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 […]
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
Scooters. Yes, Really. An Article on Scooters Read More »
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
Retail Futures: Robo Shops? Read More »
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.
Core Versus More; A History of the Surf Industry Read More »
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,
Maybe Not Being a Brand Is a Brand Read More »
During the last couple of years, I’ve written some articles pointing to the emergence of 3D printing, urging you to at least be aware of the trends even if we agreed it wasn’t going to rock your world today. I wrote about it here, here, and here.
3D Printing Finally Taking Off? Read More »
Roots, a Canadian retailer, has filed a prospectus for a public offering. Here’s the link to their web site. As usual, the initial prospectus is missing a lot of key numbers, but I’ll do the best I can. Roots has been around since 1973, so they must be doing something right. “As of July 29,
Retailer Plans to Go Public. Wait…Now?…A Retailer?…Really? Read More »
A reader sent me this article discussing how retail seems likely to evolve. Why don’t you go and read it before I offer my comments? The author (Doug Stephens) and I are, in general, in violent agreement about the direction and speed of retail change. We further agree that if you, as a retailer are
More Ideas About the Future of Retail Read More »
In my travels, I’ve come across a few articles describing some new retail ideas. I don’t know which might turn out to be “right” or “wrong,” but it seems incumbent on us to be aware and consider whether any of the ideas might apply to our businesses. I guess this is my way to help
Some New (or Not) Retails Ideas Read More »
During the quarter, Zumiez increased its sales and reduced its loss compared to the same quarter last year. It continued to follow its strategy and its balance sheet remains solid- perhaps a bit stronger than a year ago. I’ve generally been a supporter of Zumiez’s strategy. It’s not that they necessarily know any better than
The Details We Don’t See; Zumiez’s July 29 Quarter Read More »