by The Editors on July 12, 2012
Five former employees of One Distribution Co. have brought a lawsuit in Orange County, California Superior Court against the company and also named Vice President of global Brands Matt Fontana for “alleged wrongful termination, sexual harassment, gender discrimination, retaliation and failure to take effective remedial action,” according to a story in the OC Weekly. The suit reportedly claims the following:
“Fontana subjected the female employees at One Distribution to greater scrutiny, stricter standards and treated them less favorably than similarly situated males,” reads the complaint. “Fontana compelled employees to ‘pose’ for sexually prurient prospective ads and to engage in work with inappropriate sexual content, advertising crude and questionable pornographic sexual material when the customer market for their work product is children (specifically boys) from the ages of 11 to 17 (primarily skating and skateboard apparel).
Wonder how this one will play out? For the rest of the story click the link.
[Link: OC Weekly]
by The Editors on July 2, 2012
Looks like a bad Monday (July 2, 2012) morning for the troops at Quiksilver Inc. as more than 40 employees are reportedly in the process of getting cut from the payroll.
In an email sent to employees this morning “on behalf of Rob Colby and Craig Stevenson” (Quiksilver Americas President and CEO respectively) the following was outlined:
We have identified a number of initiatives that will help us to achieve our goals, many of them associated with globalizing our business such as increasing the number of global products we sell, centralizing certain functions, and leveraging our marketing efforts across more of the globe. . . . As a result of our ongoing review, we are taking some actions today that result in the elimination of certain positions within the Americas region, specifically impacting 44 current employees. The employees whose jobs are being eliminated will be individually notified today and provided with a fair package of financial and transition support. Our Human Resources team along with department leaders will be personally involved in every notification conversation.
Some of the casualties are reportedly an SVP of Sales and a CFO. More info will be released to employees during a town meeting.
by The Editors on July 2, 2012
In an interesting outcome of the DVS bankruptcy sale, Westlife Distribution, the parent company of 686 has purchased Matix Clothing from the new DVS owners Sequential Brands Group for an undisclosed amount.
Skateboarding is where I came from and I couldn’t be more stoked. We’ve been longtime fans of Matix and have solid relationships with the Dunlap brothers as well as current and former Podium employees,” said Michael Akira West, President/CEO of Westlife Distribution.
Congrats to Westlife. Matix always has been a brand with great potential and it’s good to see it land in good hands. For the official word follow the jump. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on June 28, 2012
Former Volcom Berkeley store manager Damian Kordick cut right to the bone when asked by the Daily Californian why the store on Telegraph Avenue was closing on Wednesday, June 27, 2012.
Store manager Damian Kordick said the store closed due to a lack of sales. . . “Rent for all the businesses on Telegraph is extremely high,” Kordick said. . . Not long ago, Kordick’s finance team decided it would be best not to resign the store’s lease, both for Volcom and for Berkeley customers.
He also pointed out that clothing stores were “kind of saturated in the Berkeley area, what with Urban Outfitters, American Apparel, different department stores in the city.” Well, at least Volcom still has Pac Sun, right?
[Link: Daily Californian]
by The Editors on June 28, 2012
Wow. Things just seem to be getting worse and worse from Pacific Sunwear. The action mall retailer reported a net loss of $106.4 million dollars in the year ended January 28, 2012, according to a story in the Orange County Business Journal.
Chief Executive Gary Schoenfeld told shareholders in the company’s 2011 annual report, released Wednesday [June 27, 2012], that improving “clarity with consumers about what PacSun stands for as a brand and why they should love to shop with us” is among its top priorities.
Yes, getting people into the stores to buy things would seem like a pretty good plan, especially as the ongoing “turn around” has only resulted in in increasing losses (Pac Sun lost only $96.6 million last year). Retail is hell.
[Link: OC Business Journal]
by The Editors on June 28, 2012
BNQT the “action sports” content aggregation site owned by USA Today has some new division mates as the parent company rolls all their online sports properties (MMAjunkie.com, Big Lead Sports properties, etc. . . ) into one mammoth sporting media property called USA Today Sports Digital Properties.
“USA TODAY Sports Digital Properties is designed to strategically integrate our premium sports properties to create compelling content for sports fans,” said Tom Beusse, President of the USA TODAY Sports Media Group. “Chris brings the digital marketing expertise necessary to lead this team, which we believe will make USA TODAY Sports Digital Properties a one-stop shop for fans, and for brand advertisers seeking to engage sports fans in meaningful and unique ways.”
Those following along will remember that Beusse was once responsible for Transworld Media properties as the top dog at Time4 Media (until it was sold to The Bonnier Corp in early 2007). Not to worry, however, as this merger probably won’t have any effect whatsoever on BNQT’s compelling bikini girl coverage. Follow the jump for the official release. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on June 28, 2012
by The Editors on June 21, 2012
Each year the website 24/7 Wall St. lists ten brands that they believe will disappear in the coming year. This year, along with American Airlines, Research In Motion, and Suzuki, the editors included PacSun.
Pacific Sunwear (NASDAQ: PSUN) no longer has the capital to compete. The retailer will be gone by the end of 2013. In the company’s most recent 10-Q, it said one of its biggest risks was running low on capital and not meeting financial obligations. . . What will happen to the retailer? It could be bought by a larger company — its market cap is only $108 million — or it may go out of business with its inventory sold to other retailers.
24/7 Wall St. hasn’t had the best track record when it comes to divining the future, but it’s hard to disagree with much of what they have to say about PacSun.
[Link: 24/7 Wall St.]
by The Editors on June 21, 2012
Today (in Australia) Billabong’s new CEO Launa Inman outlined the company’s short term plans during a conference call. In the call she reportedly spelled out plans for “raising more capital, downgrading earnings expectations, and undertaking a top to bottom review of all Billabong operations with the goals of reducing expenses, identifying efficiencies and improving the competitive positioning,” according to a story on Jeff Harbaugh’s Market Watch.
They want to raise 225 million Australian dollars (about $229 million U.S. dollars) by selling shares to existing shareholders at $1.02 for each new share, a 44% discount from the 1.83 Australian dollar share price before the trading halt. The offer is fully underwritten by Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank, which means that Billabong will get the money.
But not everyone is stoked on this stock offering, according to a story in the Sydney Morning Herald:
City Index analyst Peter Esho said the capital raising was a huge slap in the face to shareholders, particularly after Billabong rejected a generous offer from private equity giant TPG Capital four months ago. . . ‘‘Knocking back private equity’s $3.30-a-share takeover offer and then raising equity at $1.02 will no doubt see a lot of criticism from shareholders and rightly so,’’ he said. . . “You either participate or get massively diluted – a huge slap in the face again for shareholders,” he said.
The money will come in handy, it’s the “deep dive” into all of Billabong’s operations that should have some of the company’s acquired brands feeling cautious. We’re guessing there could be a few “efficiencies realized” that may not be all that popular with some Billabong employees.
[Link: Harbaugh’s Market Watch and Sydney Morning Herald]
by The Editors on June 19, 2012
Along with his cousin Chris “Drama” Pfaff, Rob Dyrdek has reportedly launch a frozen burrito company called Loud Mouth Burritos, according to a story on TMZ.
The “Fantasy Factory” duo is hawking two options for now: Cheeseburger — stuffed with hamburger meat, cheese, ketchup and mustard … and Pepperoni Pizza — with mozzarella, pepperoni and tomato sauce. . . The frozen goods are currently being sold at several 24-hour Kum and Go and Maverik convenience stores — perfect for those late night munchies — and they’re hoping to expand to 10,000 locals by the end of summer.
The burritos, which pack 420 calories, sound like a perfect pairing with some Monster Energy Drink.
[Link: TMZ]
Five former employees of One Distribution Co. have brought a lawsuit in Orange County, California Superior Court against the company and also named Vice President of global Brands Matt Fontana for “alleged wrongful termination, sexual harassment, gender discrimination, retaliation and failure to take effective remedial action,” according to a story in the OC Weekly. The suit reportedly claims the following:
