Vans, meanwhile, drops a billion in sales!
Az predicted a month back, and set to be revealed in coming days, is VF Corp’s acquisition of the once-iconic surf brands, Billabong, Quiksilver and RVCA.
Quiksilver, Billabong and RVCA all operate, or operated I suppose now, under the umbrella Boardriders Inc, majority owned by Oaktree Capital, an American global asset management firm
VF Corp, a behemoth in rude fiscal health that owns fifty percent of the US backpack market via its brands North Face, Timberland, Eastpak and JanSport, first had a swing at Billabong in 2013.
VF offered over half-a-billion dollars, before ending the chase when it became “too expensive.”
Dreams do come true, as they say, and the acquisition by one of the world’s largest apparel, footwear and accessories companies, consolidates VF Corp, which also owns the canvas shoe company Vans, as the hub around which surf fashion now revolves.
The buy comes amid mass sackings within the company, six hundred jobs shed following an astonishing one-billion dollar drop in sales from the aforementioned Vans, China and supply issues blamed for the probs.
More when the ink dries.