Quiksilver

Quiksilver the emblematic mark of the culture slips, was founded in Torquay in Australia in 1969. Its logo, inspired of the print of Hokusai, the Fuji mount seen of Kanagawa is a Vague, with a Montagne in background.

History

Founded in 1969 with Torquay in the Australian State of Victoria, two surfers Alan Green and John Law invented the first boardshort for the practice of surfing. At side, they create clothing bound for the surfers, whereas this market is not very competing.

In 1976, Jeff Hakman and his/her friend Bob McKnight found Quiksilver the USA which reaches a sales turnover of 5 million dollars as of the beginning of the year 1980.

During the summer 1984, Jeff Hakman flies away for Europe, accompanied by a Frenchwoman, Brigitte Darrigrand, of Australian, Harry Hodge, film producer of surfing, and a surfer and designer South-African, John Winship. Together, they found Quiksilver Europe or Faded Na, of the name of the wild coast located at the western North of the island of Kauai (Hawaii).

To assume its position of leader international and to raise the required investments to its expansion, Quiksilver the USA is put out of purse in 1986 becoming thus Quiksilver Inc. In 1991, Quiksilver Inc. sign the acquisition of Na Faded SA, the company owner of Quiksilver Europe. Then, Quiksilver Inc. repurchase Quiksilver International in 2000, the Australian house owner of the world license Quiksilver and amalgamates with its Australian bachelors in 2002, allowing to reunify the property of the Quiksilver mark under only one roof.

In March 2005, the Quiksilver group becomes the world leader of Outdoor by acquiring of the wallet of marks of the Nightingale Group. As its logo predestined it, the sea and the mountain are supplemented to offer a various offer as well textile as technical. Under the impulse of Bernard Mariette, President of the Group Quiksilver-Nightingale, a structure of management single is installation, commune in the three great geographical areas which are the United States, Europe and peaceful Asia.

Marks of the group

Starting from the experience gained with the development of Quiksilver, the group creates the Roxy mark to exploit the customers of the young surfers, then very few. First mark of surfing entirely dedicated to the girls, Roxy is launched in 1991 and little by little installs slips it with the female one. The Quiksilver group invests the segment of the skateboard, while signing in 1999 a contract of sponsoring with the skateboarder legendary Tony Hawk and while launching a dedicated mark, Hawk Designs. An experiment which will be renewed in 2001 in the world of the golf with the creation of Fidra, in partnership with the champion of golf John Ashworth, a relaxed and contemporary line of clothing of golf.

In 2000, Quiksilver buys the license for Europe of the mark Gotcha. Developed by an icon of world surfing, the African South Michael Tomson, Gotcha were essential as of its creation like a mark on the parties taken daring in term of products and communication. Particularly attached to make live a certain vision of surfing purist, the authenticity of Gotcha was an essential reason of its acquisition by Quiksilver. In 2004, the Quiksilver group obtains a new mark with the acquisition of cd. Shoes. Cd. Shoes, whose seat is in Vista in California, occupies a position of leader in the branch of the sliding sports as principal creator, producer and distributer of shoes, clothing and accessories related to the universe of the skate and a target in particular the 15-25 years.

Today, the group counts twelve independent marks, whose the three principal ones are Quiksilver, Roxy and cd. Other marks of bathing suits, snowboarding, from skateboarding, inter alia, come to supplement the wallet of the group: Grapes, Radio Fiji and Leilani, Lib Technologies, Gnu and Bent Metal. The group wished to make autonomous the development of each one of its marks which make that today they have all their own identity and universe, thus enabling them to amplify their potential of international expansion. Quiksilver recently decided to sell Cleveland.

The creation of a distribution network into clean

Historically, the distribution of the Quiksilver products was ensured by independent stores multi-marks, surfing shop and skate shops. It was supplemented then by a presence in the sport stores, the department stores, and VPC. To this came to be added an alternative distribution, a network of stores dedicated to the marks of the group, “Boardriders Club”. First stores of the kind created by a company in the world of slips, they are today 206 in Europe including 70 in France. Points of meeting for all impassioned slips, this new type of distribution not only makes it possible to present the various product ranges but also to convey the values of the marks and the sports which they develop. The inauguration of Quiksilver Boardriders Club on the Fields-Élysées in November 1998 gave a blow of accelerator to the development of the network. By establishing its store headlight on one of the most prestigious avenues with the world, Quiksilver clearly indicated its intention to compete with the famous brands of sport and of mode but especially to make available the culture and the values from slips with a more significant number of young people. This opening was followed other prestigious establishments, Times Square in New York in 2003, Shanghai, London and Milan in 2004.

In June 2005, Quiksilver introduced a new concept of store designed and imagined to gather all the facets of the boardriding culture with the opening of its store of Anglet. This space of 850m2, putting in scene the marks pillars of the group is an interactive place. The new concept of place of life conceived by the designer Philippe Avenzi is brought to be declined through the European strategic places as well on surfaces of urban center as in Montpellier (January 2006) or of the stores headlights of international cities such as the sign of Street Regent in London (April 2006). The choice to locate its new department store of 400 m2 on the avenue more for London illustrates the will of the group to be placed at the crossroads of the tendencies and to make it possible to its international customers to discover the universe of its marks.

Sponsoring and events

To ensure its promotion, Quiksilver Sponsor ise of many surfers, snowboardeurs and skateboardeurs. Among most known, one finds the eightfold world champion of surfing Kelly Slater, the youngest surfer to integrate the WCT Jérémy Flores, Mathieu Crépel (world champion TTR in 2006, Big Air and half-pipe in January 2007) or the skier Candide Thovex. Quiksilver also organizes many competitions of surfing, skate and snowboard like Quiksilver Pro France, Australia or Japan, Quiksilver Bowlriders, Roxyjam or King off The Groms.

Quiksilver Entertainment makes it possible to widen the Quiksilver public by offering other means and supports to try out the universe of its marks. The partnerships and the multi-media development of the activities illustrate the will of Quiksilver Europe to communicate in an innovative way with its public and to impregnate all the facets of the young culture.

Quiksilver recently decided to sponsoriser the young surfer of St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, Victor Mr., having recently gained a tournament amateur in Hawaii.

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