Quiksilver, Billabong and Volcom brick-and-mortar stores, known for their beach and outdoor apparel, are closing, their parent company said.
Costa Mesa-based Liberated Brands said in a bankruptcy filing this week it would shut down 124 locations. The company operates 35 stores in California, including locations in Camarillo, Commerce and Northridge.
“The Liberated team has worked tirelessly over the last year to propel these iconic brands forward, but a volatile global economy, consumer spending changes amid a rising cost of living and inflationary pressures have all taken a heavy toll,” the company said in a statement.
Liberated said it faced “a lethal combination of significantly lower revenue than anticipated during a period of increased operating expenses and integration costs.”
The company had pretax losses of $12.5 million in 2024, compared with a pretax profit of $2.3 million in 2022, according to its filing.
Liberated Brands cited multiple reasons for the closures, including high interest rates, supply chain issues and competition from low-cost fast-fashion retailers.
“Consumers can cheaply, quickly and easily order low-quality clothing garments from fast-fashion powerhouses and have such goods delivered within days,” Liberated Chief Executive Todd Hymel said in the filing. “These fast-fashion companies can cater to micro-trends as opposed to the traditional seasonal trend-forecasting retail model.”
The iconic surf and skate and snowboard brands aren’t going away forever.
Quiksilver, Billabong and Volcom — which opened its first U.S. store in Los Angeles in 2002 — will continue to manufacture and sell branded merchandise online under different partners, Liberated said.
“Despite this difficult change, we are encouraged that many of our talented associates have found new opportunities with other license holders that will carry these great brands into the future,” Liberated said in its statement.
The store closings are just the latest to hit the retail industry. Large department stores such as Kohl’s and Macy’s have closed dozens of poorly performing locations in the last year.
Other businesses with massive brick-and-mortar portfolios, such as Express and Rue21, have also filed for Chapter 11 — a form of bankruptcy that allows businesses to restructure their debts without fully closing.
