You know, I should have seen this coming and been sitting on 10,000 shares. But no such luck and anyway, I don’t own shares in companies I write about. Still, the deal’s not a complete surprise. Vans, DC, Reef, Sector 9 and Hurley are a partial list of industry companies that have been acquired by larger companies that […]
PPR Buys Volcom, Probably Read More »
IASC and BRA did a great job putting on the annual skateboard industry conference this week at the Doubletree in Orange, CA. The attendance was good, the subjects all worthy of attention, and the beer sponsor much better than last year. Credit also has to go to Steve Van Doren and Vans for providing some food, some
Notes from the Skateboard Industry Conference and Hotel Lobby Bowling Event Read More »
I just found out I’d volunteered to facilitate the panel on distribution at next week’s IASC and BRA sponsored Skateboard Industry Summit. I had to spend some time getting my thoughts about distribution in order, and I know of no better way than to write them down. Distribution has always been a bit of a contentious
The Skateboard Distribution Model- It Never Was Broken Read More »
I unexpectedly had to spend about 10 days back east on family issues. Everything turned out fine, but I got way, way behind on my analysis. But sometimes things work out, and Orange 21’s management changes of last week gave me the perfect opportunity to tie those changes to their financial results and write a way more
Orange 21 Year End Results and Management Restructuring Read More »
PacSun rode the economic expansion to 950 plus mostly mall based stores (they were down to 852 at the end of the year). They got over extended, had systems that didn’t give them the ability to merchandise as they needed to, didn’t keep their stores updated, became too dependent on their own brands, and basically lost
PacSun’s Annual Report: Missions, Strategies, Prospects Read More »
SIA recently reported that the snow sports market in February exceeded $3 billion. You probably get the same emails I get, but if not, you can see the announcement and analysis here. SIA expects the industry to set a record by the time the season ends. Through February, sales are up 13% in dollars and 8% in units. In
The Lesson to be Learned from SIA’s Sales Report Read More »
An article in Forbes called “Great Speculations” had the subtitle “Accounting Smells a Little Fishy Down at the Zumiez Surf Shop.” It calls into question Zumiez’s reported earnings and balance sheet strength due to a couple of their accounting practices. Boardistan called our attention to it and concluded, “Apparently, Zumiez is shifting over to the “whatever
A Perspective on Zumiez Accounting Treatments as Reported by Forbes Read More »
Can a quality strategy consistently pursued over many years and offering a meaningful competitive advantage overcome the impact of cost increases, a weak economy and still cautious consumers? That pretty much sums up Zumiez’s 10K and conference call. The cost increases and weak economy are, of course, issues for all companies. If you’ve never done it, it’s
Zumiez’s Quarter and Full Year Results: It’s All About the Strategy and the Economy Read More »
Look, I know Skechers isn’t particularly cool and we don’t pay that much attention it. But it’s another $2 billion company with a strong balance sheet that’s in most segments of the shoe business and, whether we like it or not, competes with more action sport aligned brands. This isn’t a full analysis. I just reviewed
Skechers- Some Insights from Their 10K Annual Report Read More »
What I’ve admired about Volcom is its consistent approach to the market over most of the life of the company. You get rewarded for that consistent approach with a strong market position and brand awareness among your target customer group. Reef did the same thing with a similar result over many years. But there comes a time,
Volcom’s Numbers and Opportunities for Growth Read More »