It’s not all bad news in the action mall retail sector. Zumiez shares were up 6% today after the company released strong September sales numbers according to a story on Forbes.com.
The mall-based retailer reported Wednesday that sales last month surged 18.3% to $52.9 million (from $44.7 million a year ago), and comparable store sales were up 10.1%. . . More importantly the company bumped its third-quarter earnings forecast to between 40 and 41 cents per share, from previous guidance of 37 to 39 cents. Wall Street’s consensus estimate calls for earnings of 39 cents per share.
Not to be outdone by the Los Angeles Taco Trucks, New York City now has its own mobile skateboard shop thanks to Alex Ritondo and the Tre Truck, according to a story on NYSkateboarding.
If you’ve been around Chelsea, LES, Astoria or Tribeca lately you’ve probably seen the Tre Truck mobile skate shop. Tre Truck is New York City’s first mobile skateboard shop. Featuring a walk-to window and display case, they carry over 30 brands selected by seasoned professionals.
Follow them on Twitter or facebook to keep up with the latest.
Williamsburg’s KCDC skate shop got a smooth write up in the New York Times last Thursday (September 22, 2011) and we missed it. Owner Amy Gunther did it well.
If KCDC’s name is cryptic (Ms. Gunther wouldn’t say what it means), its philosophy is simple: Nurture the skateboarding community, and it will nurture you, a symbiotic relationship that has flourished since the store opened in 2001, when Williamsburg was not as hip, or as safe. . . “We’ve grown organically,” Ms. Gunther, 37, said. “Skaters who used to come here as kids 10 years ago come back as adults today.”
In the words of LA Reid: Amy Gunther is the truth.
DeKalb, Illinois’ Smalltown Skates shop owner Ariel Ries didn’t know what to do with all the broken skateboards that were piling up around her shop, according to a story in the Daily Chronicle. That’s when she says she thought of making jewelry out of it.
“I was really interested in the multicolored plies,” she said. “I thought, why am I not using this material?” Ries studied jewelry-making at Kishwaukee College, but there she used only metal materials. She started working with the wood from skateboard decks in April and has since accumulated about 200 pieces of jewelry. She said she’s spent at least 2,000 hours making jewelry since she started.
Sounds like it might be time to hire some third world laborers. . .
They did it with Thalia Surf Shop in Laguna Beach and now Vans has teamed up withDQM(aka Dave’s Quality Meat) in SOHO for another retail collab. Last night (September 15, 2011) Vans celebrated the opening with a few “hundred friends and family.”
Located at 93 Grand, the Vans DQM General is Vans’ first store in Manhattan and the co-branded project with local skate and streetwear purveyor DQM is the first of a kind in the United States for Vans. Expect to find the newest cut & sew and accessories from DQM, the latest from Vans across several lines including our Classics, California, Surf, OTW, Skate and Vault collections and a nice selection of boards, wheels and trucks – all in a setting that beautifully nods to SOHO’s unique heritage and personality.
Seal Beach, California’s Inflight Surf and Sail owners got pepper sprayed on Tuesday, August 29, 2011 by a woman who returned to the store to retrieve her purse after reportedly stealing clothes from the shop, according to a story in the OC Register.
When Inflight owner Missy Scarbrough told the woman she could get her purse back when the police arrived, supect Arlene Bremner pulled out a can of pepper spray.
Missy Scarbrough said she was sprayed first, at which point her daughter ran to the second floor of the store to get Scott Scarbrough, who fought to subdue Bremner. She said the contents of the purse, including a knife, fell out as Bremner tried to get to a second can of spray.. . . “They were wrestling and everything was falling off the walls,” Scarbrough said. “My husband is pretty tall, but she was picking him up and putting up a good fight. She was very small and petite but superhuman yesterday.”
Bremner is now being charted on multiple felony counts of burglary, plus “using tear gas weapons while committing a crime.” We’re just glad the Scarbroughs are all okay. Nice work, Scott.
Pacific Sunwear has reported their financial results for its quarter ending July 30, 2011 and guess what? They lost $19.3 million. Of course, they’re pitching this as a good thing because they loss less than they lost last year at this time, and they beat analysts’ forecasts. In other “good” news, while total sales fell, sales at stores open longer than a year were actually up one percent, according to a story on Forbes.
“Until recently we had expected this positive momentum to continue, yet we are now more cautious in our near-term outlook due to a combination of factors including macroeconomic pressure, along with a highly promotional start to the back-to-school season,” said President and CEO Gary Schoenfeld.
Losing less is good. Just give Mr. Schoenfeld a few more years and things will probably get right back on track. Or maybe he just loves hitting two-year stock price lows.
The Jensen’s, a family from Clearwater, Florida who wanted to wrap up their vacation in Cocoa Beach with a couple Ron Jon hoodies, inadvertently became the super surf retailers 50 millionth customer on Friday, August 12, 2011, according to a story on Florida Today.
Mark Jensen became the 50 millionth guest at the landmark Cocoa Beach store as he strolled in with Olivia and her brother, 13-year-old Mark Jr. The honor carried with it a surfboard, a $550 in-store shopping spree and a $2,000 check to be used at any other Ron Jon location throughout the United States. . . “This is unbelievable,” Mark Jensen said, posing for photos with his children as he was handed a surfboard-size ceremonial check for $2,000 signed by Ron Jon President Debbie Harvey. . . “We’re in shock. I’ve never won anything like this,” he said.
Action mall retailer Zumiez announced today that they have named former online jewelry executive Marc Stolzman as their new CFO, according to a story on Marketwatch.
Stolzman, 45, will receive an annual base salary of $310,000 and a potential bonus between 65% and 130% of his base pay, prorated based on his start date, according to the filing. In addition, he will receive stock options worth about $600,000 and restricted stock worth about $300,000, both vesting over a four-year period.
If Stolzman, a former VP at Starbucks, is as good with Zumiez finances as he was with his employment contract the company is going to be in great hands.
It’s not all bad news in the action mall retail sector. Zumiez shares were up 6% today after the company released strong September sales numbers according to a story on Forbes.com.
