California Apparel News

With new owners running the show at Quiksilver Inc., it only seemed appropriate for a name change to go along with a revamped business model for the surfwear and skatewear retailer.

With not much fanfare, the company announced on March 8 that it had changed its corporate name to Boardriders Inc.

The newly renamed company still encompasses the key brands of Quiksilver, Roxy and DC Shoes.

Quiksilver has gone through some rocky times over the past years, emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection a little more than a year ago. The publicly traded company became a privately held company whose $800 million in debt was restructured by private-equity firm Oaktree Capital Management, now the company’s majority shareholder.

Under new ownership, the Huntington Beach, Calif.–based company has been trying to get more creative in a challenging retail environment.

Hence the new name, which comes with some new initiatives. The company’s first Boardriders store in the United States will be opening in Malibu this fall on Pacific Coast Highway.

In addition, Boardriders is entering into a new partnership with Accor Hotels to integrate the Quiksilver and Roxy brands into Accor’s new hotel concept, called Jo & Joe, geared toward the millennial traveler. Boardriders will open surf camps between future hotels and their sister youth hostels, where guests can learn to surf and enjoy the boardriders lifestyle. Accor Hotels hopes to have 50 new Jo & Joe hotels open by 2020.

Since taking over last year, the company’s new management team began an aggressive turnaround program by right-sizing the company’s cost structure, reengineering its global development engine, streamlining its distribution and reducing excess inventory. Now the new name.

“The renaming of our company signifies the beginning of a new day at Boardriders. Our teams around the world have been building our resurgence brick by brick,” said Pierre Agnes, chief executive officer of the renamed Boardriders. “As we pivot to growth, we think it is important to recognize the importance of all three of our iconic brands and the passion of the boardriding culture that those brands support.”

Quiksilver started in 1976 after Bob McKnight and Jeff Hakman obtained licensing rights from the Australia-based company. The U.S. surfers launched the concept in a Newport Beach garage, with McKnight peddling boardshorts from his VW bus to the few surf shops along the coastline. From there, the company grew to a major retailer that in 2007 had revenues of $2.43 billion. By 2015, the company’s revenues had slumped to $1.3 billion.