Quiksilver is a

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's goods or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create and ...

of surf-inspired

apparel Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) is any item worn on a human human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin s ...

and accessories that was founded in 1969 in

Torquay, Victoria Torquay ( ) is a town in Surf Coast Shire, Victoria, Australia, which faces Bass Strait, 21 km south of Geelong and is the gateway to the Great Ocean Road. It is bordered on the west by Spring Creek and its coastal features include Point D ...

, but is now based in

Huntington Beach, California Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County, California, United States. The city was originally called Pacific City, but it was changed in 1903 to be named after American businessman Henry E. Huntington. The population was 198,711 as of ...

. It is one of the world's largest brands of

surfwear Surf culture includes the people, language, fashion, and lifestyle surrounding the sport of surfing. The history of surfing began with the ancient Polynesians. That initial culture directly influenced modern surfing, which began to flourish a ...

and

boardsport Boardsports are active outdoor sports that are played with any sort of board as the primary equipment. These sports take place on a variety of terrains, from paved flat-ground and snow-covered hills to water and air. Most boardsports are consider ...

-related equipment. The parent company changed its name in March 2017 from Quiksilver, Inc. to Boardriders, Inc., and is the owner of the brands Quiksilver, Roxy and

DC Shoes DC Shoes, Inc. is an American brand specializes in footwear for action sports such as skateboarding and snowboarding. The company also manufactures apparel, bags, accessories, hats, t-shirts, and posters. History DC was founded in June 1994 by ...

. In 2018, Boardriders acquired

Billabong International Limited Billabong International Limited is an Australian company focused on surfing, primarily a clothing retailer that also produces accessories, such as watches and backpacks, and skateboard and snowboard products under other brand names. Founded i ...

, gaining the Billabong,

Element Element or elements may refer to: Science * Chemical element, a pure substance of one type of atom * Heating element, a device that generates heat by electrical resistance * Orbital elements, parameters required to identify a specific orbit of o ...

, Von Zipper,

RVCA RVCA is a New York, New York–based clothing company owned by Authentic Brands Group. Etymology The logotype for RVCA portrays the letter A without a crossbar, resembling an uppercase lambda (Λ). The name resembles the Greek ''ρούχα'' ( ...

and XCEL brands.

Authentic Brands Group Authentic Brands Group LLC (ABG) is an American brand management company headquartered in New York City. Its holdings include various apparel, athletics, and entertainment brands, which it partners with other companies to license and merchandise. ...

bought Boardriders and its associated brands and intellectual property in 2023. Quiksilver manufactures and sells a wide range of products that include

sportswear Sportswear or activewear is athletic clothing, including footwear, worn for sports activity or physical exercise. Sport-specific clothing is worn for most sports and physical exercise, for practical, comfort or safety reasons. Typical spor ...

(

swimsuit A swimsuit is an item of clothing designed to be worn by people engaging in a water-based activity or water sports, such as swimming, diving and surfing, or sun-orientated activities, such as sun bathing. Different types and styles may be worn ...

s),

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, garments, dress, apparel, or attire) is any item worn on a human human body, body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin s ...

(

T-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt, or tee for short) is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a '' crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shir ...

polo shirt A polo shirt, tennis shirt, golf shirt, or chukker shirt is a form of shirt with a collar. Polo shirts are usually short sleeved but can be long; they were used by Polo#Players, polo players originally in British Raj, British India in 1859 and ...

flannel Flannel is a soft woven fabric, of varying fineness. Flannel was originally made from carded wool or worsted yarn, but is now often made from either wool, cotton, or synthetic fiber. Flannel is commonly used to make tartan clothing, blankets, ...

jacket A jacket is a garment for the upper body, usually extending below the hips. A jacket typically has sleeves and fastens in the front or slightly on the side. Jackets without sleeves are vests. A jacket is generally lighter, tighter-fitting, and ...

hoodie A hoodie is a type of sweatshirt with a hood that, when worn up, covers most of the head and neck, and sometimes the face. The most common 'pullover' style hoodies often include a single large knife pocket or muff on the lower front, whil ...

pants Trousers (British English), slacks, or pants (American English, American, Canadian English, Canadian and Australian English) are an item of clothing worn from the waist to anywhere between the knees and the ankles, covering both legs separatel ...

shorts Shorts are a garment worn over the pelvic area, circling the waist and splitting to cover the upper part of the legs, sometimes extending down to the knees but not covering the entire length of the leg. They are called "shorts" because they ar ...

footwear Footwear refers to garments worn on the feet, which typically serve the purpose of protective clothing, protection against adversities of the environment such as wear from rough ground; stability on slippery ground; and temperature. *Shoes and si ...

(

sneakers Sneakers (American English, US) or trainers (British English, UK), also known by a #Names, wide variety of other names, are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but are also widely used for everyday casual ...

sandal Sandals are an open type of shoe, consisting of a sole held to the wearer's foot by straps going over the instep and around the ankle. Sandals can also have a heel. While the distinction between sandals and other types of footwear can sometim ...

s), and accessories (

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

backpack A backpack, also called knapsack, schoolbag, rucksack, pack, booksack, bookbag, haversack, packsack, or backsack, is in its simplest frameless form, a fabric sack carried on one's back and secured with two straps that go over the shoulders; b ...

s, and

wallet A wallet is a flat case or pouch, often used to carry small personal items such as physical currency, debit cards, and credit cards; identification documents such as driving licence, identification card, club card; photographs, transit pass, b ...

s). The company also produces a line of apparel for young women, under the Roxy brand. Another line of apparel for women is sold under the brand Quiksilver Women.

Recent corporate history

Quiksilver purchased

Skis Rossignol Skis Rossignol S.A., or simply Rossignol, is a French manufacturer of alpine, snowboard, and Nordic equipment, as well as related outerwear and accessories, located in Isère, France. Rossignol was one of the first companies to produce plastic ...

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 Moody's Ratings, previously and still legally known as Moody's Investors Service and often referred to as Moody's, is the bond credit rating business of Moody's Corporation, representing the company's traditional line of business and its histo ...

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 Pacific Sunwear of California, LLC, commonly known as PacSun, is an American retail clothing brand. The company sells lifestyle apparel, along with swim, footwear and accessories designed for teens and young adults. As of 2022, the company operate ...

, 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 Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

. 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 Andrew P. Mooney (born 1955) is the CEO of Fender Musical Instruments Corporation and former chairman of Disney Consumer Products (DCP). Mooney joined the Walt Disney Company as president of DCP in December 1999 and was promoted to chairman in Ma ...

, who was formerly chairman of

Disney Consumer Products Disney Consumer Products, Inc. is the retailing and licensing subsidiary of the Disney Experiences segment of The Walt Disney Company. Previously, Consumer Products was a segment of Disney until 2016, then a unit of Disney Consumer Products and I ...

, 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

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 Biarritz ( , , , ; also spelled ; ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain. It is a luxu ...

, 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,

Billabong In Australian English, a billabong ( ) is a small body of water, usually permanent. It is usually an oxbow lake caused by a change in course of a river or creek, but other types of small lakes, ponds or waterholes are also called billabongs ...

, Von Zipper,

, and XCEL. In April 2023,

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

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.

Roxy

In 1990, Quiksilver launched its sister brand for young women, Roxy. The brand was shuttered after the 1991 surf industry crash, but revived by Bob McKnight and Danny Kwock in 1992, signing Lisa Andersen in 1993. It was differentiated from the main Quiksilver line "for fear it would damage the men's brand", according to Randy Hild, the company's senior vice president of marketing. Roxy was chosen because it sounded like a punk band or club (likely

Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock music, rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry (lead vocals/keyboards/principal songwriter) and Graham Simpson (musician), Graham Simpson (bass). By the time the band recorded their Roxy Music (album), first albu ...

and The Roxy respectively), and is also the name of the daughters of both CEO Bob McKnight and founder Alan Green. About 30% of Quiksilver's sales come from the Roxy line. Since inception, Roxy has grown to be the largest action sport fashion apparel company for young women. In addition to apparel, it now also produces accessories,

homeware Household goods are goods and products used within households. They are the tangible and movable personal property placed in the rooms of a house, such as a bed or refrigerator. Economic role Businesses that produce household goods are categori ...

s, hard goods (snow and surf),

wetsuit A wetsuit is a garment worn to provide thermal protection while wet. It is usually made of foamed neoprene, and is worn by surfers, divers, windsurfers, canoeists, and others engaged in water sports and other activities in or on the water. ...

s, footwear, and books. It has sub-brands for its children's ranges, Roxy Girl and Teenie Wahine. In the spring of 2013, the " DVF loves Roxy" collection was released as a one-time limited-edition collaboration line of swim and beach wear as well as accessories.

Brand image

The Quiksilver brand's logo, designed in 1973 by founders Alan Green and John Law, was inspired by Japanese painter

Hokusai , known mononymously as Hokusai, was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist of the Edo period, active as a painter and printmaker. His woodblock printing in Japan, woodblock print series ''Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji'' includes the iconic print ''The Gr ...

's woodcut, ''

The Great Wave off Kanagawa is a woodblock print by Japanese ''ukiyo-e'' artist Hokusai, created in late 1831 during the Edo period of Japanese history. The print depicts three boats moving through a storm-tossed sea, with a large, cresting wave forming a spiral in t ...

''. It depicts a large wave with a mountain on a red background. Roxy's heart-shaped logo was created by duplicating and reflecting the Quiksilver logo and rotating both copies at a 45-degree angle.

Controversy

In 2023, a news article from Beach Gri

reported that Quiksilver directly copied a design from a small company, Ola Canvas, and their Blackball boardshorts. Quiksilver posted the design on their Instagram account on February 14, 2023, and Ola Canvas posted a response five days later.

References

External links