Well, you know me. I’m always a little worried about something. But hopefully, the fact that I have a tendency to bring up issues people wish would just go away is part of the reason you read me. We’ve all known that winter resorts tend to be dependent on the baby boomers for a big chunk of […]
Winter Resorts Targeting Baby Boomers: I’m a Little Worried. Read More »
The September 30 quarter (here’s the link to the 10Q) was not one of great happiness for Decker, the owner of UGG, Teva and, of special interest to us, Sanuk. But perhaps we should be interested in their other brands as well. Most of you who sell shoes and sandals are competing directly in the broader casual
Decker’s Quarter: The Issue is Not with Sanuk Read More »
We’ve all been watching for a while now as online and brick and mortar retail have collided and converged. We know it’s here to stay and that there’s a lot of evolving left to do. None of us know what the end product will look like (though maybe it’s better to acknowledge that there is no end
Another Possible Retail Future Read More »
About a hundred years ago, around 1998, I spent a year as one in a long line of people who believed in the Sims brand enough to try and get it some traction (Some of you who are reading this are smiling; some are laughing. At me or with me- who knows). Sims benefitted from having
SPY’s Quarter; Strategy and the View from the Balance Sheet. Read More »
I suppose you have all heard that Billabong Director and President of the Americas Paul Naude has stepped aside from his duties for six weeks to try and pull together a leveraged buyout of Billabong. You can see the Billabong announcement and the conditions under which he is working here at Billabong’s investor web site. It’s the
Paul Naude Explores Billabong Leveraged Buyout Read More »
VF had a quarter in which total revenues rose 14.3% from $2.73 billion to $3.12 billion. Net income was up 26.8% to $381 million. I don’t find it as clear cut as that sounds, and the way to approach analyzing it is to go right to Note G- Business Segment Information in VF’s 10Q and reproduce part
VF’s Quarter. Thank God for 10Qs (What an odd thing to say) Read More »
Zara has 5,900 stores in 85 countries. Only 45 are in the United States. I’ll get back to why that is. I’ve been aware of Zara for a while of course, but when my ever vigilant research department sent me this article, I decided there were some lessons we could all learn. Because I don’t want to rehash
Some Lessons From Zara; How Fast Fashion Fits Today’s Economy Read More »
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
Skullcandy’s September 30 Quarter; This is Going to Get Interesting Read More »
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
Let’s Review; Lessons for Being in the Winter Sports Business Read More »
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
Nike’s Quarter- It’s (Still) Good to Have a Big Balance Sheet Read More »