“I’m not dead yet!” Hurley daddy Bluestar Alliance circles troubled surf brand Rip Curl

Hammer, nail, coffin! Thanks for the laughs Rip Curl!

In what you’d think will be the final nail in the ol’ Rip Curl coffin, Bluestar Alliance, a brand management company that bought Hurley seven years ago, sacked most of the team and milked its titties until it became what it is today, withered and unpleasant to cup, is doin’ its due diligence as it prepares to buy Kathmandu aka KMD, owners of Rip Curl.

KMD, which is listed on the New Zealand and Australian stock exchanges, said on Monday that it had granted Bluestar exclusivity for about four weeks. The period can be extended under certain conditions, and KMD said it hoped to finalise a binding agreement by Dec. 23.

The approach comes after a shitty ol stretch for KMD, which posted a loss of more than $300 million in the 2026 financial year.

Bluestar has been buying real aggressively. Last year it bought the workwear chain Dickies from VF Corporation. The year before, it acquired the streetwear label Off-White from the luxury conglomerate LVMH. Its portfolio also includes Scotch & Soda, Palm Angels and Elie Tahari.

KMD warned that a deal was not a fait accompli.

“There is no certainty at this time that this process will result in receipt of a binding proposal, or that any transaction will ultimately be consummated,” the company said, according to The Financial Review. It added, “The board has not made, and the granting of exclusivity should not be taken as, a recommendation of any transaction.”

KMD has not disclosed the indicative price Bluestar offered. The Financial Review reported that Bluestar was expected to have offered a substantial premium to secure exclusivity.

The sale process has drawn wide interest. About a dozen parties expressed interest in buying some or all of KMD, The Financial Review reported. The company operates 318 stores and supplies thousands of wholesale customers around the world.

KMD bought Rip Curl in 2019 for $350 million from its founders, Brian Singer and Doug Warbrick. People close to several bidders, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told The Financial Review that KMD was chasing more than $200 million for Rip Curl alone or roughly double KMD’s current market value.

Earlier this year, The Financial Review reported that Mountain Warehouse, the British outdoor retailer owned by the billionaire Mark Neale, was interested in KMD’s Kathmandu chain. Separately, a group of former Billabong executives had proposed spinning off Rip Curl and merging it with their own company, Stokehouse.

Now, if Bluestar gets the keys, the way it works is “our team of experts embark on a complete and thorough understanding of the brand’s potential channels of distribution and price point strategies. We create tools such as brand development profiles, trend guides, style guides and marketing strategies. These marketing materials portray graphic illustrations and a strategic marketing road map to enhance consumer brand recognition.”

In layman’s terms, throw a logo on anything that moves, inflatable pool toys, beard oil, whatever dumb stuff people will buy ’cause it has a heritage banner on it.

Meanwhile, if you wanna support those few remaining independent surf labels, go see our pals at Reynolds’ Former,  Vissla, The Critical Slide Society, Country Club Surf Club and Brothers Marshall.