Surfing continues to go through unprecedented changes as the effects of the economy take its toll on what survives and what doesn’t, and new interests re-shape the traditional standards of an industry in major flux. To start, on the cusp of news that Nike/Hurley will no longer be sponsoring mainland’s largest surfing event, the U.S. […]
Quiksilver’s sun-drenched fades and gradients on their new collection of board shorts. Story and Photos by Tom Wallace and Kathleen Gasperini Agenda fashion trade show held in Long Beach Convention Center, CA, August 1-2, 2012 has become the ideal platform for a new crossover of styles, brands, and retailers. While many traditional players in action […]
Story and Photos by Tom Wallace The Vans Warped Tour is arguably known as America’s youth culture right-of-passage to music entertainment as the longest running festival tour in the United States, attracting more than 500,000 young people now going into its 18th tour with more than 40 dates across the U.S. and Canada. The kick-off […]
On June 14, 2012, Vans, owned by VF Corporation, owners of The North Face, Reef, Wrangler, Lee, and others, outlined a a strategy to add $1 billion in revenues over the next five years. For the first time ever, the investor meeting was held at the House of Vans in Brooklyn, which raised the profile […]
VF Corp, owners of Wrangler, Vans, The North Face, and Timberland, among others, announced their Q1 Results for 2012 with revenues rising 31%. This is due in large part to the $356 million in revenues from their relatively new Timberland acquisition. Net income overall rose 9% to $219 million from $201 million in the same […]
The Vans Warped Tour kick-off March 29, 2012 at the Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles marked the official call that summer music tour season is about to begin. Coming into its 18th year, it can easily claim the title of the longest running music tour in North America. Kevin Lyman, founder and director of […]
Our data doesn’t lie yet no matter how many times we’ve pointed out the sneaker market potential of females in youth culture, more than once we’ve heard brand managers and marketing execs state they’re “just not targeting there.” “There” being females into sneaks. Even brands that rank higher among females as a preferred footwear brand […]
Ever since Billabong’s horrid December 2011 financial report of a drop of 44% for an all-time record low on December 19th, the surf brand has been under a microscope among financial advisors as to what’s next for the troubled action sports company. After the December report, Goldman Sachs announced a structure review, with Billabong stating […]
Epic surf conditions at Sunset Beach, Oahu, bring out amazing scores and performances. Photos courtesy of ASP/Cestari. After one of the longest waiting periods for good surf in the history of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing for the first event, the Reef Hawaiian Pro, the 2nd event, Vans World Cup, has launched in intense […]
Clearly the acquisition of Timberland was a good thing, plus the Outdoor and Action Sports categories are popping for the conglomerate.