By Ava Kershner / 10News / Feb 07, 2025
Three of the biggest names in surf and skatewear are filing for bankruptcy. Billabong, Quiksilver, and Volcom partially blame fast fashion for the closures.
If you ask the regulars at Ocean Beach: “I surf and skate, yeah. I skate every day,” said Travis, a local skater and surfer. They are familiar with the names.
“Do you have any Billabong, Quiksilver, or Volcom?” I asked.
“All 3, yes,” said Travis.
Billabong, Quiksilver and Volcom stores will be closing their doors, after the company behind them, Liberated Brands, filed for bankruptcy.
“Well, I knew ahead of time that they were re-licensing for, this is probably the third time, so the Chapter 11 kind of came as a surprise,” said Byran Guter, owner of Emerald City Surf Shop in Coronado.
Guter wasn’t expecting the filing but says so far, it has some perks.
“So a Liberated company put all their springs on sale at 60% off. So they offered us 60% off as well on our spring orders. So it’s gonna help our margins. But it might affect how much product we get,” said Guter.
The licenses for Billabong, Quiksilver, and Volcom are being transferred to another company so they can keep making products.
In the meantime, it means more support for the local shops.
“For the time being I do think it’ll help. It’s not a huge competition for us, but it definitely, you know, they were there,” said Guter.
As for the Ocean Beach regulars, they never bothered to stray from local shops in the first place.
“I’ve I’ve never shopped at a Billabong store. I’ve never shopped at a Quiksilver store,” said Travis.
“Because that stuff’s always expensive anyways,” said Adam Alcantara, a local skater.
“More business for local stores like, taking away from like the big brands, and you know they have too much money already so it’s good for the the little guys,” said Will Fortin, a local surfer.
Big name surf brands have been struggling for a very long time. I vaguely recall Billabong filing for bankruptcy before. There’s probably a multitude of reasons. One being the whole “looking like a surfer” amongst people who don’t actually surf or skate has drastically dropped off in popularity. Those are the kinds of people who shopped in these stores. Kinda makes me think of the people who wear Thrasher t-shirts yet don’t skate and have never heard of Thrasher Magazine.
Also the younger generations of people who DO participate in some kind of board sport have moved on to other brands.
I call bull!
So when sighting why these brands have been struggling, they say that “fast fashion” and the rise of inexpensive, mass-produced clothing has overshadowed the authenticity and craftsmanship that these companies once stood for. If anyone, anyone at all, makes a quality product and charges a fair and reasonable price for it, people will be beating down your door to purchase it from you. In my opinion, the real reason these folks are losing market share is pure and simple, GREED! The quality of their product has suffered in recent decades, but the cost they charge the consumer continues to increase significantly. The CEO’s of these companies want to continue to have their Hawaiian homes, European vacations, and luxury cars, but they do not want to sell you quality clothes at a reasonable price.
Totally agree with this analysis – T-Shirts priced at $65 are obscene. The price/quality ratio of these brands are completely out of balance. There needs to be a reset and it’s going to take a minimum 60% decrease in retail pricing to get there.
Perfect example of the failed machination of the American corporate business model; wholly predicated and solely reliant on growth, at any cost. This is the product of gross market manipulation and never ending consolidation of global monopolization. Less selection, collusion manipulated hyper-inflated prices, and low or absolutely worthless quality products.
Fill this void left by these once small businesses by SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESSES!