Burton Snowboards has moved some chess pieces around in their North American sales structure after reportedly losing Clark Gundlach to Quiksilver. The Pacific Northwest’s Sasha Dietschi-Cooper is now vice president of North American Sales for Burton, Red, and Anon reporting to EVP of Product and North American Sales John Lacy. Lacy will also oversee Burton’s Resort Sales Program.
“We are more focused on our wholesale accounts and our resort partners than we have been in a long time, and our new structure will keep things moving in that direction,” said Jake Burton, Founder and CEO of Burton Snowboards. “As a company, one of our biggest priorities is to aggressively boost our support for local shops. We’ve already accomplished a lot through tweaking some of our sales programs and by investing in targeted marketing programs and creating more segmented product lines – all aimed at helping specialty retailers thrive. I couldn’t be more stoked on our new Sales structure, and I have full confidence that our Sales crew will continue to make supporting local shops their number one mission.”
Congrats to Dietschi-Cooper. For the official word follow the jump. [click to continue…]
Austin Smith and Bryan Fox better keep those Drink Water screen printing presses running after being featured in a New York Times story on January 7, 2012.
Fox and Smith say they find the heavy marketing of such products, especially toward younger fans, problematic. Top brands like Red Bull, Monster Energy and Rockstar have swarmed the international sports market, sponsoring athletes, events and video shoots in motorsports, surfing, snowboarding and skiing, mixed martial arts and others. Brand logos appear on event structures like half pipes, and on athletes’ apparel and equipment.
As Tony Hawk has taught us all, there is no way to be a action sporting super hero without having a video game or at least a good part in a video game. This new clip from Electronic Arts SSX would suggest that Travis Rice has been paying attention. The new SSX drops February 28, 2011.
The girls of Peep Show have put together a reel of slams from their last couple films and according to Yobeat.com‘s Nick Lipton watching it will cause you to make some pretty messed up faces. Ouch. We did learn one thing however–it’s not like these girls aren’t trying.
We’re still trying to process everything we saw, thought and experienced at day one of the Agenda Show at the Convention Center in Long Beach, California. In the meantime here is a photo gallery from both days of the show.
NRI USA, the third party Logisitics company formed by 686 parent Westlife Distribution and NRI Distribution, Inc. has officially opened this doors this week on their 65,000 square foot Los Angeles facility.
NRI provides Boutique, Turn-Key Fulfillment services which include such 3PL Services as Pick and Pack, Inventory Management, Vendor Compliance, Freight, Returns Management and EDI; E-Commerce Solutions such as Web Design, Studio Photography, Merchant Services, Shopping Cart Maintenance and Customer Service; and finally a variety of Brand Support Services. . . for a number of premium brands . . . including Herschel Supply Co., Sitka, Poler Stuff, Sombrio, TiMo, Loki Outerwear and Shred Ready helmets.
Blitz Distribution has signed a multi-year deal to distribute the snowboard brand Technine in the United States, according to President Per Welinder.
“Blitz has been looking into getting involved in the snowboard industry for years and to have the chance to partner up with E-Stone and his crew at Technine is a perfect match,” Welinder says. “Technine has a super strong focus on its athletes and their lifestyles much like the brands we have built in the skateboard industry over the years. We are poised and ready to work hard together for good times ahead with Technine.”
Stone is excited about the new deal.
“Teaming up with Blitz is a dream come true. It’s been a long road for Technine and we’ve had many ups and downs over the past 19 years,” Stone said. “This partnership with Blitz couldn’t have happened at a better time. We’re one year away from our 20-year anniversary and joining a group of like-minded people from the skate industry–which we’ve learned so much from–is a breath of fresh air.”
This is Blitz’s second announcement this week. Early they signed Nick Trapasso and Patrick Pasquale’sLife Extension Skateboard Group. Follow the jump for the official Technine distribution info. [click to continue…]
Burton Snowboards has reportedly sued the Oregon based snowboard company INCA after being reportedly accused of patent infringement, according to a story in the Rutland Herald.
In a Dec. 6 letter from attorney Michael Kane of Fish & Richardson, P.C. of Minneapolis, Minn., to Burton’s general counsel Scott Barrett, Kane writes that through press releases and other literature, his client, INCA Empire Corporation found out that Burton sold snowboards that infringed on INCA’s patented features. . . For example, the snowboards sold by your company that incorporate the ‘Burton Flying V’ and ‘Burton Camber Humps’ features appear to meet the limitations of several claims of the ‘562 patent. Similarly, the snowboards sold by your company that incorporate the ‘Negative Core Profile’ features appear to meet the limitations of several claims of the ‘483 patent. Consequently, INCA Empire would like to license the patented technology to your company on reasonable terms.”
Burton is asking the court for a “declaratory judgement that it did not infringes on any of INCA’s patents, according to the story and claims that they were already selling boards “a year or more before the patents were even effective.”
It appears that not only are INCA’s hopes to license the technology peacefully are gone, and now they’re defending in a lawsuit that if they lose will see them paying for Burton’s legal fees. How’s that for proactive.
The story behind one of the coolest ways to get from Portland, Oregon (or Seattle, Washington) to the snow–the Greasebus. Almost makes us want to go ride Mt. Hood Meadows, just for the ride to the hill.
Holden, the Portland, Oregon based creators of snowboarding outerwear are apparently getting their street on with a new collection of sportswear designed in collaboration with Stussy and hipster bag maker Herschel.
“Holden’s roots are in snowboarding, but the truth is, most of our snowboard-specific pieces are already great crossover items,” says Nikki Brush, Holden design and development manager. “We see folks everyday rocking Holden jackets on the mountain and then taking them to the street. That’s why our sportswear collection is a natural evolution. We’ve remained true to the Holden aesthetic, but we are also dedicated to giving our consumers a level of performance that you just won’t find on most day-to-day sportswear.”
The lines will premiere at the Agenda Show beginning tomorrow January 5, 2012) in Long Beach, California. Guess if you want to grow you need to start making more stuff. One question? Is that Russell Winfield on the catwalk?
Burton Snowboards has moved some chess pieces around in their North American sales structure after reportedly losing Clark Gundlach to Quiksilver. The Pacific Northwest’s Sasha Dietschi-Cooper is now vice president of North American Sales for Burton, Red, and Anon reporting to EVP of Product and North American Sales John Lacy. Lacy will also oversee Burton’s Resort Sales Program.
