jeff | Jeff Harbaugh

The Changes at Quiksilver; A Broader Industry Organizational Perspective

On Monday, The Editors at Boardistan, posted a still evolving story about cuts to Quiksilver’s team rider programs. Here’s a link to the post. As Boardistan points out, at that time there had been no official announcement from Quik, so we didn’t know the extent of the changes. They then make the insightful comment that “…Hollister doesn’t […]

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Billabong’s Half Yearly Report. Now What?

Billabong

I listened to Billabong’s conference call yesterday and have spent part of last evening and this morning going over the detailed financial reports. I lead an exciting life. There’s a lot going on at Billabong, and I want to start with an overview before we get to the financial nuts and bolts. All numbers are in Australian Dollars.

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Trade Show Evolution: The Boardroom with the Vans U.S. Open. I Like It, I’m There.

Trade Shows

Over the years I’ve had a lot (some would say way too much) to say about Trade Shows. I’ve suggested there were too many, that they were too expensive, that the internet made them less necessary, that they’d lost focus, weren’t efficient, and that the way product was sold into broader distribution made them less important.

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PPR’s Annual Report: How’s Volcom Doing?

Kering (Volcom)

When a smaller company in our industry is acquired by a conglomerate, it often becomes difficult to follow how the acquired company is doing because the conglomerate isn’t required to release any details on that company’s performance. Think Reef after it was acquired by VF (though I imagine we might have heard more if Reef had

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A Comment About a Billabong Deal and a Chance to Place Your Bet

Billabong, VF Corp. (Vans, Reef, North Face)

I was a bit surprised when VF’s preliminary bid for Billabong came as late as it did, and I was also intrigued by the partnership with Altamont. Why, I wondered, didn’t VF just buy Billabong itself? A couple of possible answers occurred to me. The first was that somehow they couldn’t afford it. But a review of their

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Aunt Jenny’s Egg Beater, Hoodies, and Water Heaters; The Evolution of Manufacturing, the Future of Fast Fashion and the Impact of the Internet

Ecommerce, Industry Evolution

My Aunt Jenny died maybe 12 years ago at the age of like 97. I helped clean out her house and one of the things I saved was her egg beater. It was made by the Dazey Manufacturing Company in St. Louis. I don’t know if it’s 60 or 90 years old. The company is out of business. I

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I Went to the Know Show. I’m Back

Trade Shows

I haven’t been before, and I didn’t stay long, but that’s a really good thing because it’s an indication that the show is accomplishing just what it’s supposed to be accomplishing. The show was full of focused retailers paying close attention to presentations by reps and, as far as I could tell and from what

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Quiksilver’s Year, Quarter, and Strategy; EBITDA Declines

Quiksilver

Three days ago, Quik filed its annual 10K with the Security and Exchange Commission for the year ended October 31, so I’ve had the happy task of wading through it and rereading the earnings conference call from a few weeks ago. You can see the 10K here if you want. I’ll look at the results for

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What’s Going on With Rip Curl?

Rip Curl

I don’t generally have a way to get good information on Rip Curl, but somebody sent me the interview below with Rip Curl co-founder and owner Brian Singer. Why don’t you read it, then I’ve got a comment for you. Rip Curl co-founder and owner Brian Singer speaks exclusively to the Surf Coast Times about Rip

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More on Winter Resorts Targeting Baby Boomers: I’m Not the Only One Who’s Worried

Resorts

You may recall (or not) that about a month ago I wrote an article expressing some concern that winter resorts were targeting baby boomers. My point was that dependence on high income baby boomers couldn’t be an exclusive, long term strategy because, inconveniently, those people are going to get older sooner and stop snow sliding. When that

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