Remember when Quiksilver was cool, whether or not you were a surfer and needed surfwear? Because aside from surfwear, the brand sold wallets and backpacks as well.
Well, you’d be terribly disappointed to find out that the surfwear retailer has filed for bankruptcy.
Quiksilver Inc. put its US business into bankruptcy on Wednesday (9th September) after it lost 79% of its market value this year.
Founded in Australia in 1969 but now based in California, the company operates in 100 countries. It said in a statement, however, that its operations outside the US are not part of the Chapter 11 filing.
Investment firm Oaktree Capital Management will now oversee the surfwear company. Oaktree, along with Bank of America, included $1.75 million in the bankruptcy financing plan, which will allow Quiksilver to continue operating during the reconstruction, WSJ reports.
Quiksilver chief executive Pierre Agnes said in a statement that the firm had taken the “difficult but necessary step to secure a bright future for Quiksilver”.
He explained:
With the protections afforded by the Bankruptcy Code and the financing provided by Oaktree, we will not only be able to satisfy our ongoing obligations to customers, vendors and employees, but we will also have the flexibility needed to complete the turnaround of our US operations and re-establish Quiksilver as the leader in the action sports industry.
Quiksilver’s board shorts pioneered the surf board fashion trend in 1970 and were regarded as somewhat revolutionary at the time. They were also the first to include a Velcro fastening and were made with hardwearing quick-drying cotton.
The company’s brands include Roxy clothing and DC shoes and boots.
