NEW YORK — Shares of apparel maker Volcom Inc. fell on Friday, after an analyst said the outdoor sports apparel sector is weak and downgraded the stock.

Shares tumbled $1.05, or 7.2 percent, to $13.50 during midday trading. The stock has traded between $6.39 and $28.88 during the past 52 weeks.

Last month, Volcom said its first-quarter profit fell but beat expectations. But Robert W. Baird analyst Mitch Kummetz said in a client note Friday that Volcom’s results are not only being challenged by the weak retail environment in general, but specifically the weak surf/skate/snow sector. Volcom sells skating- and surfing-style clothing and accessories.

“Upon reported first-quarter results, Volcom commented that it is starting to see signs of a positive shift in the landscape,” Kummetz wrote. “But since then, evidence is beginning to mount to the contrary, including comments from key customers, close competitors, and consensus from the overall core surf/skate/snow market.”

Although Kummetz said Volcom is the strongest apparel brand in its core market, he cut his rating and lowered his price target to $15 from $16.

The moves “reflect our opinion that the environment will remain more difficult over the near term than we had previously anticipated and do not reflect any deterioration of the Volcom brand,” he noted.

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Rip Curl International today announced the appointment of Olivier Cantet as its new Group Chief Executive Officer. The appointment will be effective from July 1, 2009.

Olivier has been with Rip Curl since 2003 in his current regional role of European CEO and he will continue to manage that business alongside his new group responsibilities. Olivier takes over as Group CEO from Francois Payot, who has held the group position since 2006.

Chairman of the Rip Curl Board of Directors, Ahmed Fahour today said “We thank Francois for his outstanding leadership of the past two years, for stabilising the Rip Curl Group and for preparing Olivier and the new generation of leaders to take the company to its next level of success.”

Francois will resume his former role as Founder Director on the Rip Curl Board alongside Brian Singer and Doug Warbrick.

In announcing Olivier’s additional responsibility as Group CEO, the Rip Curl Founder Directors said, “Olivier has been a great leader in Europe and he has grown our business there in an impressive manner. We are proud to have appointed an internal candidate who lives the Rip Curl values. Over the last six years this keen surfer and expert mountaineer has dedicated his passion to Rip Curl and all the brand stands for. We are extremely confident in him.”

On his appointment, Olivier said “I have so far enjoyed my time with Rip Curl which is a great Australian born company. Our international group is in solid shape after Francois Payot’s term and the executive team and I are focussed on growing the business globally. I look forward to continuing my personal search inside the ultimate surfing company and to continuing my work on the Board with Brian, Doug, Francois, and Ahmed in their ambitious plans for Rip Curl’s future.”

Clark Little Photography Announces a Self Published Photography Book and a Summer Slideshow Tour

In the beginning Clark ‘Turbo’ Little wasn’t trying to cause a big sensation when he started swimming around in killer shore breaks with a waterproof camera. ‘My wife said to go out and get a shot for our house,’ Clark said to Surfer Magazine in February of 2007. ‘….was [she] looking for a unique image to decorate our wall…or was she just too tight to go to Pictures Plus?’

To ensure domestic tranquility, Clark began swimming around at infamous danger zones on the North Shore of Oahu: Waimea shorebreak and Ke Iki Road. Ducking through the back of sand-sucking monster waves as they unloaded on sand, Clark began his quest to capture “the perfect wave,” and found the peace of mind and exhilaration he experienced while in the ocean was coming through in the images he was capturing.

For years he would voluntarily put his life on the line to experience these brief moments of bliss.  Luckily for the rest of us, someone put a camera in his hand, and now those brief moments of bliss can be stared at.
– Jack Johnson, from the foreword to Clark Little’s book, May 2009

AWESOME JOB
Just over two years later Clark has dedicated himself full time to capturing unique images to decorate the walls of the world: photographing Hawaiian waves from the inside out. He has captured the color, drama, light, shadows and power of Hawaiian surf in ways that have captured the imagination of people around the world: In the month of May, Clark’s website at  clarklittlephotography.com generated 125,000 visits from 177 countries.

WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM HIS FRIENDS
Among those website hits, there was a growing number of inquiries regarding the availability of a compilation of Clark‘s beautiful photographs in a book format.   With help from former Surfer Magazine staffers Ben Marcus and Joni Casimiro, and encouragement from family and friends, Clark is choosing the right combination of materials to package 200 pages of his best photographs in a Limited Edition book that will sell for an even $100.

Compiled under the working title, The Shorebreak Art of Clark Little, the book got off to a nice start when World Champion Kelly Slater and North Shore surfer/musician Jack Johnson quickly and generously wrote forewords praising Clark for capturing those “brief moments of bliss” that all surfers experience in a blaze of adrenalin.

THE TURBO TOUR: SAO PAULO TO SEAL BEACH
Summer is slow on the North Shore, so Clark is using the break to assemble a slideshow of his images and take them on the road. Surfers and ocean lovers, as well as fine arts aficionados will be treated to breathtaking bursts of Hawaiian surf on the big screen, narrated by Clark Little.  After the formal presentation there will be an opportunity to meet and talk story with the artist.

Alma Surf’s Romeu Andreatta and Hurley are flying Clark and his wife Sandy down to Sao Paulo, Brazil for the festivAlma from July 2 – 4. After that Clark is going to swim around in the shorebreaks of Rio de Janeiro to see what kind of bliss that part of the world has to offer.

After honing his slideshow presentation in Brazil, he will bring it on home, to Michiko Jewelry Design on Main Street in Seal Beach on August first and Sasha on South Coast Highway in Laguna Beach on August 6th. Clark will also participate in the Malibu Art Festival on July 25th and 26th and he is actively seeking other galleries or surf shops or art schools who might be interested in his presentation.

NOW ACCEPTING PRE-ORDERS AND RESERVATIONS: Reserve your copy on a pre-order list for The Shorebreak Art of Clark Little at clarklittlephotography.com.  TO BOOK THE CLARK LITTLE SLIDESHOW info@clarklittlephotography.com

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