by The Editors on December 21, 2011
The good news is there appears to be a floor stopping Billabong’s two-day free fall. Yes, on Wednesday, December 21, 2011 shares bounced up 10.16 percent to close at $1.95, according to a story on Business Spectator.
Surfwear retailer and manufacturer Billabong International Ltd has lifted over 10 per cent, clawing back some of its massive losses from earlier in the week.
And though it’s not exactly back in solid terrain, at least the stock didn’t fall below a dollar. That may be thanks to IOOF Holdings 1.1 million share purchase on Monday, December 19, 2011.
[Link: Business Spectator]
by The Editors on December 21, 2011
When we think of hard-charging snowboard boarder cross racers bumping and hopping down an icy race course, we don’t exactly think L.L. Bean. But it appears the Maine based maker of all things classically backwoodsy is trying to change that by signing up two-time Olympic Gold medalist Seth Wescott as a “brand ambassador.” Apparently:
“Seth and L.L.Bean share many of the same values – a love and respect of the outdoors and a passion to educate and inspire youth to enjoy the outdoors,” said Steve Fuller, L.L.Bean Chief Marketing Officer. “He will be a great brand ambassador both here in Maine and around the world.”
The deal is for three years. It would be kind of epic to see Seth flying down a world cup BX course in this. Follow the jump for the official word. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on December 20, 2011
Stainless steel water bottle maker Mizu has announced today (December 20, 2011) that Ride Snowboards co-founder Tim Pogue is their new CEO, according to Mizu’s Jussi Oksanen.
“We’ve built the Mizu brand on a strong foundation in action sports with several industry partnerships and new pro bottles,” said Mizu founder, Jussi Oksanen. “Tim’s extensive experience with brands like Mizu will help us take the company to the next level in 2012.”
Sounds like exactly what the company needed. Follow the jump for the official word. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on December 19, 2011
Thanks to a new deal between NBC Sports Group’s Alli and Red Bull Media House we’re all one step closer to our sponsored, logo’d, caffeinated Idiocracy future. The partnership will launch a series of advertainment on NBC’s new 24-hour sports network.
The Red Bull Signature Series will include the most progressive and innovative snowboarding, mountain biking, freestyle motocross, ice cross downhill, skiing and BMX events, showcased on custom courses from the inspiration of the athletes themselves. The series features some of Red Bull’s top events including X-Fighters, Supernatural, Crashed Ice, Dream Line, Rampage and Cold Rush and other third party action sports competitions (see below for details on shows). The Red Bull Signature Series kicks off on NBC with Crashed Ice on Saturday, January 21.
Just more sad proof that the future of mainstream action sports content is advertising. Luckily, this will all be on cable where no one will see it. Follow the jump for the official info. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on December 18, 2011
On November 25, 2011, when we linked a story saying that Billabong’s stock had “mysteriously” dropped 12.5 percent in one of the busiest days of Billabong stock trading all fall, one of our commenters speculated the following: “Insider trading. Someone’s gotta know something.”
Oddly, today, December 19, 2011 saw Billabong stock fall 44 percent (to a record low) after the company reported that “sales growth had ‘deteriorated significantly'” in the pre Christmas months “as fears of global recession undermined consumer confidence,” according to a story in The Australian.
Billabong has forecast earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization of between $70 million and $75m for the first half of the financial year, down from $94.6m in the previous comparable period. . . The company also said the “poor macroeconomic and trading environment” meant it was unable to provide any forecast for the rest of the financial year, but noted “strong underlying EBITDA growth compared to the previous comparable period in constant currency terms for the full year is not expected”.
Those people who got out three weeks ago must simply be blessed with perfect timing. Unfortunately, founder Gordon Merchant, Billabong’s largest shareholder, was not one of them. His fortune took a reported $78 million fall today, at least on paper. For more Billabong’s current financial situation check out the Wall Street Journal.
[Link: The Australian, Sydney Morning Herald, and The Wall Street Journal]
by The Editors on December 16, 2011
Vans released numbers today saying that the Triple Crown of Surfing served 10.4 million live streams during the 13 days of competition for the 2011 season.
Even if you figure that many of the people (like us) signed in at least 30 times during those days that’s still a lot. in fact, Vans says 1.8 million unique individuals tuned into the events. They’re calling it an action sports record.
“Surfing’s audience is passionate, active and adventurous, and, if they cannot watch in person, they’re finding Vans Triple Crown of Surfing events on their computers and mobile devices,” says Vans Vice President of Marketing, Doug Palladini. “Hawaii also helps us to reach a broader audience than any other surfing event given it’s incredible scenery, dramatic waves and rich beach culture.”
Now, if we figure that one day of modern surf webcasting costs roughly $55,000 (on the low end), then Vans, Reef, and Billabong and the rest of the sponsors of the Triple Crown ended up spending about 40 cents to reach each viewer. That may not seem all that expensive considering the brand bath viewers are immersed in while watching surf broadcasts. On the other hand, if Boardistan.com charged those ad rates then we’d definitely have someone else typing these words right now.
Follow the jump for the official word from Vans. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on December 16, 2011
The Association of Surfing Professionals announced today (December 16, 2011) that the 2012 Quiksilver Pro New York has been cancelled.
“It is unfortunate that we announce the cancellation of the 2012 Quiksilver Pro New York,” Dave Prodan, ASP International spokesman, said. “The 2011 installment was a fantastic event with excellent waves, tremendous local support and some of the best surfing we enjoyed all season. That said, we understand the factors leading to Quiksilver’s withdrawal of the New York event from the 2012 schedule. We appreciate Quiksilver’s continued support of the world’s best surfers with the Australian and European elite level events in 2012.”
For those who are worried, Quik CEO Bob McKnight was quick to point out that this has nothing to do with Quiksilver’s commitment to surfing, “Quiksilver is still very much committed to the ASP and the professional surfing tour in 2012 with the Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast (Australia) and the Quiksilver Pro France.” No, we’re guessing it has more to do with Quiksilver’s continuing commitment to the bottom line. NYC is expensive, right?
[Link: ASP World Tour]
by The Editors on December 16, 2011
Bonfire and Salomon Snowboards parent Amer Sports announced today that they have purchased the women’s action apparel company Nikita for an undisclosed amount.
“Amer Sports is filled with people who skate, surf and snowboard, and we’ve got great brands with Salomon Snowboards, Bonfire and now, Nikita,” said Brad Steward, Head of Action Sports at Amer. “Nikita will give us a broader portfolio in the area of Action Sports, complementing Salomon snowboards and Bonfire. Amer now has a platform to grow with new consumer groups and bring a broader range of exciting, authentic products to market”.
Nikita Co-Founder Heida Birgitsdottir seems happy about the deal. “We are all really pleased to work with a company that can give our brand and our customers a solid base. As the Head of Design, I’m excited to see what we can create with Amer Sports’ support.”
For the rest of the story, follow the jump [click to continue…]
by The Editors on December 16, 2011
Praxis Footwear, the Ashland, Oregon based skateboarding footwear startup has partnered with S & J Sales out of Toronto to distribute and build their brand in Canada.
“S&J is the perfect fit to launch the Praxis brand into Canada,” says Praxis co-founder Travis Matsdorf. “The Greenidge family has deep roots within the marketplace, a firm understanding of the space and a sound infrastructure. We will ensure they are supported in executing our unified vision.”
For the official word, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on December 16, 2011
As fans of competitive surfing we’re finding it hard to care about Quiksilver at all lately what with Kelly Slater’s rumored towel throwing on number 12 and Dane Reynolds falling off the tour to become Quik’s younger, better looking, more talented, less weedy Dave Rastovich. But by being a public company Quiksilver is forced to report their earnings so we’re somewhat obliged to at least copy and paste their quarterly press releases.
On the surface Quik “beat Wall Street expectations” according to Reuters. Revenues reportedly “grew 10% to $545.2 million as compared to $495.1 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2010 and grew 6% in constant currency.” This great news caused the stock to go up 12 percent this morning. Even with this boost, however, the stock is still down 31% on the year, and over 78% in the last five years). Luckily, the past doesn’t matter on Wall Street.
Then there are things they don’t count like “$52.1 million of special charges.” When you look at the year including “special charges” Quik ends up with a “loss from continuing operations [of] $21.3 million, or $0.13 per share, compared to $11.5 million, or $0.09 per share, for the full year of fiscal 2010.” So, while more informed heads will explain exactly why “special charges” don’t count, we’ll put it simply: Quiksilver lost nearly twice as much money in 2011 as they did in 2010.
The other thing we found interesting is that Quik is cliff dropping back into outerwear in the Americas. In the conference call (which you can read here) CEO Bob McKnight was particularly excited about re-re-relaunching the Quiksilver Mountain division at January’s Outdoor Retailer Show:
We see a large opportunity to expand our addressable market in the middle part of the United States and Canada by adding cold weather outerwear to our product range, much like we’ve successfully done in Europe. The first step in this strategy is the launch of the Quiksilver mountain division at Outdoor Retailer Show in Salt Lake City in January 2012.
A cynic would ask why McKnight believes the launch will work this time, where it has failed in the past. In these situations and with Quik’s business in general, it’s a good thing is that investors only care about two quarters: last and next. And because of that many are now rating Quiksilver a buy, which means it’s probably a buy again. Crazy. But before you log into trade, maybe you should read Jeff Harbaugh’s Market Watch.
For the official word form Quik, please follow the jump. [click to continue…]
The good news is there appears to be a floor stopping Billabong’s two-day free fall. Yes, on Wednesday, December 21, 2011 shares bounced up 10.16 percent to close at $1.95, according to a story on Business Spectator.
