Nike Signs Deal to Sell Hurley Brand to Bluestar Alliance
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Nike has finalized a deal to sell the Hurley brand to Bluestar Alliance LLC.
The $36.4 billion juggernaut Nike did not release terms of the deal, nor did representatives from Bluestar Alliance. The agreement is expected to be wrapped up in December. Surfers were the first to embrace the Hurley brand which was started in Southern California.
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Nike acquired Hurley in 2002, when the then-Costa Mesa-based company generated annual sales of $70 million. Buying the brand started by surfing industry authority Bob Hurley gave Nike automatic credence into the surf, skateboard and snowboard category, which was new terrain for Nike at that time. With the mammoth support of Nike, Hurley broadened its reach beyond its SoCal roots to appeal to more international shoppers. Hurley stepped down as chief executive company from his namesake brand in 2015.
Started in 2006 by Joseph Gabbay and Ralph Gindi, Bluestar Alliance has a portfolio of consumer brands including Bebe, Tahari, Kensie, Limited Too, Brookstone, Nanette Lepore, Catherine Malandrino, Joan Vass, English Laundry and others representing a range of categories, price points and distribution. Bluestar specializes in licensing, branding and marketing consumer brand companies through retailers, brand licensing manufacturers and a network of media and strategic partners. Since its inception, the company has acquired select brands with retail sales expected to exceed $3 billion in 2019.
The Hurley deal was the latest news for Nike, which has been in the headlines for numerous reasons as of late. Just last week, the athletic giant announced its leader Mark Parker will be switching gears to take on the role of executive chairman of the company. In turn, Parker will hand the titles of president and chief executive officer to John Donahoe 2nd, a member of the company’s board. These pivotal changes will go into effect Jan. 13. News of the executives shuffle follows Nike’s silence about the National Basketball Association-China firestorm and a doping scandal tied to the Nike Oregon Project, a brand-supported running program led by the now-dismissed Alberta Salazar.
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