We don’t normally follow the shoe wars, but it’s good to see people like Brian taking control of their personal brand message and putting the word out themselves.
[Link: via SkateDaily.net]
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Skateboarding
No one in skateboarding “entertains” the media better than Sole Technology, Inc. For the past three days (February 8-10, 2009) they’ve hosted representatives of the world skateboard media at owner Pierre André’s loft, yacht, offices, and private TF.
From the look of the photos and stories on ESPN, The Skateboard Mag, Skateboarder, and Skate Park of Tampa everyone bought in pretty hard to the. . . well, lets call it “gesture of friendship” from the skateboard shoe manufacturer.
Free beer, free smokes, and and a couple “models” still goes a very long way toward, ah, let’s just say “good times.”
[Link: és footwear]
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Like it or not, the moms of the suburban west shop at Sport Chalet for snowboards and skateboards (and ping pong balls) so it is no real surprise that the retailer whose 55 stores are all in “the housing states” would be down in the third quarter ending December 28, 2008, according to a story on Sports One Source.
Sport Chalet, Inc. saw sales for its third quarter of FY09 ended Dec. 28, 2008 declined 10.3% to $104.6 million compared to $116.6 million last year. Eight new stores not included in same store sales contributed $4.7 million in sales for the quarter while same store sales decreased 15.4%. . . . Gross profit as a percent of sales was 22.3% compared to 30.2% for the third quarter of last year.
The last quarter was bad for almost everyone.
[Link: SportsOneSource]
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There’s a new kid on the block, it’s called a “computer”.
[Link: Stoneyour.tv via Skatebook.tv]
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We had to laugh today when our new Mike Valleley copy of Skatebook arrived (in time to get signed). The thoughtful warehouse guys had protected the new issue from damage at the hands of the US Postal Service by packing it in a layer of wadded up pages torn from the latest issue of The Skateboard Mag. There’s a message in every medium, apparently.
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From the “we hate turning pages online” files comes Quiksilver’s latest online misfire: Roam ‘Zine 1.
With all the cool (or mudane) things that can be done online it seems almost sad that Quik skate would build a ‘zine by hand, scan it, and then put it up online in a format that is difficult to navigate, hard to read, and kind of pointless.
The video and audio were cool, but having to hunt for it was silly. Then again, maybe they were going for that retro, early 90s online thing. If they were, they nailed it (just like RipCurl did).
[Link: Roam #1 via The Skateboard Mag]
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These skateboarding Guiness World Records are getting sillier by the day. Robert Prado, 21, of Lake Elsinore, California just set the world record for “most varial heel flips in a minute” (14), according to a story in the North County Times.
There was some (records) for other tricks, but not that,” he said. “People will say, ‘Oh, you broke a record,’ and I say, ‘No, I set it.’ It’s kind of cool to be the first person in the world to do that. Of all people, I never thought it would be me.”
Hurry, someone call Rob Dyrdek. Records are meant to be broken.
[Link: North County Times]
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Nike plans to eliminate 4 percent of their 35,000 person work force (about 1,400 jobs) according to a story on Oregonlive.com.
The decision to reduce our work force is a difficult one, but it will put our business in the strongest position possible to continue to deliver long-term profitability and growth,” President and CEO Mark Parker said in a statement. . . . The layoffs would be Nike’s first since 1998 and 1999, when the company cut about 2,500 positions — but not the first belt-tightening measure of this recession. Late last year, Nike executives instituted a hiring freeze, reined in travel spending and said they would slow their plans for opening new stores in 2009.
At least Nike is giving some numbers and speaking up about the layoffs unlike some action sports footwear companies we know.
[Link: OregonLive.com]
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Another analyst who follows Quiksilver’s stock has downgraded her rating thanks to Quik’s rather large debt, according to a story in the Orange County Business Journal.
Caris & Co. analyst Claire Armstrong Gallacher downgraded Quiksilver’s stock to “average” from “above average,” saying the company’s profits are “at risk” due to its heavy debt and the retail sector’s downturn. . . . “Given the large debt burden, tight credit markets and worsening consumer spending trends we would recommend investment in companies with debt free balance sheets,” Gallacher wrote.
The stock closed the day down 24 cents to $1.59.
[Link: OC Business Journal]
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