. Obviously, this list is overloaded with Olympic content since that’s what snowboarding is up to right now. And Shaun White is the biggest news from Chinaland. Shaun, and the terrible judging. But, oddly, few outlets wrote about that. Censorship? Probably not, but you know the journalists who are visiting China and hope to stay and/or return to the country don’t want to upset the PRC media watchers. Click the link for the list. And get going. This is enough to make it look like you’re working for the rest of the afternoon!
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