Authentic Taps Liberated for Quiksilver, Billabong, RVCA and More

Evan Clark
·2 min read

Authentic Brands Group is starting to make some more action and outdoor connections.

The brand management giant said it inked a long-term agreement with Liberated Brands to operate retail and e-commerce for Quiksilver, Billabong, Roxy, RVCA, Honolua and Boardriders in the U.S. and Canada. Likewise, the Costa Mesa, Calif.-based Liberated will become Authentic’s license partner and wholesale distributor for Billabong, RVCA and Honolua in the U.S. and Canada, handling sportswear, activewear, swimwear and other categories.

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Earlier this month, Authentic closed what was said to be a $1.25 billion deal to buy Boardriders, the action sports company that owned the brands.

Now the Authentic playbook is being put to work with the brand management company led by Jamie Salter holding on to the intellectual property and finding partners to operate the brands. Liberated is becoming a serial collaborator as it was already the core licensee and operating partner for the Authentic-owned Volcom and Spyder.

The buy-and-partner approach has worked well for Authentic, which owns more than 50 brands that all together drive retail sales of $29 billion across 150 countries with more than 12,800 stores and shops-in-shop and 360,000 points of sale.

Todd Hymel, chief executive officer of Liberated Brands, said: “This partnership marks an exciting chapter that taps into our company’s commitment to creating distinct brand experiences through product innovation. With a deep-rooted passion for the essence of each brand, we look forward to growing these brands in the U.S., Canada and beyond.”

Nick Woodhouse, president and chief marketing officer of Authentic, added: “As evidenced by their focus on the growth of Volcom and Spyder, Liberated’s unwavering commitment to innovation and community engagement makes them the ideal partner to take on Billabong, RVCA and Honolua, as well as the retail operations for the best lifestyle brands inspired by skate, surf and snow.”

Now Authentic will march on and plans to cut deals with more partners in the coming months to expand the brands across categories and territories.

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