by The Editors on April 28, 2011
A month ago, when the Snow Industries of America announced that they would be moving the dates of their annual trade show up to the middle of January beginning in 2013 we thought it was kind of silly of them to so brazenly stomp all over dates historically used by the regional rep shows. That would be just plain dumb, we thought. Well, apparently, those same thoughts finally sunk in to the SIA board of directors because:
The Board of Directors for SnowSports Industries America (SIA) announced today that the SIA Snow Show will continue to be held in the late January/early February timeframe. Given the many factors and constituencies SIA’s Board had to consider, the goal was to provide Show dates that would be beneficial to all aspects of the industry. . . “At the end of the day, the voice of the retail community and our sales reps was heard loud and clear,” said Tim Petrick, SIA’s Chairman. “The earlier dates were not going to work for the U.S. retail community, so we needed to find a solution that worked for our customers.”
And what a solution it was. Keep the dates the same. Just think of all the meetings that were required to do absolutely nothing about the SIA dates. For the rest of the details, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
by The Editors on April 28, 2011
David Throne, the creator of the 27b/6 site and author of the book The Internet is a Playground has made a career out of often caustic, always hilarious email exchanges with friends, business associates, and random people he encounters. His most infamous post involved Thorne being asked to design a logo with pie charts for free.
Luckily, for all of us, Thorne has recently taken up snowboarding and made the unfortunate purchase of a pair of 180s Gloves from Harrisonburg, Virginia’s Function 4 Sports. Here’s how he described it to a shop employee via email:
Assuming the gloves would be waterproof for use in the snow (possibly due to being told “these are waterproof gloves for use in the snow”) I was surprised to find they became soaked within seconds and bled black ink down my sleeves and all over the front of my jacket. . . Returning to the store immediately, brandishing both the result and receipt, I politely stated that I was not seeking compensation for the ruined jacket, just simply wished to exchange the gloves for a pair not designed to destroy everything they come into contact with. . . I was told, “Fuck off. You’ve worn them.”
In response to Function 4 Sport’s stunning customer service it appears that someone created an ad for Function 4 Sports offering a “Free Burton Snowboard With Ride Boot And Bindings. . . only 4,800 Packages available, no purchase necessary” The ad resulted in over “5,000 calls” to the store according to a quoted mail. From there things only got worse. Click the link for a little reminder that you never know what a customer is capable of especially after telling them to “fuck off.”
[Link: 27b/6]
by The Editors on March 30, 2011
Core action mall retailer Zumiez management seemed very happy about their reported $0.79 per share net income in 2010, but the earning didn’t come from any increase in business, but rather from some “fishy” accounting tricks, according to a story on Forbes.com.
Zumiez (ZUMZ), a retailer of cool action apparel turned to an old account ing trick to boost its 2010 earnings by 13%. Digging through the foot notes of its 10-K filing, we found that ZUMZ increased the useful life estimate of its lease hold improvements. . . This change in accounting estimates reduces the company’s depreciation expense by $2.7 million after-tax and increases GAAP earnings by 13%.
But that’s apparently not the only trick in Zumiez accounting bag, according to writer David Trainer.
Increasing useful-life estimates is not the only accounting trick in ZUMZ’s bag. Further analysis of the financial footnotes also reveals that the com pany carries over $310 million (nearly 50% of its market cap and over 120% of reported net assets) in off-balance sheet debt. This large, hidden liability means the valuation of the stock is much higher and riskier than it appears.
Apparently, Zumiez is shifting over to the “whatever it takes” program.
[Link: Forbes]
by The Editors on March 15, 2011
Last week we were going to write up the latest financials from Quiksilver’s first quarter, however, we lagged and now it looks like Jeff Harbaugh has done it for us. He says:
For the three months ended January 31, 2011, Quik reported a loss of $16.3 million compared to a loss of $5.4 million during the same quarter the prior year. Sales fell 1.45% from $432.7 million to $426.5 million. Sales in Asia/Pacific were essentially the same from one quarter to the other and rose $6.8 million in the Americas. But European sales fell 7.1% from $177.8 million to $165.2 million.
CEO Bob McKnight appears to be happy about the company’s recent performance according to the conference call transcript posted on Seeking Alpha.
I’m very pleased to report solid first quarter results that were in all aspects better than we expected when the quarter began. Revenues of $426 million in the first quarter exceeded our plan, and were up in constant currency when compared to the first quarter of 2010. This marks the first time in the last nine quarters that we’ve grown revenues and constant currency and demonstrates that previous revenue declines are abating.
Guess the best way to feel good about losing $16.3 million is to plan on losing much more. For Mr. Harbaugh’s analysis on these numbers (including thoughts on Quik’s aggressive DC growth strategy) click the link.
[Link: Market Watch]
by The Editors on March 15, 2011
Canadian retailer Below The Belt is apparently planning to open a 3,300 square foot Volcom retail store in the West Edmonton Mall in April, according to the Edmonton Journal.
“The new store will be one of the largest Volcom stores in the world at 3,300 square feet and will offer the complete assortment of Volcom and Electric apparel for men, women and boys,” spokesman Rob Whetstone said.
Below The Belt owns 30 retail locations in Western Canada, according to the story. This will be VeeCo’s second Canadian mall store.
[Link: Edmonton Journal]
by The Editors on March 15, 2011
By all accounts core mall retailer Zumiez was getting a pretty good deal by only paying their CEO Richard Brooks $262,500 a year in salary. But, according to a story in the Seattle Times, those bargain days are over.
Everett-based retailer Zumiez said Monday it will pay Chief Executive Officer Richard Brooks an annual base salary of $613,200, more than double the $262,500 a year he had been paid. . . Zumiez cited Brooks’ 18-year tenure with the youth-oriented retailer, its strong financial performance in 2010, and a desire to bring his salary “closer to the 40th percentile peer group target.”
The company made $24.2 million in profit last year so it’s probably about time. Wonder if this new policy on salaries will trickle down? Hope so.
[Link: Seattle Times]
by The Editors on March 8, 2011
After seeing some of the most recent sale deals coming out of HUF is was no real surprise to learn today that Keith Hufnagel is closing the HUF San Francisco store next week according to N-SB.org.
The store brought a lot of previously unavailable brands to San Francisco and became the platform of many collabo’s and eventually a full clothing and footwear brand. The Huf skateshop was already closed but now the store will completely disappear from the streets of San Francisco. The Huf brand and the Huf store in LA will continue business.
Guess this is what can happen when a successful retailer attempts to launch their own brand in direct competition with some of their strongest suppliers.
Click here for Hufnagel’s official word on the closure.
[Link: N-SB.org]
by The Editors on February 25, 2011
Looters emptied the Quiksilver outlet store in New Brighton, New Zealand (a suburb of Christchurch) following the Monday, February 21, 2011 earthquake in which at least 123 people have died, according to a story on Stuff.co.nz.
Staff hastily secured the store after the quake before rushing off to check on their families. . . Employee Marcel Hoogerwerf discovered the looting on Wednesday morning when he went to assess the damage. . . “They’ve just stolen jeans, hoodies, shoes and shorts,” he said. “I know I don’t own the gear but I feel semi-responsible for it. . . “They’ve taken luggage to put the stolen gear in. They’ve gone shopping when no one’s been here.”
Looters also made off with what Stuff reported as “a small amount of cash was also taken.” Classy.
[Link: Stuff.co.nz]
by The Editors on February 16, 2011
In more sad news from Valentine’s Day, Innerlight Surf and Skateboard shops owner Yancy Spencer III reportedly died of a heart attack while surfing in Malibu, California, according to a story in the Pensacola News Journal. He was 60 years old.
He was surfing in Malibu when he came ashore with chest pains, Schluter said. . . He called 911, and nearby firefighters rushed to give him CPR. . . Spencer died of an apparent heart attack. . . “He was very healthy, very fit. He surfed every day and paddled every day. That’s what we’re all shocked about,” his brother and partner, J.B. Schluter, said this morning.
Surfer Magazine has called Spencer the “Godfather of Gulf Coast Surfing.” A memorial service will be held for Spencer at Calvary Chapel Gulf Breeze on February 19, 2011. Our thoughts are will Spencer’s family and friends world-wide.
[Link: Pensacola News Journal]
by The Editors on February 8, 2011
Spy Optic just released an eight-piece collection of their standard issue sunglasses modified by Ken Block. They say the limited edition run is in the “spirit of all things Block.” The catch? They are only available at Zumiez and Zumiez.com. You know. The mall store that specializes in rally cars, rally car fashion, and rally car super stars. . . oh, wait. No?
We’ll apologize, but we continue to be fascinated by what Block has been able to do with his personal brand after selling DC Shoes to Quiksilver in 2004. There is no better second act in action sports.
[click to continue…]
A month ago, when the Snow Industries of America announced that they would be moving the dates of their annual trade show up to the middle of January beginning in 2013 we thought it was kind of silly of them to so brazenly stomp all over dates historically used by the regional rep shows. That would be just plain dumb, we thought. Well, apparently, those same thoughts finally sunk in to the SIA board of directors because:
