And announces plan for string of megastores with live music, barber shops…
In a few weeks, the iconic surf brand Quiksilver will emerge from the cocoon of chapter 11 bankruptcy 600 mill lighter in debt.
According to SMH.com, “Under the reorganisation, US-based Oaktree Capital Management will swap its debt for equity, reducing Quiksilver’s debt from $US900 million to $US300 million and freeing up funds to enable the company to rebuild after six months in limbo.
“‘The Chapter 11 process has given this company the chance to have another life,” Quiksilver president Greg Healy, a former Melbourne Football Club captain, told Fairfax Media.’When we filed for Chapter 11 the global entity had $US900 million in debt. Chapter 11 allows us to reduce debt by $US600 million – we’ll be in a lot better shape,’ he said.
“Given a new lease of life by Oaktree, which will own more than 90 per cent of the company, Quiksilver is closing underperforming stores in North America, winding up or renegotiating contracts with athletes and licensees, restructuring its supply chain, rebuilding relationships with suppliers, and reducing the number of products by more than 20 per cent.
“As well, Quiksilver also plans to roll out a new retail format called Boardriders after successfully testing the concept with a handful of stores in Australia, Japan, Europe and Russia.
“Boardriders stores are around 750 square metres – three times the size of Quiksilver’s average store – and have barber shops, live music and hardgoods such as surfboards, skateboards and snowboards as well as Quiksilver’s full range of apparel and footwear brands.”
Do surf shops with hair salons and bands excite or do they repel?
If you had the keys to the brand, what would you do?
So can I do the same thing and reduce my student loans by 2/3s?? Or is my 1990 4Runner, and my 10 or so functional surfboards not enough assets to “swap debt for equity”?
Maybe Quik should have held onto it’s star workers over the years… How much talent have they nursed/churned though over the decades?
Here’s alittle companion piece from one of our non Fantasy Surfer playing commentators…
http://www.afr.com/brand/af…
My buddy sells bootleg Quik boardies made in Hong Kong out of his car for $25 US. I have two pair. Are we part of the problem? Oh and those Costco Quik overstock ones are still hanging in there…
no such thing as patient capital
you think their team is the reason they’re broke? you’re dumber than i thought. its like one percent of the fucking ad budget dude.
They should have just stuck to making boardies and wetties and been experts at that – since that’s where they started in Torquay.
BUT why stop at hairdressers, what about juice bars, maybe a 24hr gym, possible nightclub. I think it is better business to actually go into everything.
They did Skiing with Rossi, why not start a couple football teams and put a team in the Tour de France. Actually do more sports – that would be epic.
See if they can actually totally fuck up Oaktree Capital – now that would be funny!!!
The most salient thing to notice here is the little line about Oaktree Capital Partners owning over 90% of the company. This pulls Quiksilver USA off the sharemarket and gives ownership of all its trademarks — the real gold — to private equity. As of right now, Quik’s sharemarket value is just over $2 million, this for a company that turned over a billion dollars in sales last year. If Oaktree can clean it up and re-package for the sharemarket in a couple of years, they just might have done the best deal in surf industry history.
Then again barber shops.
The real money is in aestheticians.
If I could get my asshole waxed the same place I buy my plaid button ups I would die a happy man.
They could even upcycle used surf wax…straight off your deck, into the fondue pot and onto your taint stubble! Maybe Costco will pick up the concept?
Back in the 90’s there was a skate shop in Laguna Hills that had a Barber Shop in it… Note my past tense reference
What did people expect would happen here? This is what happens in bankruptcy. Oaktree does this for a living – the new company will do fine, maybe not with surfers, but it’ll do fine.
have to get my armpits shaved somewhere, so bring it on!
This makes me sick, there is people out there left holding the bag of debt for these douche bags. They repay them by not only stepping on their heads but by coming up with quite possibly the lamest plan ever. My plan is to not buy a single thing quicksilver, screw those corporate d bags.
I couldn’t afford it as a grom, don’t care for it as an adult, so I’ve been on a de facto boycott in perpetuity. Also saw many a friend get knifed by them in the last five-ish years while the trust fund hacks kept their jobs. Can’t say I even give them much thought these days.
Now that you mention it I can’t remember the last piece of product I purchased with their logo on it.
They’re easy to hate/boycott…my wife gussies me up purdy for work on that adult shit, I get lots of skate shirts and shoes from homies on the inside, and wear aging work pants to the beach or park… I go full blazer to bum like Clark Kent without a thought about a surf brand.
Didn’t you read the article? The debt is GONE! It’s magical, and it’s win-win for everyone.
You clearly don’t understand how chapter 11 works. Yes the debt is gone for quick, but that means the people they owed money don’t get paid…ever. I have been a victim of corporate douche bags just like this and never saw a dime that was owed me. Ask Donald Trump about chapter 11, he is master of this messed up system.
woosh.
Edit: I shouldn’t use sarcasm on the internet. I was commenting on the fact that this article makes no reference to all the investors who lost their money. And the Quiksilver people, of course, make no reference to it – they just act stoked that they have less debt. This is weak journalism.
you feel bad for investors? do you know how bad of an investment Quik has been for like, 10 years now?
No sweat, it is a crying shame to think about all those poor saps whom lost their hard earned money to these douches. No harm done to me my friend, I have the thick skin shirt on today.
don’t feel bad for anybody. When Oakkook Capital got involved they knew damn well this is where they might end up. they went from being a lender to an owner of a company they wish they hadn’t loaned to. if some small vendors/creditors got punked in this shit too then that sucks but those guys knew they were dealing with a struggling company. i’m sure anybody that loaned them cash in the last 3 years were charging rates to reflect the shit financial position Quik was in.
Well I can’t say I’m losing sleep over it but I have been in this position before. As a small business owner your faced with a tough decision. The trouble is when you have an opportunity to get the work, even if there is a strong chance you won’t get paid, you sort of have to do it in hopes they do come through with the cash. Having said that I’m sure that my grass cutting jobs don’t have this many zeros behind it, but I feel the premise is the same. I would love to see this chapter 11 crap done away with. If you screw up that should be it, over and done with no chance of simply changing the name to carry on the same sham as before.
re sign clay marzo. Start making young guns 4
yes and now he can get a proper hair cut instead of by that kooky lady at the end of YG3!
isn’t capitalism great !!! a fucking barbershop???? how about making some board shorts that people will want to buy???
How about going out of business?
if i had the keys, I would be chucking em off the cliff at Bells, sticking a petrol soaked towel in the gas tank of the old girl and claiming fire and theft on the shit heap.
same old bullshit.
here is an idea.
1. don’t open your spasticated flagship shops
2. give me 50% of the money you would have lost opening them 🙂
So Quik! Chasing now what was cool in the recent past hoping it will stay so when it’s already not!
One style available, the Mikey Wright.
Where was the “successful” test store in Australia?
Those stores only ‘worked’ once in 1. developing markets without a large core skate/surf culture relative to USA/AUS or 2. destinations with massive tourist traffic…Asia (last I was there, Kuta had one, no?), Latin America (beachless Mexico City and Santiago…), Europe (Barcelona and Munich for fuck’s sake…)…those are just the ones that I remember seeing in person, never went in, just found their placement odd.
They’re hedging their bets on novices to the sports and the culture who still associate their brand with ‘action sports’