jeff

VF’s Strategy; Why it is Consistent with the Competitive Environment

VF filed its 10K annual report with the SEC three days ago, so I’ve been able to get a more complete picture of their performance for the year and quarter. You can see that report here. As you probably know, VF is a large consumer conglomerate that owns 30 brands including Vans, The North Face, Reef and […]

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

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

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

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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