The Board Press published a really good interview with Ultimate Distribution founder Kevin Harris. It’s his description of what he learned visiting 55 skate shops in Western Canada. I didn’t know there were 55 skate shops in Western Canada. Kevin’s description of what he learned reminds us, or at least reminds me, is how important […]
What’s It Like Out There in the Real Skateboarding World? Read More »
Well, as you know, A&F is having some troubles. You may recall that they fired their long time CEO late last year and have retained seven new board of director members and two new brand presidents, all with significant retail experience. They are in the process of finding a new CEO. If you want to
It’s always the same conversation around PacSun. They are doing a lot of things right, and you see progress in the income statement (though there’s still a net loss). But you worry about the turnaround advancing far enough and fast enough before liquidity becomes an issue. As usual, we’ll dive into the financials, but I
PacSun’s Results for the Year; The Good and the Bad Read More »
A reader sent me the article below that was published in the Australian on March 12th. I’d love to just provide you with a link, but The Australian would want you to sign up for an account and pay them money. I don’t blame them, but I doubt you’re going to do it and I
Some Insight from Rip Curl Read More »
Zumiez ended its fiscal year on January 31st with 603 stores; 550 in the U.S., 35 in Canada and 18 in Europe. How many stores do they expect to ultimately have? In the past, they’ve opined that 600 to 700 might be about the limit in the U.S. Obviously, they’ve got some head room in
Zumiez’s Annual Report and Their Approach to the Omni Channel Read More »
It figures. Over the weekend I finished up a long article for SAM (Ski Area Management) on winter resorts generating summer revenue. I think it included some interesting approaches to the issue, but apparently I missed one. Today Vail Resorts announced that it’s acquiring Perisher Ski Resort in New South Wales, Australia. Here’s the link
Vail Figures Out How to Generate Summer Revenue During the Winter Read More »
I’m assuming you’ve all seen the Quiksilver press release. Andy Mooney “…is no longer with the company.” President Pierre Agnes, the President has been promoted to CEO. Bob McKnight has returned as Chairman of the Board and APAC region president Greg Healy is now President of Quik. Former CFO Richard Shields has resigned, but will
Changes at Quiksilver Read More »
At the risk of sounding like a broken record….oh, damn, do I need to explain that outdated cultural reference? You see, back in the day when there was something called a record…never mind. Anyway, I’ve said this a lot. It can be hard to do the right thing for the brand and still meet the
Quiksilver’s Quarter: Right for its Brands, Hard for a Public Company? Read More »
You recall that Skullcandy found itself in turnaround mode when it sold too much poor quality product in low priced distribution that wasn’t consistent with its preferred branding and market positioning. I suppose that happened when the newly public company tried to meet Wall Street growth expectations. CEO Hoby Darling came in and put a
Skullcandy’s Quarter and Year: Good Results, Same Strategic Issues and Opportunities Read More »
Back in 2002, Globe bought Kubic Marketing, the holding company for World Industries and Dwindle. It turned out that their timing couldn’t have been worse in terms of the skateboarding industry cycle. Just about the time they dug their way out of that glitch, the Great Recession hit and had the same kind of impact
Globe’s Half Year; The Plan Seems to be Coming Together Read More »