Volcom Under the Same Umbrella As Gucci?

What is in the future for Costa Mesa based action sports company, Volcom?  Big news this past week, French luxury and retail group PPR aquires Volcom for close to $608 million dollars!  PPR is the parent company to Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, and Puma.  A weird mix of companies to be apart of considering none of these companies besides Puma are involved in the action sports industry.  It is going to be interesting to see what kind of direction this Pairs based company has planned for Volcom.  Word on the street and out in the lineup is not too positive.  Local surfers and good friends think it might not be the best foot forward for the company.  Saying,

"I don't want Volcom to get all oui oui and frenchie on me." 

I hope that this changing of ownership turns out to be a good thing.  I don't want to see one of my favorite companies get out of touch with its core customers and go an entirely different direction.  PPR president says he plans on expanding the company all throughout its existing global markets and I hope it doesn't turn into a "bottom line" company.  Meaning that I hope they aren't going to just think about making a profit no matter what it takes.  I can see them finding more profit in other markets and downsizing or liquidating locally based headquarters.  In my opinion the future does not look bright.

Pinault-Printemps-Redoute (PPR) Chairman and CEO Francois-Henri Pinault. Photo: Reuters

-Survey from Transworld Business Website

-This was the front sign at Newport Beach's Frog House on Monday after the news broke. The Frog House was the first store to ever carry Volcom product.

Guys Borrowing Girls Clothes Soon?

Celine Spring 2011 Fashion Show



While browsing through style.com, I found an interesting article about Kanye West.  In the article it discusses how guys might be wearing similar styles women are wearing in the future.  I saw pictures of Kanye's performance online, before I stumbled upon the article on style.com, and remembered saying to myself, that's a pretty cool shirt he is wearing.  I think he does a good job of pulling it off because of his attitude, style, and charisma.  It is interesting to see how Kanye took something that was designed for a women's fashion show and turned it into a wearable men's shirt.  How did he/his stylist come up with that?  Being able to take something for what it is, and not define it as a women's article of clothing is pretty cool.  I'm not saying that all us guys should go out and start buying dresses but just be mindful of your surroundings.  Don't look past women's style just because it is "women's style" but try to use it and evolve it into men's style.

2010 S.O.T.Y.

Fashion in the action sports industry is directly related to the athletes that represent certain brands. Each company has a certain style and the athletes they sponsor are hand picked to represent what that company stands for. Core customers understand this and can spot their favorite athlete, and what brands they endorse, just by taking a glance at an ad or photograph. This is huge considering the amount of brand loyalty young men have in this action sports realm. Just this past month Leo Romero was named the 2010 Skater of the Year and got the cover of Thrasher magazine. Leo has a certain style that is easy to identify in both the way he skates and the clothes he wears. More and more in the skateboarding community I have been seeing kids trying to emulate his style. One of the biggest fashion trends he helped start was rolling up the cuffs on the bottom of his pants. At local skate parks I see numerous kids cuffing their pants up. Along with cuffing pants I’ve noticed a lot more mustaches around. It is something that was not around in the past year but I can see more people at the parks rockin it. Leo Romero’s style is in right now and I can expect to see it staying around at least until the end of this year.

Throw Your Balance Bracelets Away

For those who don't know or haven't seen the commercials on TV, Power Balance is a company that designed a bracelet claiming to enhance your balance and improve your state of mind. But, just last January they posted an announcement on their website that these bracelets have no such capability. So why are people still buying these overpriced pieces of plastic? The guy that invented these must have been a genius because this past Christmas at Jack's Surfboards we could not keep these on our shelves. We were constantly having to reorder more and I couldn't understand it. People came searching from all over to buy their son or daughter a bracelet for $35 each! I am hoping that this is the height of this Power Balance fad and people will start to throw their bracelets away. I don't think it looks cool when you are wearing a bracelet that costs less than a dollar to make, that retails for around $35, plus it doesn't work. At least the LIVESTRONG yellow bracelets had a good cause and helped cancer research. These Power Balance bracelets only help point out who the gullible people in our society are.


Athletes and Celebrities paid by Power Balance to help promote their product:

Lamar Odom




Shaquille O'Neal



Cristiano Ronaldo



Kate Middleton



Gerard Butler



Ryan Sheckler

A Look At Fashion Ads

For this post I wanted to examine some fashion ads and get the point of view of some of my close friends.  So I chose some ads from this months issue of Vanity Fair showed them to a few friends and got their perspective.  I just wanted to see what they thought about this fashion world that they are not to familiar with.  The outcome ended up being pretty interesting and the way they viewed the ads was pretty close to what I guessed they would be. Enjoy.

The first ad I showed them was an ad from Tommy Hilfiger.  My friend Corey describes it to me...



First covering up the logo I asked him if he could identify what brand the ad was for.

Me: Do you know what brand is being advertised?

Corey: No I have no idea.

Me: It is for Tommy Hilfiger.  Are you familiar with the brand at all?

Corey: All I know is my hero Axel Rose beat up Tommy Hilfiger or something awhile back. And also isn't Tommy Hilfiger a cologne or something?  I thought that is what he was known for.

Me: Yes he does make a cologne. Haha. What stands out to you in the ad?

Corey: Just looks like a bunch of rich people wearing preppy clothes.  The old man in the chair needs to put on some longer pants I don't wanna see those old man legs.  The guy in the top left without the shirt looks creepy like an ax murderer or something.

Me: Haha. Thanks for your time.

Corey: Guns n Roses!

The next ad was for Jimmy Choo.

Covering up the logo at the bottom again I asked my friend Charles this time what he thought of the ad...

Me:  Do you know what brand is being advertised?

Charles:  Nope

Me:  It is for Jimmy Choo.  Are you familiar with the brand? And do you know what they are trying to sell?

Charles:  Hmmm never heard of the brand before.  No idea what they sell.  Looks like it says Jimmy Choo on the bag if you look real close so I guess they sell purses.  The chick is banging hot I love her legs!

Me: Alright anything else? Can you guess how much that purse sells for?

Charles:  Well since its a chick brand, probably really expensive.  Maybe like $700 I'm guessing.  And looking at the ad I have no idea how they were able to take this photo.  Is she jumping or laying down on the ground? She's got to be laying on the ground posing.

Me: Haha. Thanks for the input.

Charles: No prob

The next ad we took a look at was a Louis Vuitton one.

Same as the other ads we analyzed.  I covered up the logo and asked my friend Ryan this time...

Me:  Do you know what brand is being advertised?
Ryan: Ya isn't it Louis Vuitton?
Me:  That is right.  How could you tell and what do you know about the brand?
Ryan:  I could tell by the little LVs on the purses they are holding.  The only reason I know is because girls love that stuff for some reason.  I know its expensive and I think it was Louis Vuitton that had trouble with people selling knockoffs for way less.
Me:  Your on top of your stuff.  What stood out to you when you first looked at the ad?
Ryan:  Well the first thing I thought was triplets.  All the girls look the same.  It also looks like they are on drugs or something.  Like they are coked out or brain dead. Also the clothes are weird and what is the deal with the cherries in the bottom right?
Me:  Haha. Thanks for the description.

The next ad we took a look at was one that was kind of off the wall.  Lanvin Paris.

Me: So what comes to your mind when you look at this ad?

Tim: Um??? Freaky stuff.  I have no idea what these chicks are up to.  Ill try and explain it the best I can.  So first of all they look like they are drug addicts.  The picture on the top looks like they got into an argument and she is trying to pull her out of the room but the girl on the ground is hanging on.  The picture below looks like a similar situation but the girl in red has a little better defense against the girl trying to pull her out.

Me: Haha. Alright.  I'm not familiar with the brand either but do you have any idea of what they are trying to sell?

Tim: Probably the dresses.  Perfect dresses for doing drugs and getting into fights with your friend I guess. Haha.

Me: Haha your guess is as good as mine. Thanks for the input.

Tim: Weird stuff.

I know that these ads don't fit the target market of my friends but I thought it would be interesting to get inside their heads to see things from a different point of view.  Everyone sees things differently and that is what I was trying to examine in this select: other blog entry.