Quiksilver continued to improve its balance sheet over the year and quarter, and this conference call is the first in a while where I’ve gotten a sense of where some growth might really come from. We’ll talk about that. But first, I thought some of you might actually want to know how much Quiksilver earned for the quarter and year ended October 31, 2010. Amazingly enough, if all you did was read More…
Archive for 2010
Quiksilver’s Focus Goes From Balance Sheet to Income Statement; Their Quarterly and Annual Results
Tuesday, December 28th, 2010A True Christmas Retail Tale
Thursday, December 23rd, 2010My youngest son and I went out to get our Christmas a week or so ago. I headed towards our usual lot, expecting to pay something like $60 for a tree when we spotted a sign that read, “Christmas Trees: $29.95.” Never one to turn down a deal, I followed the signs to the lot where, indeed, all the perfectly good looking trees were $29.95. After picking out a tree (the needles More…
Billabong’s Announcement and the Industry Strategic Issues Underlying It.
Friday, December 17th, 2010On December 15th, Billabong revised its projected results for the six months ending December 31, 2010. Here’s what they said: “The Company’s previous guidance….indicated net profit after tax (NPAT) for the first half year ended December 31 2010 would be slightly lower than the prior year in constant currency terms. The Company now anticipates that first half NPAT will be 8% to 13% lower than the prior year in constant currency terms.” More…
PacSun’s October 30 Quarter; Big Changes Take Time
Tuesday, December 14th, 2010PacSun released their earnings and had a conference call on November 22nd. So why am I just getting around to writing about it? It’s because they didn’t file their 10Q until December 9th. I’m funny like that- I like to have the most complete information I can before doing much analysis. What I was hoping for, but not expecting, was some detailed discussion of the company’s strategy. I didn’t really get it. The quarterly numbers More…
What’s Up with Quiksilver? The Stock Was up Huge Today
Friday, December 10th, 2010Quiksilver’s stock jumped 22.7% today (December 9th) from 4.75 to 5.68 on the biggest volume since last March. These kinds of moves don’t happen in a vacuum, so I thought I’d check around a bit. An investment banker I know was kind enough to alert me, and I found the following reported on Bloomberg: “PPR SA has agreed the sale of its Conforama chain to Steinhoff International Holdings Ltd. for 1.625 billion More…
“Independent” Retailers; Are They Still Independent? And What if They Aren’t?
Wednesday, December 8th, 2010Sometimes I do my best work with a glass of wine. The secret is to never post what you’ve written until the next day, after you’ve read it again. I put “independent” in quotes (there, I’ve done it twice) because as I think about retailers and their relationships with brands I kind of wonder what independent means. Independents have always relied on brands for terms to make their cash flow work. But now More…
Zumiez’s October 30 Quarter and Its Position in the Market
Saturday, December 4th, 2010This shouldn’t take long. The balance sheet has more cash than a year ago, no long term debt, and is solid. The inventory increase of 8.8% since a year ago is a lot less than the 20% sales increase for the quarter (but remember that inventory is at cost and revenue at retail price). Zumiez indicated in the conference call that efficiencies provided by the new Southern California warehouse had a lot to More…
Making Changes in a Difficult Market; Orange 21’s Sept. 30 Quarter and Nine Months
Sunday, November 28th, 2010Orange 21 (Spy Optic) is one of my favorite brands for a couple of reasons. First, over the last couple of years they’ve worked themselves through some really tough issues, making difficult decisions when required. And they’ve had to do it during the recession. Second, for better or worse they’re public. We get to see the numbers, actions, and management strategies of a smaller company in this industry. Finally, they are representative of the More…
Volcom’s Quarter Ended Sept. 30 and Some Strategic Industry Issues
Thursday, November 18th, 2010Those of you who read my stuff know I never try to be the first published. When Volcom did their press release I reviewed it. I listened to the conference call and read its transcript and thought about it. Then I reviewed their 10Q when it was finally released. Then I thought about it some more. Now, I’ve thought enough. What I was thinking about as I reviewed Volcom’s material was the distinctions (and similarities) More…
Requiem for the ASR Show. Now What?
Tuesday, November 16th, 2010At the moment you hear about it, it’s kind of a surprise. But when the initial shock passes, it’s not. I thought The Editors over at Boardistan put it best. Back in 2009, referring to ASR, they said; “We have to wonder what happens to the entire trade show business model when they have to pay retailers to attend. Lord knows retailers need to be treated well these days, but it still seems More…
