Remember all those companies Quiksilver started and/or bought or licensed over the years because it was reportedly good for the stability of their business? Brands like Mervin Manufacturing, Hawk, Moskova, and Maui & Sons. Well, it now seems like the secret to Quik’s “profit improvement plan” is to sell them all. Mervin is already gone and most of the money they got for it is already spent.
“These transactions represent additional milestones in executing our multi-year profit improvement plan,” said Andy Mooney, President and Chief Executive Officer of Quiksilver, Inc. “We used a portion of the Mervin proceeds to invest in our high-growth subsidiaries in Mexico and Brazil, and we now own 100 percent of our operations in both countries. The remaining proceeds from the Mervin sale, combined with the new European credit facility, enhance our financial flexibility and add greater stability to our liquidity. . . Divesting Mervin and the other non-core businesses will allow management to focus on expanding our three core brands – Quiksilver, Roxy, and DC Shoes – along with driving additional operational efficiencies.”
Hey, whatever makes the market think “Hey, they’re making the right moves” is apparently the right move. Follow the jump for the full press release.
Mike Olson and Pete Saari (pictured right), the co-founders of Mervin Manufacturing, once again have new owners to stun and amaze as Quiksilver announced today that it had sold their Washington State based snowboard and surfboard manufacturing company to Extreme Holdings, Inc. “an entity advised by Altamont Capital Partners.”
Steve Brownlie, Principal at Altamont, said, “Mervin Manufacturing represents an opportunity to invest in a special company with two of the industry’s finest action sports brands in Lib Tech and GNU along with a passionate team, including first-rate leadership in Ryan, Mike and Pete. We look forward to building on Mervin’s strong brand position of authenticity, premium products and service and its history of driving innovation that advances the sports of snowboarding, skiing, skateboarding and surfing.”
And yeah, Altamont is the private equity firm that wanted to buy Billabong and did buy Dakine in July 2013. This should be interesting. For the official word from Quik, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
Mick Fanning stuck to his speed surfing guns to survive a non-stop aerial assault from Brazilian Gabriel Medina to win his fourth Quiksilver Pro France on Friday, October 4, 2013. Fanning grabbed the first wave and continue to lay down the solid contest surfing while Medina tried all his tricks. Sadly, for the Medina, he had trouble landing his backflip and several other airs that could have made the difference.
Fanning was beside himself. “I’m pretty emotional. Oh my god. I’ve drawn an ace,” Fanning said on the beach. “I never got into rythymn until this morning. for the guys I had to go through in the contest, this is amazing. And Gabi is such an incredible kid. Even with 20 seconds to go I was still wearing brown underwear.”
Both surfers were relentless during the final cranking out 26 scored waves for the judges to mull over. For the official world from the ASP including complete results, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
The last time Quiksilver posted a profit was 2006. A survey by financial services firm Piper Jaffray & Co. found that Quiksilver’s brands trailed in popularity among teenagers, its core customer base. . . “The company faces competition from other action sports brands. . . ” King said. . . “Much of the company’s potential for success hinges on its ability to accurately predict consumer preferences and fashion trends,” he said. “We believe that the company’s failure to anticipate, identify and react in a timely matter to fashion trends could negatively affect its business.”
Yeah, that’s possible. The analysts, however, believe Quik is still a buy or hold because hey, that new CEO has a great plan.
Quiksilver’s stock dropped 10 percent in after hours trading today (June 6, 2013) after the company announced that for the quarter ending April 30, 2013 they had lost $32 million on revenues of $459 million. But new CEO Andy Mooney wants everyone to know that Quik has everything under control.
“We recently announced a multi-year profit improvement plan designed to enhance the performance of our three flagship brands, Quiksilver, Roxy and DC, and accelerate our path to sustained profitable growth,” said Andy Mooney, President and Chief Executive Officer of Quiksilver, Inc. “With a reorganized management structure and our new leadership team largely in place, we have begun working toward globalizing key functions and gaining efficiencies to reap the benefits of our size and scale. We believe that, over time, our new focus and structure will allow us to significantly improve profitability, working capital efficiency and competitive positioning.”
Just keep reorganizing that leadership team and creating new profitability plans and there’s likely no end to the amount of money Quiksilver can lose. Then again, we should probably give Mooney a chance. He hasn’t been on the job all that long.
For the official word from Quiksilver (featuring not one word from Bob McKnight), follow the jump (or if you like numbers and charts click here). [click to continue…]
Kelly Slater dropped in on Joel Parkinson to take his 52nd ASP World Tour win at Kirra during the final of the 2013 Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast and gets a great start on his Slater’s Dozen campaign.
I felt really relaxed. I was stressed early in the week,” Slater said from the stage. “I knew I was going to have to be relaxed to get past Mick and Joel. No one could seem to stop this bastard. . .?
For the quarter ended January 31, 2013 Quiksilver’s revenue dropped four percent, they lost $31.1 million dollars and their share price dipped eight percent, according to a story on Bloomberg Businessweek.
Quik CEO Andy Mooney said revenue was hurt by closing underperforming stores, weak wholesales sales and weakness in the Americas . . Late Thursday, Mooney said the company is making progress restructuring its organizational structure and streamlining its supply chain. . . “We believe these actions will help lay the foundation for improved operational results.”
While posting this we had to ask ourselves if we even care how Quiksilver is doing. And the short answer is, no, at this point we don’t. Do you?
Kelly Slater is showing absolutely no signs of slowing down (even though he is an official 41 years old and he had to surf against Dane Reynolds and Kolohe Andino in Round 1). 2 John Florence seems to get better with every heat he surfs, Travis Logie nabbed they days high score for the goofy-footers with an 18.20, Matty Wilkinson didn’t let 2012 ASP World Champ Joel Parkinson stop him from advancing directly into Round 3, and while Quiksilver may be going through some interesting times at home, on the Goldie things are looking rock solid as the 2013 ASP World Tour season kicks off with the 2013 Quiksilver Pro. Even Mick Fanning was gushing a little.
“It’s a new year and everyone is feeling fresh,” Fanning said. “When I was younger, I mostly stuck to Snapper Rocks and Kirra, but since the sand has filled in, I’ve spent a lot of time surfing through Rainbow Bay. It’s a fun wave and provides a nice wall for a variety of maneuvers. Compared to Snapper and Kirra though, I think Rainbow probably lessens the local advantage as it’s a pretty user-friendly canvas. . . “That’s the goal every year – to with the title,” Fanning said. “Seeing Joel (Parkinson) win last year was great because he’s a mate, but it’s back to the job at hand this season. There are no easy heats and everyone on tour is a threat.”
For the official word from the ASP, results from Round 1, and next round match-ups of both the Quiksilver and Roxy Pro, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
Quiksilver today announced today (March 4, 2013) that they’ve hired former Nike Global Brand Director Tom Hartge as Global Head of Footwear and former Lands’ End SVP, Global Sourcing Kasey Mazzone as Global Head of Supply Chain. Here’s what President and CEO Andy Mooney has to say about the changes.
“We are centralizing key functions and responsibilities across Quiksilver, Roxy and DC in order to strengthen our brands, grow sales and drive operational efficiencies,” said Andy Mooney, President and Chief Executive Officer of Quiksilver, Inc. “Both Tom and Kasey bring world class expertise to their respective roles, as well as extensive experience with global brands. These appointments, along with Pierre’s new role and the addition of a Chief Marketing Officer, will make our company more competitive and are key elements in our evolution from a regional management structure to a global structure with experienced leaders guiding each key functional area of the company.”
Guess this is all part of Quik’s recent reorganization. For the official word from Quik, follow the jump. [click to continue…]
Remember all those companies Quiksilver started and/or bought or licensed over the years because it was reportedly good for the stability of their business? Brands like Mervin Manufacturing, Hawk, Moskova, and Maui & Sons. Well, it now seems like the secret to Quik’s “profit improvement plan” is to sell them all. Mervin is already gone and most of the money they got for it is already spent.
