Rays Apparel to Shutter Doors
Rays Apparel, the Irvine, Calif.–based licensee of the surf brand Split, confirmed that it will cease operations.
On Oct. 13, Rays President Jim Stark gave the company’s approximately 60 employees a 60-day notice that the company will cease operations. Rays, which currently only produces apparel for Split, the men’s and women’s core surf brand, has, in the past, produced apparel for brands such as Ocean Pacific, Body Glove and Old Navy. Citing the tough economic climate, Stark said the manufacturer had been losing money, and with no end to the hemorrhaging in sight, executives made the decision to close.
Split, which launched in 1988 and later added a women’s component, will be the only brand affected by Rays Apparel’s closure. Stark, reached at his office a week after the news broke, emphasized that Split is still a viable brand. “I am confident they’ll find another apparel licensee and move forward. They have other licensees that are doing well,” he said. Stark declined to say who owns the Split license.
Ambiguous, a core men’s brand that was incubated at Rays, was wholly purchased in September by Life Distribution, the brand’s international distributor, and David Patri, a former marketing director for Split.
Rays Apparel’s closure could take four or five months, Stark said. “We’ll be shipping product until 2009, and we’ll operate until we fully close the business down. The 60-day notice to our employees was to hopefully give them enough time to find other jobs.” —Erin Barajas
