by The Editors on September 4, 2008
We came in ready to have a little laugh at Fuel TV‘s expense about having a media panel with no media people on it, but Fuel’s John Stouffer surprised us.
Sure, Fuel TV’s General Manager CJ Olivares was on the panel (as he is every year), but also upfront were several other action sports media people: TransWorld Business Publisher Rob Campbell, The Surfer Group Publisher Rick Irons, and Vans marketing guy Doug Palladini.
The stated point of the discussion was how the Internet is changing action sports media. With the exception of Palladini, however, all the panelists were from old media companies who happen to have websites. No one from any of the emerging online action sports media businesses like loopd, Seshn, Sportnet, Go211, or Bnqt were even represented on the panel. Add to the fact that Vans spends millions of dollars with the other three panelists and it ended up like little more than a one-sided scuffle about advertising.
One of most pointed comments came from the audience when Ransu Salovaara the CEO of online ad network Sportsyndicator.com said:
The readers have already abondonded the magazines. The people are already online but the industry is supporting the magazines. The marketing directors are about two years behind the rest of the world. . . . The magazines are not supported by readers anymore, they are supported by the industry.
As might be imagined the entire panel disagreed.
by The Editors on September 4, 2008
If listening to Quiksilver’s Bob McKnight read a statement and then answer anylists’ questions is something you find entertaining (like we do), then tune your Internet deck to www.quiksilverinc.com at 1:30 PST today September 4, 2008 and be enlightened and entertained all at the same time with Bob, Joe Scirocco, Marty Samuels, and Bruce Thomas.
[Link: MarketWatch]
by The Editors on September 3, 2008
It must be nice having an intern managing editor. That’s how Yobeat.com is getting all the new content like this solid interview with TransWorld Snowboarding filmer Joe Carlino.
I was really into photography when I was in high school, and then my senior year I did an internship at this wedding video company, from there I got really into it. After high school I moved to Burlington to “take a year off” from school. I got ahold of this guys Todd Franzen at 411 video mag and started submitting footage to them. Later that winter I got my first shot in a video, it was an opener of Chris Acker doing a big wood rail in VT. Like I said, after that winter I moved to Bear and while I was driving out there my mom saw on their website Bear Mtn. was looking for someone to do web movies. Brad Farmer (from Future Snowboardmag) was the marketing guy at the time, and I just kept bothering him till he gave me the job.
Read it all, he’s cool. His movie These Days will not be bad. It would be almost impossible.
[Link: Yobeat]
by The Editors on September 2, 2008
Of course, we knew nothing would escape unscathed in the latest news from the McCain/Palin camp. Now, that we’ve all found out about who it was that impregnated Sarah Palin’s 17-year-old daughter Bristol, the big question is, “What is he like?”
Well, Levi Johnston, 18, who obviously backs Billabong, described himself on his myspace page as follows:
‘I’m a f–kin’ redneck who likes to snowboard and ride dirt bikes. But I live to play hockey. I like to go camping and hang out with the boys, do some fishing, shoot some s–t and just f–kin’ chillin’ I guess. Ya f–k with me I’ll kick ass.”
Makes us wonder if he’s a Transworld subscriber. If not, he probably should be.
[Link: Miami Herald and Gawker]
by The Editors on September 2, 2008
For those in foreign countries, it’s a nice way to do business: set up the distribution of your favorite brand, get it rolling, and then sell it back to the brand. For the brand it’s a relatively cheap way to expand into foreign markets (with much less risk). That’s what Volcom just did with their Japanese distributor.
This acquisition is a testament to the strength of our brand in Japan after working with our distributor for more than 15 years,” says Richard Woolcott, chairman and CEO of Volcom. “We are excited to culminate a longstanding relationship with an opportunity to work more closely with our accounts in this important territory, while retaining our Japan-based distribution team.”
When it works out nicely, it’s amazing.
[Link: OC Metro]
by The Editors on September 2, 2008
by The Editors on August 29, 2008
The Orange County Business Journal has picked up the story about Quiksilver finding a buyer for Rossignol. Not much new in this story other than two interesting numbers:
Shares of Quiksilver were down nearly 4% near the close of trading Friday with a market value of $990 million.
And this one:
After fees, Quiksilver is expected to see about $100 million in proceeds from the sale, according to Kummetz. . . That stands to have a small impact on the company’s projected debt of $1.1 billion at the end of its fiscal year in October, the analyst said.
So, in layman’s terms: by the end of October Quiksilver will have more debt than market value to the tune of $110 million. We’re not analysts, but that doesn’t sound good.
[Link: Orange County Business Journal]
by The Editors on August 27, 2008
The teen retail marketplace has been plummeting lately, and when PacSun announced their numbers last week Volcom got pulled down pretty hard. Now, Jeffrey P. Klinefelter of Piper Jaffray has written saying that Volcom management “remains confident that it’s bookings at major retailers are intact.”
We continue to recognize the strong authenticity of the brand as well as its solid execution in rolling out its new European strategy,” Klinefelter wrote.
Maybe that’s why the stock is up today.
[Link: Forbes.com]
by The Editors on August 25, 2008
Burton Snowboards has teamed up with Vice Magazine for a new 10 episode video program on VBS.tv called Powder and Rails. Drug references sell, right?
The series will delve through the storied history of the sport with an emphasis on how it transformed from a novelty for yuppie two-plankers to something bored skateboarders did in the winter to one of the most anticipated events in the Olympic Games. This VBS series begins with the legendary Fall Line Films releases in the late ’80s, particularly The Western Front. The videos shifted the focus of snowboarding, inspiring a whole generation to forget about contests and focus more on tricks and mountain exploration. They also helped, plant the seeds for the proliferation of professional snowboarders over the next two decades.
Looks like a nice little retrospective that all the bitter old snow shreds will enjoy. Lots of Steve Graham, Jeff Brushie, and Snowboarder Magazine employees.
[Link: VBS.tv]
by The Editors on August 25, 2008
Olympic snowboarder Rosey Fletcher was riding in a truck with Peter Grunwaldt in her hometown of Girdwood, Alaska on Saturday August 23, 2008 when a bear ran right into the side of the truck. A nearby crowd of people were watching three bear cubs by the side of the road when the accident happened, according to a story in the Anchorage Daily News.
“It was a freak show,” Fletcher said Sunday. “The police and an ambulance show up, everybody’s running around with bear spray, all these ladies are on cell phones screaming, ‘There’s three cubs in the tree! . . . Then one of them goes, ‘Wait! You’re that snowboarder, that Olympic medalist! You’re the one who ran over the bear?”
Luckily, Rosey, nor the bear were injured. “There was no blood on the truck, Fletcher said. Only hair and bear scat. “We scared the poop out of him,” she said.
[Link: Anchorage Daily News]
We came in ready to have a little laugh at Fuel TV‘s expense about having a media panel with no media people on it, but Fuel’s John Stouffer surprised us.
