When Laguna Beach, California’s Thalia Surf Shop owner Nick Cocores’ discovered that the art gallery next door was packing it in he realized it was the perfect opportunity to not only expand his retail footprint, but also to partner with a popular brands.
“We approached Vans with the space coming available and asked them if they wanted to work with us,” Cocores said (pictured right with Steve Van Doren). “They were totally supportive and wanted to get on board. And so here we are.”
Thalia has carried Vans since the shop opened in 2001 but because the the cozy size of the shop the shoes were limited to a small wall section where Cocores was able to display 25-30 pairs of shoes. But now with close to 900 feet devoted to the brand he can obviously show more. “We can probably have 100 shoes in here now,” he said looking over the new Vans Thalia Surf Shop space.
If all the product at January Surf Expo show in Orlando, Florida weren’t enough Quiksilver will be holding their All 80s All Day Vert Challenge at Surf Expo. It probably wouldn’t be out of line for us to assume that the event might possibly include a visit by Tony Hawk. He went last year. It’s always good to see his blonde 80s mop haloed in neon.
The event is open to the public, but Surf Expo attendees will get VIP admission which is better than having to travel all the way to Huntington Beach. You going?
Alternate Groove Snowboard Shop owner Marc Ebdrup may live in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada, but that hasn’t stopped him from being a desert bad-ass, according to a story Cowichan News Leader. He and teammates Nick Caldwell, Paul Gallagher, Don Hatton finished fifth place in the plus-30 pro class for “enduro bikes.”
Duncan Motorsports owner Don Hatton, sales and parts manager Nick Caldwell, technician Paul Gallagher and Nanaimo’s Marc Ebdrup teamed up to complete the race Friday in 33 hours, two minutes and seven seconds . . the big event began Thursday at 7 a.m. from Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, about 65 miles south of the U.S./Mexico border. . . The course covered a distance of 1,061.69 miles before racers finished in La Paz.
Congrats. The team averaged 30 MPH for the entire race. As anyone who follows the Baja 1000 know, just finishing is a win.
The employee told authorities that the suspects were wearing “wrestling-type” masks over their faces and were carrying large semi-automatic handguns. They ran northbound through the parking lot of the shopping center, located at 2525 El Camino Real.
The robbers got away with the employee’s personal property and a Zumiez bank deposit. This is probably one of the reason’s locals call it “The Ghetto Mall.”
An in-bounds avalanche this morning (November 22, 2010) at Colorado’s Wolf Creek Ski Area resulted in the death of the resort’s head of Ski Patrol Scott Kay and closed the resort for the rest of the day. Kay was the father of two boys 6 and 8. He was 41.
According to a release quoted in Westword the avalanche occurred at 7:45 AM while Kay was “working to protect others.”
Wolf Creek’s management and all its employees wish to express our deepest regrets at this loss of a wonderful man and close friend. Our sympathy and condolences go out to his wife and two children. . . To honor him, Wolf Creek will remain closed for the remainder of Monday, November 22, 2010 and, also to honor him, will reopen on Tuesday, November 23, 2010 at 8:30 a.m.
Our thoughts are with Kay’s family especially his wife, two boys. Messages are being left on Wolf Creek’s Facebook page.
Artist Drew Brophy has been paint-penning up surfboards for over 20 years and lately we’ve been seeing his work showing up everywhere. His latest design is for the January Surf Expo Show. Here’s what they had to say about him:
A show T-shirt has been part of the Surf Expo experience for years, and many of our longtime retailers proudly show off some pretty ancient specimens. That’s cool. This year we tapped artist Drew Brophy. Seemed like the perfect fit. Drew does a ton of work for a variety of exhibitors at Surf Expo — both in the surf section and also in our resort and souvenir areas. Plus, hailing from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, Drew has been a longtime attendee and vocal fan of Surf Expo.
The Drew Brophy designed shirt (which has not been finalized yet) will be on sale at the info booth on the floor of the show January 6-8. 2010.
Consolidated Skateboard’s Steve “Birdo” Guisinger (pictured right with Leticia Ruano) gets the local hero profile treatment on Santacruz.com and uses it to kick off their Don’t Do It Foundation. The non-profit organization is dedicated to supporting local core shops.
“It’s message,” Guisinger says. “’Keep the surf skate and snowboard industry in the hands of those that are passionate about it.’” . . . “If all you have is a mall or sporting goods chain in your town, we ask that you don’t support them, and instead order from a skater owned, online store,” it says. . . Guisinger sees it as a simple choice. “The only way for local stores to survive is to drive mall chains out of business,” he explains. “So we want people at whatever cost to not support the mall chain. You vote with your money. If you go to the mall chains, you’re only empowering them. Go to your local skate shop. If you don’t have a local skate shop, buy online from a local company.”
It appears a lot can be done by not doing something.
Billabong’s Canadian core mall retailer West 49 is wrapping up its 8th Annual Coats For Kids program on November 28, 2010. Anyone who donates a used coat or jacket can get $25 off a new coat or snowboard jacket in the store, according to a story on Baytoday.com. And so far the program has given away a lot of jackets to the needy.
For seven years West 49 customers have consistently delivered strong community support by donating coats for kids who don’t have adequate winter clothing. To date more than 60,000 kids have received winter coats as a result of this initiative. . . “Our customers are aware of the important role they play in helping us meet our target for coats. In partnering with local charitable organizations we have an excellent opportunity to be proactive in helping less fortunate families,” said Cindy Mielke, Director of Marketing for West 49. “We surpassed our goal last year by almost 5,000 coats, we are sure we can collect and distribute even more coats to help kids stay warm this winter and are challenging our customers with a goal of 15,000 coats nationally for 2010.”
686 has come up with a a pretty simple way to increase their social media reach—free stuff. Each fall they use their email list, facebook and twitter accounts to give products to the kids. They call it 686 Day. This year the day has been extended to three days (November 12-14, 2010).
When core mall retailer Zumiez announced today (November 3, 2010) that their October revenue in stores open a least a year rose 21.5 percent there wasn’t an after hours trader who didn’t feel like jumping in apparently. The stock rocked up to $28.34 a share, according to a story on Canadian Business.
Analysts expected a rise of 7.8 percent, according to Thomson Reuters. . . Total revenue for the four-week period ending Oct. 30 rose 27.3 percent to $31.4 million.
Zumiez stockholders should be jumping for joy. Speaking of jumps, follow this one for the entire press release.
“We approached Vans with the space coming available and asked them if they wanted to work with us,” Cocores said (pictured right with Steve Van Doren). “They were totally supportive and wanted to get on board. And so here we are.”
