by The Editors on June 5, 2026
Utah’s richest man, Cloudflare founder Matthew Prince, believes it is time for Vail Resorts to begin selling off some of its assets and he would like to buy Park City where he grew up skiing and once worked as a ski instructor, according to a Jason Blevins story in The Colorado Sun.
The big problem, Prince says, is the stable of resorts are worth way more than $5 billion and Vail Resorts’ market capitalization — the company’s current share price (around $137, down more than 60% from its 2021 peak) times the number of outstanding shares (around 35.6 million) on the market — that is less than the combined value of all those ski hills. . . “At some point shareholders are going to say you know what, you don’t get to be a capital allocator anymore,” Prince says. “I was hopeful they would come to that conclusion themselves.”
As Prince points out, the issue is that because Vail Resorts’ properties could be worth more than the company they may become a target for corporate raiders who buy the entire company (which Mr. Prince doesn’t want to do) and pay for the purchase by selling off a couple of the big names in Vail’s 42 resort portfolio. The rest could be profit.
It’s a clever angle by a billionaire who wants to own his home mountain, but he may be over-valuing many of the smaller resorts that are literally worth nothing when peeled off from the major label resorts. Either way, more power to Mr. Prince. Anything that breaks up the current resort megacorp monopoly would be. . . epic.
[Link: The Colorado Sun]
by The Editors on May 29, 2026
After a serious NO to Paul Naude’s efforts to buy Rip Curl it looks like surf co.’s owner KMD Brands might be rethinking their whole “stick it out together” strategy, according to story on Australian Financial Review.
KMD Brands, owner of Rip Curl and Kathmandu, will consider all options, including a potential break-up of the business, in a sweeping review of the struggling retailer. . . The review, announced on Wednesday by recently appointed chairman Philip Bowman, marks a shift in tone for the company, after it spurned merger interest just four weeks ago and said it planned to retain its core brands.
As we’ve mentioned before, saying no to Mr. Naude rarely goes well. It will be interesting to see how this all sorts out.
[Link: Financial Review]
by The Editors on May 21, 2026
Fried chicken restauranteer Tony Hawk is reportedly putting some of his investment cash into a new MMA venture called Global League, which is funded by a $60 million war chest, according to a story on Bloody Elbow.
“We are building something authentic, something that belongs to the athletes and to the fans who live and breathe this sport,” Scott Coker said. “I’ve spent nearly two years developing this concept, and I’m thankful to Peter, all of our investors and the team we’re putting together.”
With the UFC throwing fists on the White House lawn, what better time to get in on some modern, visceral gladiator action. Beat their ass. Make some cash.
[Link: Bloody Elbow Photo: Gemini AI]
by The Editors on May 12, 2026
The North Face announced today (May 12, 2026) an eight-year partnership as the Official Performance Apparel Partner of U.S. Ski & Snowboard locking up Olympic uniforms through the 2034 Winter Games in Salt Lake City.
Under this new partnership, The North Face will provide competition outerwear for national team athletes, coaches, and staff across all 11 U.S. Ski & Snowboard disciplines, including the Stifel U.S. Ski Teams: alpine, cross country, freeski, freestyle moguls, freestyle aerials, nordic combined, Para alpine, Para nordic and ski jumping; the Toyota U.S. Para Snowboard Team and the Hydro Flask U.S. Snowboard Team. Athletes will wear The North Face gear during World Cup events, World Championships, national events, official training camps, and the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games through April 2034.
Sounds like a pretty good deal, no Kappa. Follow the jump for the official word from US Ski and Snowboard.
[click to continue…]
by The Editors on April 30, 2026
A Kelly Slater affiliated Austin, Texas wave pool development appears to have hit a snag recently as seven contractors have filed $4.6 million in liens against the project, according to a story in The Austin American Statesman.
Publicly available filings indicate seven companies claim they were not paid for work completed in late 2025 and early 2026. . . That work includes water treatment, plumbing and control systems, HVAC systems, aquatic filtration materials and equipment, engineering, concrete, sand and rock, among other items. . . The claims come as the project’s ownership group, Austin Surf Club Venture LP, confirmed to the American-Statesman that construction work is pausing for now.
The project is a redevelopment of a previous wave pool failure, NLand Surf Park which closed in 2016 due to reported regulatory issues. The new development was said to feature muli-million dollar homes around the wave and has reportedly attracted purchases from Tony Hawk, Drew Brees, and Matthew McConaughey.
The development’s promotional website at the Discovery Land Company, however, appears to have been removed. Not the best sign.
Is living by the actual ocean so hard? We never will understand much of the whole wave pool business model, but stay tuned as we continue to stumble along.
[Link: The Statesman & Austin Business Journal]
by The Editors on April 20, 2026
After a ridiculous tariff policy that he didn’t even understand, Felon 47 gets to watch as $166 billion of that money goes right back to the importers it was stolen from in the first place thanks to a new online portal from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, according to a story on Gizmodo.
Now, CBP said in court filings that importers paid roughly $166 billion in tariffs under Trump’s unconstitutional policy. . . The agency says it will process refunds in phases, according to its website. The first round will focus on tariffs that have been paid but not yet finalized because they’re still under federal review, as well as some that are within 80 days of finalization. Later phases will handle older, fully finalized tariffs.
There are so many business owners who voted for the clown. Hopefully, after this they’ll at least think about it before making more bad decisions in the future.
[Link: Gizmodo]
by The Editors on April 17, 2026
It just couldn’t happen to a better company, but over 2,000 current and former ski and snowboard instructors have joined a “collective action Fair Labor Standards Act lawsuit” against Vail Resorts according to a story in Ski Area Management.
Quint et al. v. Vail Resorts, Inc., was first filed in 2020 by three Beaver Creek employees, two ski instructors and one lift ticket scanner, who allege Vail Resorts violated the Fair Labor Standards Act by not paying snowsports instructors for time spent traveling between work sites, putting on and taking off gear and equipment, and attending training, as well as not being reimbursed for costs of work-related equipment purchases and cell phone use.
Apparently, 24,000 employees were eligible to join the suit, but the deadline to join was April 15, 2026 so if you’re not in on it you’re out. Good luck to the employees. The days of ripping off seasonal workers need to end. Especially now that resort workers don’t really have many options when it comes to where they can work.
[Link: SAM]
by The Editors on April 8, 2026
John Lacy, the CEO of Burton Snowboards is reportedly leaving the company after 29 years, according to story on MSN.com.
A Burton spokesperson confirmed Lacy’s planned departure, saying: “John and Donna have come to a mutual decision that it is time for John to pursue his next chapter beyond his role as CEO. He will remain with Burton through the end of June to support a smooth transition.
Donna Carpenter will apparently step in as interim CEO, as she does. And hey, with AI here, who really needs an extra person on the payroll?
[Link: MSN.com]
by The Editors on March 29, 2026
Core mall retailer Zumiez (aka “trendy clothing chain”) is responding to the failing health of malls by closing 25 stores in 2026, according to a story on KTLA5.
Last year, Zumiez shuttered 17 stores, and CEO Richard Brooks told investors the company plans to close another 25 locations in 2026, 20 of them in the United States. . . He said the closures aren’t a reflection of slowing demand, but rather a strategic shift away from underperforming shopping malls, many of which have struggled to recover foot traffic lost during the pandemic and amid the continued growth of online shopping.
With around 700 more stores to go Zumiez has room to contract for a while before anything gets too worrisome. After all, Tom Campion and Gary Haakenson started with only one store.
[Link: KTLA5]
by The Editors on March 25, 2026
The two corporations who own the global snow resort business with their Super-Mega Passes (Alterra Mountain Company and Vail Resorts Inc.) have been sued (again), this time in the U.S. District Court of the District of Colorado, according to a story in KDVR News.
The lawsuit was filed against Vail Resorts, Inc. and Alterra Mountain Company, alleging the companies unfairly increased prices and used bundling tactics with their multi-mountain season passes. . . “For years, skiers have been told that soaring lift‑ticket prices, reduced choice, and overcrowding are simply the new reality. Our complaint alleges that these outcomes are not the result of healthy competition, but of exclusionary conduct by two companies that dominate access to the most desirable destinations,” said Greg Asciolla, Chair of DiCello Levitt’s Antitrust and Competition Litigation Practice.
The suit basically alleges everything that we called out in our old post “The Sinister Plot Behind The Super Mega Pass,” and. . . no duh.
Vail Resorts, of course, disagrees saying in a statement that: “We believe these claims are without merit. We launched the Epic Pass in 2008 to make skiing and riding more accessible, reducing the price of a season pass by 60%. We’re proud that 18 years later, it’s still one of the best values in the industry, especially following our further 20% price reduction in 2021.”
Vail’s math on value, while arguable, is in reality quite wrong. The discounts only appear if you use both inflated daily lift tickets prices and inflated skier days into the equation. If you can’t tell, we hope DeCello Levitt wins this lawsuit, however unlikely that may be, because there should be a cost to ruining the resort experience for everyone worldwide.
For a deeper dive into the lawsuit check out Stuart Winchester’s breakdown on The Storm Ski Journal and Podcast substack.
[Link: KDVR.com]
