by The Editors on January 27, 2009
It’s been available to team riders for years, but now Sole Tech is rolling out a full outerwear line in “finer snowboard shops next winter.” And we hope there are a few of them left in this economy (rim shot, please).
“ThirtyTwo saw a need for something different in the snowboard outerwear market, outerwear that guys want to wear again – no man-jamas or aspiring fashion models here. I feel that our outwear line listens to the call from those guys,” said Brad Alband, ThirtyTwo sales and design manager. “The line takes its inspiration from classic outdoor gear and this theme is reflected across the color palette of the collection.”
We haven’t seen the line but we’re looking forward to doing that just as soon as we get to Vegas; and that should be any hour now.
by The Editors on January 26, 2009
Last night when we said that Tuesday January 27, 2009 was “bring a box to work day” at Quiksilver we had no idea that so many boxes would be required.
Now that we’ve seen the press release on the Quiksilver site we better understand what was meant when we were told “the list is so long Bob doesn’t even want to look at the names.”
The company will eliminate 200 positions as part of the plan, including a reduction-in-force of approximately 150 employees which is expected to account for roughly one-third of the annual cost reductions. Quiksilver expects to record a charge of approximately $5 million in its first fiscal quarter as a result of these actions. . . Robert B. McKnight, Jr., commented, “All levels of our organization are affected by these actions as nearly 20 percent of the employees involved in the reduction hold manager-level titles or higher.
Now it sounds more like “bring a box to work week.” The worst part of all of this is that most of the people going to work tomorrow at Quiksilver have no idea if or when they will be called into HR, laid off, and given an exit interview.
Follow the jump for the entire press release and Bob McKnight’s memo to Quiksilver employees.
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by The Editors on January 26, 2009
We’re guilty. Like many others we spent most of Friday standing around in the isles of the ASR Show talking about how bad things are, how much worse they’re going to get, and whether buying or selling Quiksilver stock is a good idea. The opinions on the later were mixed, regardless of what personalized license plates may have been telling us.
Mixed in with all the gloom, however, were some words of encouragement. Ocean Minded CEO Gary Ward was walking the isles with his lovely daughter Shannon and when we hit him with the “how bad is it” question he set us straight directly.
“Let’s put it this way,” he said. “It’s ten times better than we thought it would be. This industry is a family and no one is stopping this family.”
We wondered if the “family members” who committed to the January ASR show might be benefiting a little from the fact that many of their larger competitors weren’t showing. “Are you kidding? Nauds is laughing right now,” he said of Billabong’s Paul Naude. “He’s had a great year and look at their booths; they are packed. For sure, the people who stuck it out are reaping the benefits.”
Follow the jump for the rest of the story.
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by The Editors on January 26, 2009
Fall Line Films epic snowboard movie Snowboarders in Exile has been liberated by the fiends at VBS.tv. Thanks to Vice, we can all reminisce and enjoy Damian Sanders, Steve Graham, Dave Seoane, and others in all their day-glow glory right here on the web; in its entirety. Jerry Dugan should be proud. To see what Jerry (and others) thinks about the film now click here.
[Link: VBS.tv]
by The Editors on January 26, 2009
Wouldn’t you know it: right when everyone is packing to head to the desert (i.e. Las Vegas for SIA) Mammoth gets the best dump of new snow it’s had all season.
A massive winter storm pounded Mammoth Mountain, dumping nearly five feet of fresh snow at Main Lodge in the last four days. . . . After unseasonably warm temperatures earlier this month, this storm delivered exactly what Mammoth needed. Although it was a warm storm, precipitation was all snow at Main Lodge (elevation 8,953ft). On Saturday, temperatures dropped significantly and by Monday morning when the skies cleared, temperatures were down in the teens, leaving . . . snowboarders with a perfect bluebird powder day.
Damn you, mother nature.
by The Editors on January 26, 2009
Thanks to his work to promote surfing and the environment ASP President Wayne “Rabbit” Bartholomew has been named a Member of the Order of Australia, according to a story on Goldcoast.com.au.
Bartholomew said the honour was ‘quite remarkable’ and a ‘very, very pleasant surprise’. . . . “Just to think that all the work you’ve done has made a positive contribution and that you’ve been recognised by the country,” he said. . . . “On a personal level it is the highest distinction I have ever received and it does make you feel that your body of work has made a difference to the community of the Gold Coast and Australia.”
Congrats, Rabbit.
[Link: Goldcoast.com.au]
by The Editors on January 26, 2009
Find more videos like this on AdGabber
Bob McKnight is apparently using “technology” to help Quiksilver stay ahead of the “wolf pack” and surf a thrilling “tsunami” and still “rip it up” according to this new commercial for Microsoft.
Could the launch of this commercial possibly be more poorly timed? Microsoft does it again.
by The Editors on January 26, 2009
We’ve heard all the rumors that everyone has been quoting lately, and we’re not sure we’d put our money on their lines, but Citi is saying that VF Corp could be a good stock to purchase and they’ve reiterating their “buy” raiting on the stock with a target of $74.
Citi analyst says, “VFC may be close to acquiring skate brand DC Shoes from Quiksilver (NYSE: ZQK), according to WWD reports on Friday. We think this could be a positive acquisition for four reasons:
1) The brand fits well within VFC’s newly created Action Sports Americas coalition, and we think there are opptys to create synergies w/ its Vans & Reef brands, 2) VFC will leverage its global sourcing and distribution to further grow the brand like previous acquisitions; 3) VFC is likely to get an attractive price as a result of market valuations and ZQK’s balance sheet; and 4) We think the deal would be slightly accretive, w/out impacting VFC’s dividend or our est. of ~$200M in repurchases for FY09.”
Since we don’t buy, sell, or own action sports stocks we’re going to sit this one out from the sidelines. VF is up $1.24 right now, but the whole market is up.
[Link: The Street Insider]
by The Editors on January 26, 2009
Madison Wall is just your average, beautiful Australian girl who dresses in surfie clothes, teaches surfing, and is on the reality show Australia’s Next Top Model, according to a story in the Courier Mail.
But the 17-year-old surf school coach is an unashamed fan of beach fashion and agrees there’s more room for this subculture to influence high fashion in the way that the punk and hip-hop worlds have. . . . “I reckon it could. I hope, because they’re the kind of clothes I like,” Madison laughs. . . . “I love Billabong stuff. I really like some of their hats at the moment and some of their shorts. But my favourite brand is Insight.”
And we reckon there is someone at Insight who would love to get to know Madison better in the near future. . .
[Link: Courier Mail]
by The Editors on January 26, 2009
