Volcom Chairman/CEO Richard Woolcott on Laguna Surf & Sport Acquisition

josh hunter

• July 26 2008
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On July 25, Volcom hosted its Q2 Conference Call for investors. Among other things, Chairman/CEO Richard Woolcott discussed the company’s retail strategy and the recent announcement that it planned to acquire Laguna Surf & Sport. Here’s what Woolcott told investors during the call:

“The fifth and final pillar of our growth strategy is acquisitions. Our most recent initiatives here, was the agreement to purchase Laguna Surf & Sport which we anticipate to close later this month. LS&S has been a core retail partner of Volcom in Southern California for 15 years, operating two stores serving in the Laguna Beach and the Aliso Viejo health communities. These stores along with our Volcom branded stores enable us to further develop a strong relationship with the consumer as well as showcase our brand in highly desirable locations.

“The multi branded concept of the LS&S stores is a little different for us, but we believe it helps diversify our retail business by providing us with greater insight about our customers and market trends. It also brings an experience team to the company adding strength to our overall retail infrastructure. We plan to keep these stores operating under the LS&S name with the same employees, management and general product and brand mix.

“In terms of Volcom branded retail, during the quarter we opened stores in Soho, New York and Boulder, Colorado. We are also working on a Bruce Iron, signature store in Waikiki, Hawaii, and a store Miracle Mile in Los Vegas Nevada. We planned to have both stores opened in the fourth quarter of this year. With the two new Laguna Surf & Sport stores, Volcom now expects to have a total of 12 U.S. based retail stores at the end of 2008. Internationally as we discussed last quarter we opened one new licensed store earlier this year in Indonesia and reopened the Volcom store in Hossegor France. We plan to open another store in Europe, two additional licensed stores in South Africa and one more licensed store in Thailand later this year.

“By year end our total international store count should be approximately 11 stores of which nine are licensed. Two in Europe, two in Thailand, two in Indonesia, one in Japan, three in South Africa and one in Brazil. We planed to continue to build our retail business slowly, seeking our geographic locations that make sense as well as taking into account the locations of our current retailers. Overall I’m excited about our store openings and believe they serve an important role in our diversification.”

To Read The Entire Transcript Of The Call CLICK HERE. For the full press release on Volcom’s acquisition of Laguna Surf & Sport click HERE, and read an in-depth TW Business exclusive interview with LS&S Owner Eric John HERE.