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]
by The Editors on June 19, 2012
Zumiez announced this morning (June 19, 2012) that they have “signed a definitive purchase agreement” to acquire Austria based action sports click and mortar retailer Blue Tomato for EUR %9.5 million. Founder Gerfried Schuller should be stoked.
“Joining forces with Blue Tomato represents the next step in our strategic plan to build the leading global action sports retail business. Europe has a large, vibrant and growing action sports community, which Gerfried and his team have skillfully tapped into through a broad offering of authentic brands and products, a differentiated retail experience, and superior customer service. The similarities between each organization’s culture and operating philosophies give us great confidence we can successfully leverage our combined expertise to selectively expand Blue Tomato’s European footprint and strengthen our foundation to support future international development.”
Blue Tomato has five stores and does sales of approximately EUR 29.4 million per year (75 percent of that through ecommerce). Not a bad way to jump into European online sales. Follow the jump for the rest of the story. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on June 15, 2012
The OC Weeky’s Andrew Asch profiles Black Flys co-founder Jack Martinez and the company that he is hoping to conjure up from the ashes. Here’s a little piece:
If anything can put Black Flys back on top in OC, it’s Martinez, with his talent for provocation. Under his direction, the brand was about forcing extremes and having a laugh at convention. In a recent interview at his office, located in one of Irvine’s countless, anonymous office parks, Martinez says he believes the eyewear market is stale and that the industry—dominated by retailers such as Hot Topic and Tilly’s—is ready for a more colorful, wild offering from the likes of Black Flys. But, he concedes, a comeback is far from guaranteed. . . “Every day, we ask that question,” says Martinez, who now sports a shaved head and gold tooth. “Has the world changed? Can we come back?”
Click the link for the rest of this comprehensive story.
[Link: OC Weekly]
by The Editors on June 11, 2012
It’s Saturday, June 9, 2012 and Gary Ream, the visionary behind Camp Woodward, is leaning against the railing of the upper observation deck inside Woodward Tahoe’s new 33,000 square foot facility (“The Bunker”) looking out over what they’ve created. He can’t help but smile. Moments before, a BMXer fastplanted over and through the ribbon to officially open the facility, and now a constant stream of kids and their parents pour into the building to check out the six olympic sized trampolines, the foam pits, and the concrete skate park for themselves.
While action luminaries like Tony Hawk, Todd Richards, Mike Vallely, Hannah Teter, Tanner Hall, and Slash dine on catered snacks behind him Ream (pictured right with his daughter Kelsey) looks out over the facility and nods. It’s obvious that he is extremely proud and excited about the new facility, but more than that he seems amped on what this means for the future of Woodward action sports complexes.
“Look at this,” he says gazing off into the cavernous space. “You know there’s obviously a lot of passion here. You listen to the kids, we have a great staff and look at the pros and family that showed up. We did this at Copper. We did this in Bejing. We listened to the kids, we listened to the pros. We added a little capital and a bunch of passion and we’re going to do this again.”
Follow the jump for the rest of the story and a slew of photos from the Grand Opening. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on June 8, 2012
How nice would it be to run a business where losing $5.1 million in a quarter is good news? For Quiksilver a $5.1 million loss is much better than last year’s $81.7 million Q2 loss, according to a story in Businessweek.
The surf-inspired clothing and gear company posted a loss of $5.1 million, or 3 cents per share, for the quarter that ended April 30. That is down from $81.7 million, or 51 cents per share, in the same quarter last year, when the company incurred a $74.1 million non-cash goodwill impairment charge on its business in Australia and Japan.
Quiksilver’s stock was up 25 cents to $2.69. For a complete transcript of the most recent conference call, click here.
[Link: Businessweek and Seeking Alpha]
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.
