by The Editors on November 7, 2008
The Oxbow World Longboard Tour is at San Onofre State Beach this weekend (November 5-0, 2008). Today is day three. Here’s what apparently happened yesterday:
The nail bitter of the day came when reigning British and European longboard champion and Oxbow teamrider Ben Skinner won a tense heat against Californian Zack Howard. The lulls were painfully long, then on the very last exchange of wave scores in the dying seconds, Ben bagged what he needed and clinched a well deserved place in round 3 tomorrow.
If that sounds like hot, longboard action then you better hurry down to San O. And don’t forget your binocs.
[Link: Oxbow World Longboard Tour]
by The Editors on November 7, 2008
Say what you will about Adrenalina CEO Jeffrey Geller, but by blending bi-lingual marketing, in-store FlowRiders, and sideshow carnival showmanship Geller is creating the Cabela’s of boardsports stores.
The new 12,000 square foot store, which is having its grand opening tomorrow November 8, 2008, is in the International Plaza Mall in Tampa, Florida and features both the FlowRider and a juice bar.
As we continue with our retail expansion strategy, we are thrilled to bring the Adrenalina experience to the Tampa area,” commented President and COO Jeffrey Geller. “In addition to the FlowRider, the larger retail space allows us to add an even greater selection of top brands, such as Billabong, Volcom, Quiksilver, Zoo York, O’Neil, and Ed Hardy, giving the consumer the ultimate extreme sports experience.”
All the PacSun posing aside, something must be working.
[Link: MarketWatch]
by The Editors on November 6, 2008
While PacSun same-store sales were down 11 percent and Zumiez was down 13 percent, Urban Outfitters was reportedly up 17 percent, according to Forbes.
Same-store sales for its Urban Outfitters brand climbed 17 percent, while Anthropologie same-store sales edged up 2 percent and Free People same-store sales increased 4 percent.
Are action brands beginning to slip?
[Link: Forbes]
by The Editors on November 5, 2008
The street is not so happy with Zumiez after the company released a same-store sales drop of 13.1 percent in October. Not that it was surprising. It was just lower than expected.
That compares with a same-store sales gain 5.1 percent for the comparable period last year. . . . Analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected same-store sales to fall 6.5 percent for the four weeks ended Nov. 1.
Net sales were up 1 percent, but with the economy and a “highly promotion retail atmosphere” we really can’t fault them. The stoked closed down 76 cents at $8.59.
[Link: Forbes]
by The Editors on November 5, 2008
Volume two in Surfline.com’s World Wide Waves book series The Pipeline will be rolled out at Billabong Headquarters in Irvine (click for map) on Saturday, November 8, 2008 with a special guest appearance by Gerry Lopez (and other Pipe Legends featured in the book).
Through 200 pages of captivating and timeless images from over 50 of the world’s best photographers, combined with words from surfing’s most renowned writers, “The Pipeline: The World’s Most Respected Wave” tells the stories from almost five decades of heart-stopping action: the first rides, the first contests, triumphs, deaths, localism, foreign invasion, performance revolution, with a special chapter by Surfline’s Sean Collins on how and why Pipeline is the wave that it is.
The only downside is that it’s a pretty spendy evening. It costs $35 just to get in, $100 includes a book, and $200 includes a limited edition of the book and some 2008 Pipeline Masters gear. Click the link to buy a ticket.
[Link: Surfline.com]
by The Editors on November 5, 2008
Okay, we admit it. Watching The Endless Summer with a live narration from Bruce Brown would be pretty rad. . . and $150 VIP event visitors also get a signed Endless Summer poster by the man himself. All this is going down at the California Surf Museum in Oceanside, CA this weekend. Click the link for more info.
[Link: California Surf Festival]
by The Editors on November 3, 2008
Plans for a new Chicago Billabong retail store on the city’s State Street have apparently been scrapped according to a story in Chicago Business.
Gourmet grocer Fox & Obel and trendy surf-wear retailer Billabong are dropping plans for stores in the former Carson Pirie Scott & Co. building on State Street, leaving the ambitious project with only one tenant as it approaches an opening next fall amid the bleakest retail climate in decades.
Probably not a bad idea. Are people even shopping any more?
[Link: Chicago Business]
by The Editors on November 3, 2008
And now, from the Australia’s Herald Sun:
Globe International has come under renewed fire from investors, including Solomon Lew, over $57 million in related party transactions. . . . Globe investor and investment banker David Williams — who called for a board spill at the company’s annual meeting last month — has voiced concern about a series of deals involving Globe and companies linked to CEO Matt Hill and his brothers, Peter and Stephen. . . .This raises further speculation about the future of Globe, which has in the past two years sold a number of its brands in a bid to streamline the business.
[Link: Australia Herald Sun]
by The Editors on November 2, 2008
The Orange County Business Journal is reporting that Quiksilver is actively looking for funding to help negotiate what it calls one of the company’s “worst downturns in clothing sales in recent memory.”
Quiksilver has hired Morgan Stanley to help it look at ways to raise money, including from existing lenders, through a stock sale or a possible private equity investment. . .The company reworked a European credit line that was due last Friday. Quiksilver is paying its lender $19 million now and deferring $71 million until March. . . Quiksilver said it expects to have about $100 million in cash and equivalents after the close of the Rossignol sale and debt payments made before the close of the company’s fiscal year that ended Friday.
Sadly, some of the recent rumors regarding the surf giant’s financial future appear to be growing legs.
[Link: Orange County Business Journal]
by The Editors on November 2, 2008
Bob Spellmire, 82, was competing in the 2nd Annual Senior Surfing Olympics in Huntington Beach on Saturday November 1, 2008 when he was hit by a series of waves that knocked him to his back, according to a story in the Orange County Register.
The attempt looked hopeful as he rode the whitewash for a few seconds to shore. But when wave after wave engulfed him and took him under as he lay on his back and tried to hang onto the board, surfer Mike Downey jumped in to help pull him to safety on the sand.
Spellmire said he was okay, but “pooped” after his adventure and plans to train for next year’s event.
[Link: Orange County Register]
