Todd Richards finishes this one up with the crowd screaming: “Todd you suck!” and this time the crowd is right.
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Nike plans to eliminate 4 percent of their 35,000 person work force (about 1,400 jobs) according to a story on Oregonlive.com.
The decision to reduce our work force is a difficult one, but it will put our business in the strongest position possible to continue to deliver long-term profitability and growth,” President and CEO Mark Parker said in a statement. . . . The layoffs would be Nike’s first since 1998 and 1999, when the company cut about 2,500 positions — but not the first belt-tightening measure of this recession. Late last year, Nike executives instituted a hiring freeze, reined in travel spending and said they would slow their plans for opening new stores in 2009.
At least Nike is giving some numbers and speaking up about the layoffs unlike some action sports footwear companies we know.
[Link: OregonLive.com]
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Another analyst who follows Quiksilver’s stock has downgraded her rating thanks to Quik’s rather large debt, according to a story in the Orange County Business Journal.
Caris & Co. analyst Claire Armstrong Gallacher downgraded Quiksilver’s stock to “average” from “above average,” saying the company’s profits are “at risk” due to its heavy debt and the retail sector’s downturn. . . . “Given the large debt burden, tight credit markets and worsening consumer spending trends we would recommend investment in companies with debt free balance sheets,” Gallacher wrote.
The stock closed the day down 24 cents to $1.59.
[Link: OC Business Journal]
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During the 2008 Q4/Year End conference call with analysts, VF Corp CEO Eric Wiseman said that the company will “remain very interested in acquisitions” for 2009. Though he said they were going to be very careful with their acquisitions and he didn’t mention any companies by name.
The biggest news of the call is that Vans is crushing, which isn’t news to anyone. “At Vans we enjoyed an extremely positive year,” said Stephen Murray, President of VF Corp’s Action Sports Americas. “Domestic sales were up 13 percent and we were up in every category except snow, and that is a small percentage of our business.” More Vans notes:
- Footwear sales up 11 percent
- Apparel and accessories grew by 40 percent
- Launch of boys apparel line was particularly successful
- Direct-to-consumer business grew 20 percent
- Vans stores saw an 8 percent increase in sales
- E-commerce grew by 40 percent
- The company plans to open more Vans stores outside California in areas where they feel their retail distribution is lacking
Follow the jump for info on Reef and VF Corp Overall. . .
[click to continue…]
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The roof of the Danfoss Universe building in Nordborg, Denmark needs to be skated. That’s all we’re saying.
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News reports are pointing out that Tony Hawk is now the only sports figure appearing in the Guitar Hero “Risky Business” ad who has not had a major career PR snafu, according to a story in the New York Daily News.
This quartet of superstars is made up of a steroid cheater (A-Rod), a bong-toking swimmer (Phelps), a hoopster once accused of rape (Bryant) and the squeaky-clean – at least for now – skateboarder.
Thanks, Tony. For once the skateboarder is the good guy.
[Link: NY Daily News]
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Washington State’s Tri-Cities area has had a string of convenience store robberies lately. That most recent was performed in Kennewick by a tall, thin, white man in his 20s.
He was wearing a yellow sweatshirt with a “Billabong” logo on the front of it and a blue bandana over his face.
Looks like he was on his way to the mountain to shred.
[Link: KNDO.com]
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The Billabong Design For Humanity evenings are always a good party. And we’re guessing the Sydney event is going to knock people to their knees. Wish we were there.
[Link: Design For Humanity via Pedestrian.TV]
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Source Interlink (the parent company of the ASG Group) has decided that if the magazine companies aren’t going to pay the 7 cent per copy increase, then there is a conspiracy against them, according to a story on Folio.com.
Source Interlink filed a lawsuit on Monday claiming rival wholesalers, as well as publishers, are attempting to force the company out of business. . . . The suit, filed in New York federal court, seeks emergency court intervention to prohibit the defendants—including publishers Time Inc. and Hachette—from monopolizing the U.S. magazine wholesaler market, a Reuters news report said. In the suit, Source alleges that the defendants “conspired” to force the company to sell its distribution business at a steep discount to rivals Hudson News and News Group.
Questions: what does this mean for Surfer, Surfing, Snowboarder, and Skateboarder? If the distribution business is sold, then who will distribute the Source Interlink magazine titles? Or will those be sold, too?
[Link: Folio]
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