According to a story on News.com.au Quiksilver has “shed Australia-wide surfing sponsorships to tighten its belt.”
It has ended its sponsorship of state junior championships in Australia and Quiksilver’s female surfwear firm Roxy also has dumped its World Qualifying Series tournament in Victoria.
The Quiksilver Pro at Snapper is still on, however. Things are bad, but they’re not that bad, yet.
[Link: News.com.au]
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No, there does not appear to be any irony involved with Nixon’s latest run of “custom collection” watches. These watches were created to help Barneys New York celebrate 50 years of the dollar peace sign:
The collection is comprised of four unique and highly customized versions all individually numbered, all 300 meter water resistant stainless steel cases with either a six-hand Japanese movement with 1/10th second subdial chrono and date or a Swiss three-hand movement with tide subdial. These coveted pieces will range between $500 and $8,800 depending on material integration.
Come to think of it, only a barney would spend $8k on a piece of wrist jewelry this holiday season. Luckily, there are still mobs of them in NYC.
[Link: Nixon Now]
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On the conference call earlier this week analysts asked several times what the hold up was with the sale of PacSun’s Anaheim, California distribution center and it was obvious that many were worried that something had gone south on the deal. CFO Michael Henry assured everyone that the deal was underway. And he was telling the truth. Today they closed the sale.
The Company has received net cash proceeds of $24.5 million from the transaction. The Company expects to record an after-tax gain of approximately $0.10 per diluted share from the transaction in the fourth quarter of 2008.
This deal not falling through should help assauge the sting that Christmas and Q4 bring.
[Link: MarketWatch]
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Question: why do the people who appear in electric skateboard videos always look like they’re stepping onto a skateboard for the first time? Answer: because they are.
[Link: InventorSpot]
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Not that we didn’t see this coming, but apparently Kelly Slater will surf in his sponsors Quiksilver Pro at Snapper Rocks Feburary 28-March 11, 2009.
This the strongest indication yet he plans to chase an incredible 10th world crown. While 36-year-old Slater has refused to be drawn on his surfing future, organisers of the iconic Snapper Rocks event have revealed the unstoppable American is already locked in for March 2009. . . . “The Quiksilver Pro, presented by LG, and the Gold Coast are two things very special to Kelly,” said event spokesman Johnathan Jenkins.
Nice that his main sponsor can still get him to come to work.
[Link: Goldcoast.com.au]
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Rico de Souza, 55, of Brazil fired a shot for all fat, old, longboard surfers when he recently rode the world’s longest surfboard at a beach in Rio de Janeiro.
Afterwards he said that the ride had been a thrilling experience. “It was an exceptional wave, the wave was shaky, the board was jumping, but I managed to stand firm,” he said. . . Asked about his future plans, he said that he only wanted to enjoy life and do good deeds. . . “Life is a joke and we have to take advantage of our passage through earth in the best way possible,” he said.
Apparently, breaking silly world records is on Rico’s “best” list.
[Link: Telegraph.co.uk]
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A new management plan for Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary has expanded the reach of the park and changed some of the rules regarding chumming for great white sharks and the use of personal watercrafts, according to a story in the Los Angeles Times.
The new rules expand the definition of motorized personal watercraft to ban the larger vehicles everywhere but outside the mouth of four harbors within the sanctuary and at Mavericks. There, they can be used for tow-in surfing only during the few days in December, January and February when the National Weather Service issues high surf advisories.
The new rules go into effect in March 2009 meaning this is the last winter for tow-ins at Ghost Trees.
[Link: Los Angeles Times]
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We all know how well it worked in the skate market so now snowboarders Brandon Bybee, Rob Foy, Jason Murphy, and Benson Miller are bringing blanks to snowboarding with a new anti-brand called Blank Snowboards.
We are on a mission to take snowboarding back from corporate America by making snowboarding affordable without compromising the quality. We were there before snowboarding became what it is today: mainstream, unaffordable, and all about the hype. We want to give back to the sport that has given us so many memories, friendships, and great “sick” days by providing the best product at the correct price. We have found that by cutting out all the unnecessary costs (ie: retailers, graphics, and high-paid riders) we can provide the best decks in the industry for ½ the price of any comparable board. We are about the sport not the hype. We are the traditionalists not the trend.
Never quite seen retailers called out as “unnecessary costs” before, but it makes sense. And getting a snowboard for less than 200 bucks does make paying $500 to ride a logo emblazoned billboard seem kind of foolish. Wonder if the major snowboard labels will band together and pressure Transworld Business into creating a special advertorial supplement next fall to help educate the market about how blank snowboards are killing the entire industry?
[Link: Blank Snowboards via The Spectrum]
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By winning the Reef Pro at Haleiwa Carissa Moore, 16, has become the youngest surfer ever to win a Vans Triple Crow of Surfing event. But we’re more interested in her recent sponsor news: Nike 6.0, Red Bull, and “a soon-to-be-named department store chain?” We’re intrigued by those who work outside the surf industry “studio system.”
[Links: Surfing Magazine and ASP World Tour]
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Some people like to give Zumiez grief for being “mall” stores, but when you compare their conference calls with those of some of their competitors what comes through is a surprisingly core attitude about the stores, the brands, and the customers. After the prepared statements Zumiez CEO Rick Brooks and CFO Trevor Lang answered questions and here are some of the highlights
The most impressive thing about all of this is the way that Brooks and Lang appear to be all over the current market conditions and appear to have done everything they could to prepare for what everyone knows is going to be a bad quarter. The thing that keeps us optimistic on Zumiez is the fact that they’re still running with absolutely no debt.
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