It has nothing to do with marketing. It's just the fact that there's a Zumiez in most malls.
And THAT'S where they went wrong, I'm guessing... In the beginning, Jamie stated that he wanted to keep it a core company. Apparently funds were hard, as they tend to be now, and he had to sell out a tad... but not horribly or anything. It just kind of sucks that annoying little kids, juggalos, and people who don't skate wear them.
Only my fav. metal band Bodom can do that, for obvious reasons...
(No they're not my favorite metal band because of Cole... I actually play guitar and Alexi is my biggest guitar hero, next to Brendon Small and Randy Rhoads.)