Quiksilver
Encyclopedia
Quiksilver, Inc. is an American company based in Huntington Beach, California
Huntington Beach, California
Huntington Beach is a seaside city in Orange County in Southern California. According to the 2010 census, the city population was 189,992; making it the largest beach city in Orange County in terms of population...

, one of the world's largest manufacturers of surfwear and other boardsport
Boardsport
Boardsports are sports that are played with some sort of board as the primary equipment. These sports take place on a variety of terrain, from paved flat-ground and snow covered hills to water and air. Most boardsports are considered action sports or extreme sports, and thus often appeal to youth...

-related equipment. Its logo, designed by the company founder Alan Green in Torquay, Victoria
Torquay, Victoria
Torquay is a township in Victoria, Australia, which faces Bass Strait, 21 km. south of Geelong and is the gateway to the Great Ocean Road. It is bordered on the west by Spring Creek and its coastal features include Point Danger and Zeally Bay...

, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

 in the early 1970s, inspired by Hokusai
Hokusai
was a Japanese artist, ukiyo-e painter and printmaker of the Edo period. He was influenced by such painters as Sesshu, and other styles of Chinese painting...

's woodcut The Great Wave off Kanagawa
The Great Wave off Kanagawa
, also known as The Great Wave or simply The Wave, is a woodblock print by the Japanese artist Hokusai. An example of ukiyo-e art, it was published sometime between 1830 and 1833 as the first in Hokusai's series Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji , and is his most famous work...

consists of a large wave with a mountain on a red background.

The company also produces a line of apparel for young women, under the brand Roxy. Its logo consists of two copies of the Quiksilver logo, one reflected, forming a heart.

The company's DC
DC Shoes
DC Shoes is an American company that specializes in footwear for extreme sports, skateboarding, snowboarding as well as snowboards, shirts, jeans, hats, and jackets.The company was founded in 1993 by Ken Block and Damon Way, and is based in Vista, California...

 and Hawk brands are also synonymous with the heritage and culture of surfing, skateboarding and snowboarding, and its beach- and water-oriented swimwear brands include Raisins, Radio Fiji and Leilani. Quiksilver also carries a line of high-end apparel and accessories under its QuiksilverEdition brand.

In 2005, the company launched The Quiksilver Foundation, a charitable foundation which works to provide environmental, educational, health and youth-related projects to boardriding communities around the world.

The company now offers snow and surf travel packages to exotic locations such as Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...

, El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...

, Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...

,
Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

 and Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....

.

Corporate information

Quiksilver purchased Skis Rossignol
Skis Rossignol
Skis Rossignol S.A., or simply Rossignol, is a French manufacturer of alpine, snowboard, and Nordic equipment, as well as related outerwear and accessories, located in Isère, France. Rossignol was one of the first companies to produce plastic skis. The company also owns the brand Dynastar as well...

 for $560 million in 2005, but sold Rossignol on November 12, 2008 for 30 million euros ($37.5 million) in cash and a 10 million euro note ($12.5 million). It owned golf-equipment maker Cleveland Golf
Cleveland Golf
Cleveland Golf is an American golf equipment company based in Huntington Beach, California. The company was founded in 1979 by Roger Cleveland, originally producing replicas of classic golf clubs from the 1940s and 1950s...

 up until October 31, 2007, when it sold the company to a Japanese sporting goods company. In 2009 Moody's
Moody's
Moody's Corporation is the holding company for Moody's Analytics and Moody's Investors Service, a credit rating agency which performs international financial research and analysis on commercial and government entities. The company also ranks the credit-worthiness of borrowers using a standardized...

 included Quiksilver on its Bottom Rung list of companies most likely to default on its debt.
Quiksilver also owns DC Shoes, a skateboard shoe brand.

Quiksilver today

Quiksilver operates 834 stand-alone stores in major cities across Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 and the Pacific, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

, North
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...

, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

, and Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

. There are two types of Quiksilver operated stores which are known as either "Boardriders Club" or "Factory" stores. Their products are also sold in many other outlets across the world such as the Fells Point Surf Company or the Ron Jon Surf Shop
Ron Jon Surf Shop
Ron Jon Surf Shop is a retail store founded in 1959 in Ship Bottom, New Jersey, by Ron DiMenna. The store specializes in surfing and bodyboarding equipment, and their Cocoa Beach, Florida, store is currently the largest surfing shop in the world...

. In addition, the company operates a number of separate Roxy and Quiksilver Youth stores.

, Quiksilver sponsors around 500 amateur and professional surfers, snowboarders, skiers, and skateboarders. Among them are surfer Kelly Slater
Kelly Slater
Robert Kelly Slater is an American professional surfer known for his competitive prowess and style. He has been crowned ASP World Champion a record 11 times, including 5 consecutive titles from 1994–98. He is the youngest and the oldest to win the title...

, golfer Luke Federico, snowboarder Travis Rice
Travis Rice
Travis Rice is an American professional snowboarder. He is #13 on Snowboarder magazine’s list of the Top Twenty Most Influential Riders, He has been considered "the Paul Revere" of the big mountain freestyle movement....

, and skateboarder Tony Hawk
Tony Hawk
Anthony Frank "Tony" Hawk , nicknamed "The Birdman" is an American retired professional skateboarder and actor. Hawk gained significant fame for completing the first 900 as well as his licensed video game titles distributed by Activision...

. They also have the naming rights to the Quiksilver Pro surfing tournament for men and Roxy Pro tournament for women in Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast, Queensland
Gold Coast is a coastal city of Australia located in South East Queensland, 94km south of the state capital Brisbane. With a population approximately 540,000 in 2010, it is the second most populous city in the state, the sixth most populous city in the country, and also the most populous...

 in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, and most recently, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

.

Roxy

In 1990, Quiksilver launched its sister brand for young women, Roxy. The brand is aimed at those who enjoy coastal and mountain-based sports and lifestyles. It was differentiated from the main Quiksilver line "for fear it would damage the men's brand", according to Randy Hild, the company's senior vice president of marketing. Roxy was chosen because it sounded like a punk band or club (likely Roxy Music
Roxy Music
Roxy Music was a British art rock band formed in 1971 by Bryan Ferry, who became the group's lead vocalist and chief songwriter, and bassist Graham Simpson. The other members are Phil Manzanera , Andy Mackay and Paul Thompson . Former members include Brian Eno , and Eddie Jobson...

 and The Roxy
The Roxy
The Roxy was a fashionable nightclub on Neal Street in London's Covent Garden, known for hosting the flowering British punk music scene in its infancy.-Brief history:...

 respectively), and is also the name of the daughters of both CEO Bob McKnight and founder Alan Green. About 30% of Quiksilver's sales come from the Roxy line.

Since inception, Roxy has grown to be the largest action sport fashion apparel company for young women. In addition to apparel, it now also produces accessories, homewares, hard goods (snow and surf), wetsuit
Wetsuit
A wetsuit is a garment, usually made of foamed neoprene, which is worn by surfers, divers, windsurfers, canoeists, and others engaged in water sports, providing thermal insulation, abrasion resistance and buoyancy. The insulation properties depend on bubbles of gas enclosed within the material,...

s, footwear, books, and perfumes. It has sub-brands for its children's ranges, named Roxy Girl and Teenie Wahine.

Quiksilver Women's

After four decades marketing primarily towards males, Quiksilver launched a line of young contemporary clothes for women. The collection includes a full range of knits, wovens, dresses, denim, essentials and organic
Organic clothing
Organic clothing is clothing made from materials raised or grown in compliance with organic agricultural standards. Organic clothing uses cotton, jute, silk, ramie, or wool...

 cotton tees.

siteLA

As part of the introduction of its new collection for women, Quiksilver selected six women to be Visionaries in Residence at Quiksilver’s siteLA, a communal work and exhibition space in the Silver Lake
Silver Lake, Los Angeles, California
Silver Lake is a hilly neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California east of Hollywood and northwest of Downtown Los Angeles. Silver Lake is inhabited by a wide variety of ethnic and socioeconomic groups, but it is best known as an eclectic gathering of hipsters and the creative class.The...

 neighborhood of Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...

. The residency program is a year-long engagement for women working in and across creative cultural fields. Although they have been selected for their independent projects, they share a communal workspace and together create public programs and host special events at siteLA.

The six Visionaries in Residence are:

Beth Jones – Fashion blogger and aspiring entrepreneur opening up her own
“Vintage Society” clothing shop.

Sara Anderson – Artist, performer and connector who inspires art for people of
all ages, genders and economic backgrounds through collaborative drawing,
video, dance and sound.

Dorothy Le – Bicycling activist and safety advocate empowering women to
safely cycle around Los Angeles.

Jesse Rodato – Architect, interior designer and humanitarian developing mobile
playgrounds, skate parks and urban shelters for inner city youth.

Khrystyne Zurian – Automotive designer creating the interior and exterior of a
concept vehicle that reflects the active, healthy and eco-friendly experience of
independent and creative young women.

Pilar Diaz – Singer and songwriter working on her solo project, a
bilingual record that she is recording and promoting through siteLA.

Quiksilver milestones

2009: Quiksilver announced a financial restructuring plan that includes an agreement with Rhone Group
Rhône Group
Rhône Group is a private equity firm, specializing in mergers and acquisitions, leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, and partnerships with particular focus on European and Trans- Atlantic investments...

, an international private equity firm, for a 5-year senior secured term loan of approximately $150 million and new $200 million Line of Credit in the Americas from Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...

 and GE Capital
GE Capital
GE Capital is the financial services unit of General Electric, one of five major units. Its various divisions include GE Capital Aviation Services, GE Capital Real Estate, GE Energy Financial Services and GE Money....

.

2008: Kelly Slater wins the inaugural contest of the 2008 Men's ASP World Championship Tour, the Quiksilver Pro on the Gold Coast of Australia, furthering his record with 35 ASP World Tour Victories. Slater wins his ninth world title in Mundaka, Spain

2007: Kelly Slater Wins at Trestles, sets new World Record with 34 ASP World Tour Victories
- Quiksilver's Dane Reynolds
Dane Reynolds
Dane Reynolds is a professional surfer from Ventura, California. He is known for his "go for broke" style of surfing that includes many experimental and aerial maneuvers....

 landed the most coveted surf magazine photo of the year for an image captured during the filming of Young Guns 3 in Bali.
- Travis Rice wins the Snowboard US Open.
- Quiksilver Inc. announces launch of Women’s line for fall 2008
- Julian Wilson scores best performance by a male at the 2007 surfer poll awards.

2006: Quiksilver released the 320-page, full color book The Mountain & the Wave, The Quiksilver Story.
- Dane's movie "First Chapter" won for Best Male Performance in a Video and, most importantly, Video of the Year at the Surfer Poll Awards. Kelly also took out yet another first in the Reader Poll.
- Quiksilver announces opening of new Mountain Center in Park City, Utah.
2005: Quiksilver Foundation is established
- Danny Way jumped the Great Wall
- Kelly Slater wins record breaking 7th World Title

2004: Quiksilver acquires DC Shoe Company
- QSE partners with Airstream
- “The Quiksilver Crossing” comes to America

2003: Quiksilver continues involvement with environment, education, and science with projects “Quikscience Challenge” and “Adopt-A-Village”
- Roxy teams up with MTV to launch Surf Girls TV show
- Q.S. Entertainment teams up with Fox TV to launch 54321 TV Show
- Quiksilver announces joint venture for retail expansion into Mainland China with partners Glorious Sun

2002: Quiksilver Inc. and Quiksilver Asia Pacific merge to form global operating entity
- Quiksilver designs revolutionary new wetsuit. “The Cell” is for all degrees of surfing. Revolutionary design, increased flexibility, lighter in weight, total freedom!

2001: Kelly Slater goes back on tour, un-retires

2000: Quiksilver, Inc. established the Quiksilver trademarks world wide with the acquisition of all of the shares in Quiksilver International
- QS forms alliance with Tony Hawk to create signature apparel line, “Hawk” is launched
- First Roxy store opens. first Roxy surf camp established

1999: The “Quiksilver Crossing” is launched. The greatest surf adventure ever with a strong environment focus
- Josh Ashworth redefines golfwear at Quiksilver with “Fidra”
- Quiksilver Inc. moves to Huntington Beach

1998: Kelly Slater wins his sixth ASP world title and Quiksilver goes one, two, three in the world with Kelly, Mick Cambell, and Danny Wills
- Quiksilver Inc. lists on the New York stock exchange. Bell rings for ZQK
- Kelly Slater retires

1997: Quiksilver.com
- Kelly Slater highest money earner in ASP history 1996
- Quiksilver acquires Mervin Manufacturing
Mervin manufacturing
Mervin Manufacturing is an American snowboard manufacturer. Mervin is the parent company of Liberace Technologies Snowboards, Gnu Snowboards, , Lib Tech Skateboards, and Bent Metal bindings. In the mid 90's Mervin was also an OEM supplier for companies such as Canada's Luxury brand and for The...

, Inc. a manufacturer and wholesaler of snowboards and snowboard bindings, thus the brands Lib Technologies, Gnu Snowboards, and Bent Metal.

1996: Quiksilver creates “Winter Sports Division”.

1995: Quiksilver sets the ultimate in standard in professional surfing events by staging the inaugural “Quiksilver Pro” at G-Land Indonesia

1994: Lisa Anderson signs with Roxy and becomes women’s ASP world champion
- Roxy introduces first girls boardshort

1993: Roxy launches “Double Heart” logo
- Quiksilver acquires “Raisins” swimwear

1991: QS “Boys” begins. “Silver Edition” division begins with “QUE”
- Quiksilver Inc. acquires Quiksilver Europe, moves towards creating one global company

1990: Kelly Slater signs with Quiksilver
- World champion halfpipe snowboarder Shaun Palmer signs with Quiksilver
- Quiksilver introduces “Roxy” brand to surf market

1989: 20 year anniversary of Quiksilver brand

1988: Quiksilver and Tom Carroll create surfing history when the twice world champion signs an exclusive contract for $1 million, the most lucrative deal in the sport

1987: Jack Johnson signs with Quiksilver

1986: Quiksilver Inc. in the United States goes public

1984: 1st “Quiksilver in memory of Eddie Aikau” Big Wave contest held at Sunset Beach, HI, won by Denton Miyamura

1981: Quiksilver commissions Los Angeles designer Ray Smith to update the mountain and wave logo

1980: Quiksilver introduces “Echo Beach” boardshorts featuring radical print design with polka dots harlequins, stars and checks

1978: Quiksilver sponsors its first team riders, Rabbit Bartholomew
Wayne Bartholomew
Wayne 'Rabbit' Bartholomew AM is an Australian surfer and order of Australia recipient who won the World Surfing Championship in 1978, 1999 and 2003...

 and Bruce Raymond. Rabbit goes on to win the world title

1976: Jeff Hackman is granted the Quiksilver license. Jeff Hackman and Bob McNight team up to start Quiksilver USA in Newport Beach. Start selling boardshorts out of the back of a green VW bus

1974: U.S. manufacturing (Quiksilver) first exports boardshorts to the Lightning Bolt shop in Hawaii

1970: Quiksilver boardshorts with a swan logo make their first appearance in Australian surf shops. Soon replaced by the first “Mountain and Wave" logo

1969: At the Rip Curl factory in Torquay, Australia, Alan Green starts working on prototypes for a new kind of board short, using aspects of wetsuit technology, such as snaps and Velcro flies

See also

  • Quiksilver Pro
    Quiksilver Pro
    Quiksilver Pro Gold Coast is an event on the ASP World Surfing Tour. The event is held every year at Coolangatta in Queensland, Australia.- Results :...

  • Quiksilver Pro France
    Quiksilver Pro France
    Quiksilver Pro France is an event on the ASP World Surfing Tour. The event is held every year at Hossegor and Seignosse in France at the end of September.- 2009 :- Precedents years :Other renowned competitors :* Kelly Slater* Taj Burrow...

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