Entries by jeff

Skullcandy’s September 30 Quarter; This is Going to Get Interesting

Since Skullcandy went public, I’ve characterized the bet they are placing as “whether or not you can be cool in Fred Meyer.” I’ve also asked if coolness is enough of a market differentiator in a product which, especially at the lower end, is increasingly something of a commodity. And finally, I’ve wondered if Skull can have any […]

Let’s Review; Lessons for Being in the Winter Sports Business

Well, here we are in the middle of a new snow season. Among the things people are probably thinking about are: “It can’t be any worse than it was last season.” That seems statistically likely to be correct.   “What am I going to do with last year’s product?” Probably something brands and retailers are both still thinking […]

Nike’s Quarter- It’s (Still) Good to Have a Big Balance Sheet

Nike’s 10Q was released three days ago, so it’s time to take a look at their results. Sometimes I wonder why we even talk about Nike.   I guess it’s because after arrogantly stumbling around in the dark in the action sports world for a few years, they developed some patience, mixed it with a bit of […]

Globe’s Results for the Year

I’m kind of late getting this done. The June 30 fiscal year results were released at the end of August. But we only see Australian company results twice a year, so it still seems worthwhile. Happily for me, there’s not that much information in the report so it shouldn’t take long. The “Review of Operations” for the whole year […]

Buckle’s Quarter and a Note on Auction Rate Securities

I should start out by telling you that the Buckle July 28, 2012 balance sheet is strong. But long term investments include $15.1 million in Auction Rate Securities (ARS). An ARS is a long term security with an interest rate that resets via a “Dutch auction” every 7 to 49 days depending on the terms of the […]

The Possible Rip Curl Deal

A couple of readers were thoughtful enough to send me articles on the possible sale of Rip Curl. You can read them here and here. What’s intriguing from my perspective is that the offers came along at the same time as the conditional TPG offer for Billabong. As you know, that’s in due diligence right now, though there’s […]

Zumiez Releases More Information on Blue Tomato

Life is so not fair. Here I am on vacation, vowing to just get the Zumiez analysis done. I do that, I send it out and now I can relax, right? Nah. Literally 20 minutes later, along comes an 8K/A from Zumiez filed with the SEC giving us the Blue Tomato financial statements. Let’s try and keep this short. First, […]