The story
History
Founding and boardshort development
Quiksilver was founded by surfers Alan Green and John Law on the coast of Victoria in the surf town of
Torquay. Green, who had previously made wetsuits, experimented with boardshorts intended specifically for
surfing. The design used a Velcro fly, metal press studs, scalloped legs and a “yoke waist” that sat higher at
the back and lower at the front. These functional changes distinguished the shorts from the heavier swim
trunks then commonly used by surfers and helped establish a blueprint for the modern boardshort.
During the first half of the 1970s, the brand expanded beyond Torquay as its boardshorts were worn and
promoted by Australian and visiting international surfers. In 1976, professional surfer Jeff Hakman and Bob
McKnight obtained the license to manufacture and distribute Quiksilver in the United States and formed
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Quiksilver USA in California. The American operation grew during the late 1970s through surf-shop
distribution, athlete sponsorship, surf films and magazine photography. During the 1980s, it expanded from
boardshorts into a fuller range of sportswear and everyday apparel.
International growth
Quiksilver Europe was established in 1984 when Harry Hodge, Jeff Hakman, Brigitte Darrigrand and John Winship
received the European manufacturing and distribution license. The operation developed in the surf region of
southwestern France and was later headquartered in Saint-Jean-de-Luz, south of Biarritz.
Quiksilver became publicly traded in 1986. Company filings state that the public offering and acquisition of the United States trademark were followed by broader product offerings and further diversification. Contemporary reporting said the initial offering sold two million shares and raised
approximately $18.7 million.
Quiksilver introduced Roxy as a women's surfwear line in 1990. The line was suspended during the 1991
surf-industry downturn and revived in 1992, later expanding into swimwear, snow apparel, lifestyle clothing,
footwear and accessories. The development of a dedicated women's brand broadened the company's reach in an
action-sports market that had largely focused on men.
Quiksilver signed Kelly Slater to a full sponsorship agreement in 1990 when he was 18. Slater won his first
world surfing title in 1992 and remained with the brand until 2014, winning ten of his eleven world titles during the relationship. During the 1990s, Quiksilver expanded its product lines for men, women and children, increased its international retail and wholesale distribution and developed Boardriders Club stores. Its reach also extended beyond active surfers: a later account reported that by 2008 fewer than one-quarter of customers buying surf products actually surfed.
In 2004, Quiksilver's annual sales exceeded $1 billion for the first time, reaching approximately $1.27
billion. That year it acquired skateboarding footwear and apparel company DC Shoes for an initial purchase price of approximately $87.7 million in cash and stock, expanding its position in skateboarding and action-sports footwear.
Recent corporate history
Quiksilver purchased Skis Rossignol for $560 million in 2005, but sold Rossignol on 12 November 2008 for $37.5 million (30 million euros) in cash and a $12.5 million note (10 million euro). Quiksilver owned golf-equipment maker Cleveland Golf until 31 October 2007, when it sold the company to a Japanese sporting-goods company.
In 2009, Moody's included Quiksilver on its Bottom Rung list of companies most likely to default on its debt.
As of 2013, Quiksilver operated 834 stand-alone stores in major cities across Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific, Europe, North and South America, Asia, and Africa]. At that time, the two types of Quiksilver-operated stores were known as either "Boardriders Club" or "Factory" stores. Their products were also sold in many other outlets across the world, such as PacSun, the Fells Point Surf Company, and the Ron Jon Surf Shop. With PacSun's decline in retail prominence, Quiksilver and other brands suffered diminished sales. In addition, the company operated a number of separate Roxy and Quiksilver Youth stores.
As of 2013, the company suffered a financial slump for six years and initiated a turnaround plan in an attempt to resolve this. In September 2015, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Co-founder of Quiksilver Bob McKnight stepped down as CEO on 11 January 2013. He then acted as executive chairman, until retiring in October 2014. Andy Mooney, who was formerly chairman of Disney Consumer Products, was CEO from 2013 to 2015.
Mooney stepped down as the CEO and was replaced in March 2015 by longtime employee Pierre Agnes to restructure the brand. In 2015, Agnes was promoted from president to CEO.
Quiksilver emerged from bankruptcy in early 2016, and the company once again became privately held, with Oaktree Capital Management as the majority shareholder. By the end of 2016, their retail presence had significantly diminished after restructuring by Oaktree.
The company's name was changed in March 2017 to Boardriders, Inc., and it is the owner of the Quiksilver, Roxy, and DC Shoes brands. Boardriders purchased Billabong International Limited in 2018.
On 30 January 2018, the global CEO of Boardriders, Pierre Agnes, was declared missing after his powerboat washed ashore without him near Biarritz, France, after he radioed in to delay his return in thick fog conditions. A search operation by air and sea was launched the same day. The search was called off a few days later, as he was declared lost at sea and presumed dead. Dave Tanner, the company's former chief turnaround officer, became CEO on 6 February 2018.
Boardriders, Inc. owns Quiksilver, Roxy, DC Shoes, Billabong, Element, Von Zipper, RVCA, and XCEL.
In April 2023, Authentic Brands Group made a binding offer to acquire Boardriders, Inc. for US$1.25 billion.
On February 2, 2025, Liberated Brands, owner of Quiksilver and Roxy retail stores in the US, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, listing assets and liabilities between $100 million and $500 million. The company announced the closure of all remaining Quiksilver and Roxy locations in the US, with liquidation sales beginning a week before the bankruptcy.
May 2026, ROXY began winding down its two decades of business in Taiwan, with final store closures set for the end of summer.
The Liberated bankruptcy did not transfer or terminate ownership of Quiksilver. Authentic Brands Group
retained the brand's intellectual property and shifted operations to other licensees. O5 Apparel became the
principal North American operator for Quiksilver men's apparel, while Velocity Global Brands took
responsibility for the design, manufacture and distribution of Quiksilver women's apparel in the United States
and Canada. Groupe Beaumanoir operates Quiksilver and the
other former Boardriders brands across key Western European markets, while BR South Pacific operates
Quiksilver, Billabong, Roxy and RVCA in Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and Indonesia.
From Wikipedia’s article on Quiksilver, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.7