Looks Like GoPro Might Be Up for Sale
This article on CNBC has the title, “GoPro has hired JP Morgan to put itself up for sale.”
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“What If You Are a Retailer Thinking of Just a Few Collections a Year?”
Or a brand for that matter. Please find 13 minutes to watch this Ted Talk on the evolution of retail in China. If you can’t do that, at least read the transcript in six minutes or so. The trends she discusses are enabled by the fact that 90% of online sales are controlled by two
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Sales Go Nowhere, But Profits Rise- A Poster Child? Tilly’s Quarter Ended October 28th
How, when you increase your sales less than half of one percent (compared to the prior year’s quarter) from $152.1 to $152.8 million, do you manage to increase your net income 36.5% from $6.42 to $8.76 million even though tax expense rose by $1.38 million while operating with five less stores (220 total)?
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Brands, Staffing, and Stores; Zumiez’s Quarterly Results
Zumiez increased revenues and profits in their October 29 quarter compared to the same quarter last year. The more interesting strategic question is how (if a single quarter is indicative of longer terms trends) and I’d like to highlight three factors that I see working together, though they are typically discussed separately.
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Billabong Receives an Offer to be Taken Private
Well, it appears I’ve done it again. After having published just this morning an article in which I said, “Billabong would be better off as a private company, but I don’t see a path to privatization that makes sense to Oaktree,” Billabong has received an offer to have its outstanding shares acquired for $1.00 each
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Billabong and Rip Curl; A Tale of Two Surf Companies and Their Interesting Juxta Positioning
A few weeks ago, you no doubt saw the reports that Billabong (which would mean Oaktree Capital Management– the controlling investor in Billabong) was doing due diligence on Rip Curl as a possible acquisition. Oaktree, of course, is also a major investor in Quiksilver. When Oaktree invested in Billabong, there were some rumblings about combining
Scooters. Yes, Really. An Article on Scooters
Personal Note: “Okay Diane [my wife], I give up. We’ve been trying to find a smaller house for two years in this stupid Seattle real estate market. It ain’t happening until next spring and I’m buying the cord of wood we need for our fire place to get through the winter (along with some red
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Retail Futures: Robo Shops?
So, I don’t know what’s going to happen this afternoon, much less five years from now. Without comment, I just want to direct your attention to this article/presentation by the BBC. Just go to this link, hit “TAP HERE” and start reading, scrolling and watching. I’m sure some of this is going to happen. I’m
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Core Versus More; A History of the Surf Industry
Perhaps I bring the most value to the industry when a reader sends me something they think is important but that they don’t want to be directly associated with. And they figure, “Send it to Jeff! He’ll publicize anything.” Most of the time, they’re right and this is one of those times.
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Maybe Not Being a Brand Is a Brand
We believe in the power of brands. We have to. In action sports/active outdoor, there are very few “moats” around products. That is, there are few distinguishing product features not based on marketing that are sustainable and even long-established brand names run into difficulties holding onto their market positions. Witness Nike’s current struggles. Years ago,
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