Hurley is an American company that sells clothes and accessories marketed towards surfing and swimming. Established in 1979 as a distributor for

Billabong Billabong ( ) is an Australian term for an oxbow lake, an isolated pond left behind after a river changes course. Billabongs are usually formed when the path of a creek or river changes, leaving the former branch with a dead end. As a result ...

clothing in the United States, Hurley was sold to

Nike, Inc. Nike, Inc. ( or ) is an American multinational corporation that is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing, and worldwide marketing and sales of footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services. The company is headquartered ne ...

in 2002 for an undisclosed price and then to ''Bluestar Alliance LLC'' in 2019 for an undisclosed price. Products sold include clothing, swimsuits, wetsuits, flip-flops (sandals), bags and backpacks.

History

Hurley was founded in 1979 by 24-year-old Bob Hurley (along with partner Bob Rowland and Business Manager Joe Knoernschild) as "Hurley Surfboards//International Pro Designs" (I.P.D.). Hurley worked for five years as a

surf board A surfboard is a narrow plank used in surfing. Surfboards are relatively light, but are strong enough to support an individual standing on them while riding an ocean wave. They were invented in ancient Hawaii, where they were known as ''papa he' ...

shaper for various companies; including Lightning Bolt; Wind-an-Sea and Wave Tools. While becoming known as one of the premiere shapers in Southern California, Hurley licensed the U.S. rights to the up-and-coming Australian surf brand

, and formed Billabong USA in 1983. Founding partners in Billabong USA besides Hurley were Bob Rowland (General Partners), and as limited partners Chip Rowland, Mike Ochsner, Joe Knoernschild, Tom Fletcher and Bill Hurley. By the mid-1980s, Billabong USA was doing well. Bob and his team were committed to doing things differently and took full responsibility for design, sourcing, marketing and financing. In 1998, the U.S. licensing rights for Billabong were up for renewal after the company had grown to over $70 million in sales in America. The USA management team decided to not renew the USA license for Billabong USA and in 1999 Hurley International was born. Founding working partners of Billabong USA Hurley, Knoernschild, Ochsner and Bill Hurley transitioned over to Hurley International. Billabong USA's designer Lian Murray also became a partner with the newly created Hurley International. On February 22, 2002, the company was sold to

for an undisclosed amount. On June 4, 2012, Nike announced that Bob Hurley would assume the interim CEO role at Hurley International, LLC. replacing Michael Egeck who has decided to leave the company. Hurley stepped down as CEO in 2015 and was replaced by Bob Coombes. In June 2019, Nike Inc. appointed John Schweitzer as CEO and CFO of the Hurley brand. On October 29, 2019, Nike announced the sale of Hurley to Bluestar Alliance LLC for an undisclosed amount. On December 28, 2019, surf publication Beach Grit reported that Hurley would not renew the contracts of professional surfers it sponsors. On the 23rd January 2020, Conquest Sports, the licensee for the Converse brand in Australia and New Zealand announced a joint venture partnership with Blue Star Alliance LLC (USA) to distribute the Hurley brand in Australia and New Zealand. The Hurley brand trades under the company Hurley Australasia PTY Ltd since March 1st 2020 for Australia & New Zealand. Hurley then launched its first Australian focused site (https://www.hurley.com.au/) in July 2021. A major part of the company's success has been the endorsement of

pop-punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

bands such as

Blink-182 Blink-182 (stylized as blink-182) is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Poway, California in 1992. Their current lineup consists of bassist/vocalist Mark Hoppus, guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, and drummer Travis Barker. Though their ...

and

All Time Low All Time Low is an American rock band from Towson, Maryland, formed in 2003. Consisting of lead vocalist/rhythm guitarist Alex Gaskarth, lead guitarist Jack Barakat, bassist/backing vocalist Zack Merrick, and drummer Rian Dawson, the band too ...

. Furthering their involvement in the music industry, Hurley sponsors the heavy metal band

Avenged Sevenfold Avenged Sevenfold (abbreviated as A7X) is an American heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of lead vocalist M. Shadows, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Zacky Vengeance, ...

, the

metalcore Metalcore (also known as metallic hardcore) is a fusion music genre that combines elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk. As with other styles blending metal and hardcore, such as crust punk and grindcore, metalcore is noted for its use of ...

band

Parkway Drive Parkway Drive is an Australian metalcore band from Byron Bay, New South Wales, formed in 2003. As of 2018, Parkway Drive have released six studio albums, one EP, two DVDs, a split album and one book, titled ''Ten Years of Parkway Drive''. The b ...

, and

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

band The Green.

References

External links

* {{Nike, Inc. Surfwear brands Clothing companies of the United States Clothing companies established in 1979 2002 mergers and acquisitions 2019 mergers and acquisitions Skateboarding companies Snowboarding companies Swimwear manufacturers Companies based in Costa Mesa, California 1979 establishments in California 1990s fashion 2000s fashion 2010s fashion