It's a great day to be alive!
It was a miracle of modern economics. The surf industry, which first began to fall out of the sky some 20 years ago kept up an extremely impressive nosedive even through the longest bull market in history.
That’s right. While global markets have added trillions and trillions of dollars, especially during the last decade, surf has bucked all trends, going its own way, down, down, down.
Companies like Billabong, which used to be worth well over a billion dollars, shed value like it was the hottest game in town. Scratching its balding pate as the money dried up, collaborating with Andy Warhol, money drying up, collaborating with Iggy Pop, money drying up, scratching its balding pate, very confused until given to onetime rival Quiksilver for free.
The same Quiksilver that had just exited bankruptcy protection under the guiding hand of Oaktree Capital Investments. A firm specializing in “distressed assets.”
There were few bright spots. A brutal bloodletting. But now, 20 years on, it’s time to pop the even more vintage bubbly because according to Apparel News and Lost’s Joel Cooper WE’RE BACK BABY!
Let’s waste no more time with Andy n Iggy. Let’s get straight to the good stuff!
ActionWatch’s findings are good news for the surf business, which over the past decade has been pummeled by high-profile bankruptcies, changing tastes in youth fashion and a new retail landscape.
The tough times paved the way for a comeback, said Joel Cooper, chief executive officer of Lost International, the parent company of the popular surf brand …Lost.
“The great thing about the surf industry is that it never goes away. It’s cyclical,” Cooper said. “We’ve gone through bad times. It is slowly improving.”
Some reasons for a rebound is the fashion cycle is turning back toward surf and more women are interested in the category than before, Cooper said. Bankruptcies of major surfwear companies, including Quiksilver and Billabong, have forced the bigger companies to streamline operations and work more efficiently.
After Quiksilver emerged from bankruptcy, it renamed the company Boardriders Inc. and acquired the troubled Billabong surfwear brand.
With bigger companies working to save their businesses, there was more room for entrepreneurs to introduce new brands, which paved the way for more variety at surf shops, Cooper said.
“The business is coming back at a core level. Maybe we’ve turned a corner,” he said.
Lost might be benefiting from better tides for the surfwear industry. It recently opened its second boutique in Hawaii, giving the company seven full-price boutiques.
Quick question here, are you going to have your champagne with OJ, a peach purée or straight?
Oooee!
*”Over” is a relative term.
Sorry… “call options”?
I’m ignorant of all this stuff and, I must admit, kinda morally glad.
I make my meagre money the honest way; by the sweat of my (mostly white-collar) brow.
Thanks though.
Same surf industry that pays Bruce not to surf 5*events in the Maldives due to multiple ‘outrageous’ calamities!
What in tarnation are you jabbering about?
How do we know when it’s completely failed? What’s the sign? We need to prepare.
It’s not slowing improving and it’s not cyclical when you keep doing the same shit. God i want more than anything for the arse to completely fall out of it. Believe this could make me happy. Briefly.
I just went out found someone to sew me some boardies , they are petty plain have a draw string and wider legs so they dont ride up when im sitting on my board and scratchy old canvas but they work for me.
You are awesome.
I’d love to shake your hand for the honest simplicity of such a move.
… and perhaps buy a pair?
Pity the BG store is fake.
I’d happily rock the label.
I’ve heard that it’s B(i)G in Japan ?
Thankfully now I’m more a blank-tshirt guy.
Though I’ve just gotten a couple of drawings by my kids printed onto shirts for myself. I’ll be stoked on seeing those when they show up.
Take THAT fashion goons.
I’ve got my own private fucking label shizzle going on, num-sayin?
Limited Edition, bitches.
From little things , big things grow .
That’s what got me in trouble in the first place.
I picked up a sweet pair of patagonia boardies/trunks for $25 at TK Maxx. I’m sure I’m single handedly helping to bring the surf industry back with such extravagant purchases.
2parafuckingonia is hoax dude “Jerry surfs the pool ” and the clothing is made in sweat shops
I didn’t buy them for their enviro creds – more they looked nice and cost me $18 US.
Joel just wait for the coming market correction. With interest rates going up, they’ll be no money but for only the basics.
Oh yes its coming.
Welcome to the New World Order.
recalibration is upon us Bushman. hunker down and pay for those indo trips in advance. like buying happy hour beers at Tav and putting them on ice for when the bar will close.
tick tick tick….
Lost boutiques? The core has changed
I know huh?
I wonder if Surfstictchstab are still chuckling about how they threatened Lost about dropping BG adverts “or else”?
I just hope for Lost Boutiques that people will be able to find them ?Coooooee…….Coooooooeeee………… If they get lost in one of those Thai Caves they can hang out with the guys and girls who make their wetsuits and epoxies ?
Does this mean overt branding in surf fashion is finally back? Proud to be loud? My Billabong socks have been languishing far too long.
the relevancy was tied to fickle youthful insecurities, who else would pay a premium to advertise someone else’s brand?
once the trend changed, so does the audience en masse like sheep.
only a matter of time.
the damage that was done in the meantime isn’t going anywhere, thank you surf industry
Billabong, Quiksilver etc etc were always doomed to fail, I can’t even say those names without laughing at how absurd they sound.
I drank the Kool-aid as a SoCal kid in the ‘80’s. Started with thinking Tom Curren was the savior, so I rocked Rip Curl wetties. Also, Gulp, lots of Quicksilver.
As a grom I was a wannabe Australian and Jack McCoy flicks sold me on dressing almost exclusively in Billabong.
That must be the #1 marketing strategy across the ditch eh Negs, “wanting to be Australian”?
Yeah, those blue UV lights in the coastal toilet blocks really sold me on the beach lifestyle.
…I know I shouldn’t have poked the bear, but gee you set it up nicely 🙂
At least you were dressed like the best . Probably wasn’t a big market for Katins or Birdwell at the time ? You could have become NZ’s version of Hurley and bought the NZ license before going on to build your own Negatron brand empire with a little help from the goddess of victory ,Nike . ( hoping the god of plumbing Cloacina is looking after you like he/she is looking after the All Blacks )
You were not alone . Found this article from 20 years ago in Time Magazine http://content.time.com/tim…. Might be of interest ?
You could have worn OP or Katins or Stubbies or Catshit ( that’s what my grandmother called em ) ? Who in SoCal at that period could resist the image of Danny Kwok , dancing along the rocks with a McCoy under the arm and Echo Beach diamonds covering his loins ? Not many of you as Quik was still market leader till the end of the 90s and beyond .
*Kwock. I think it was polka dots.
Gotta love a bit of “ Rock Around the Kwok “ . The deck of the board was covered in polka dots and I remember another shot of him wearing the diamonds as I had the same model in Oz around 81 / 82 . I might be confusing the ad for McCoy with the ad for Quik ?
Just so normal brands. Average. Regular. Ordinary. Does anyone want these things?
The surf industry is turning the corner from a Cull Market to ….Lost on Wear/Ware/Where Market street. Thanks Siri.
Where’s Wardo?
A puzzle only his PO could solve.
The last time I walked into a shop. All I saw was a sea of blah..
I just scooped up a bunch of Tilly’s stock (TLYS). It’s where the newcore kids shop and they sell …Lost merch. I’ll keep you posted Chas. If this goes as planned I’ll be hanging at Lemoore quite a bit this next year.
“more women are interested in the category” hmm, so are y’all gona change how you market or remain the same troglodyte cave-dwellers you’ve always been?
What’s your point?
I’ll go out on a limb here (as a gender neutral lemon) and guess that marketing women’s surf paraphernalia based on the ‘attractiveness’ of the ‘athlete’, regardless of her actual surfing ability/contest results, grates a tad on ‘core’ women surfers.
And that’s whether or not they feel they have the right to drop in on any male in the Maldives, or put their fins in backwards.
Now that I finally have a wife and a daughter ( and a son too ) I should take an interest in how the men of the male surfing industry market their product to the ladies . So Jen , if you have any ideas for positive change or constructive criticism ( or you just want to have a bitch about it ) of what already exists it would be heartily appreciated .
See here James you perportedly “having” a wife and daughter suggests ownership and makes you a part of the problem serving to illustrate your white male privilege in the paternal patriarchy that is the surf industry
Apologies superworm . Was trying to write from that surfing male perspective that seems to be the seed of Jen’s blight . As a stay at home dad , I wake up and await my orders from my female bosses which I happily carry out . They are lucky to have me as I am to have them ?
Just stirring the post modern feminist pot with more than a pinch of sarcasm ole James! And as a go to work Dad, my vote is worth less than our neighbours barking dog. But carrying a weight is what we do…
Keep stirring the pot .
Caroline Marks Rips! She’s not exactly the tini-bikini type.. what’s her marketing future hold?
Hell! She’s going to own Bell’s in the foreseeable future*, on her backhand throwing buckets! One time here, I don’t remember when, NC described really well how difficult that wave is. Would that not be a serious feather in her cap?
*when the WSL pulls the Bell’s
Men’s Event from the schedule, the women get best swell conditions. I think that happens soon.
“The business is coming back at a core level.”
Siick dividends brah
The siiiiiickest.
ah bullshit , the industry is still declining , small brands like Lost didn’t have much to lose , the surfboard business which is Matt/Mayhem ,is carrying the business as they/he are the only real big brand Board maker left standing. FW asian made , CI no head designer , long boards are strong , shortboards weak , Asian popouts still ruling , QuikBong still putting off workers , shutting stores and moving HQ’s, a bit of a premature ejaculation to pop the corks yet……but by the end of next year , there might be light at the end of tunnel!