Authentic Brands Group to buy Boardriders

Authentic Brands Group has agreed to an estimated $1.88 billion purchase for the boardsports company and its vast portfolio. The New York based group owns over 40 consumer brands including Ted Baker, Juicy Couture, Nine West, Reebok, and more, as well as owning  the likeness rights or estates of celebrities, including Muhammad Ali, Elvis Presley, and Marilyn Monroe. The brand management group was started in 2010 and quickly developed its broad holdings portfolio of various apparel, athletics, and entertainment brands and it partners with other companies for licensing and merchandising. Its brands generate approximately $24.7 billion in global annual retail sales and have an expansive retail footprint in more than 150 countries, including 10,800-plus freestanding stores and shop-in-shops and 379,000 points of sale.

Boardriders was founded as Quiksilver in 1969 in Torquay, Victoria, and is one of the world’s largest brands of surfwear and boardsport-related equipment. Quiksilver changed its name to Boardriders in 2017 to ecompass its expanding brand portfolio. Now operating out of California, Boardriders aquired Billabong in 2028 and is now the owner of the brands Quiksilver, Roxy and DC Shoes, Billabong, Element, Von Zipper, RVCA and XCEL as well as  Surf Dive ‘n Ski, an Australian lifestyle retailer with over 80 locations and a strong online platform. Boardriders reportedly generates $4.3 billion in retail sales annual with a network of 500-plus owned retail stores, 7,000 wholesale accounts and ecommerce in 35 countries.

Jamie Salter, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Authentic Brands Group, said: “As an early believer in the global and commercial appeal of action sports, this brings me back to the roots of my early career. Along with the great brands and impressive global reach that will come with this acquisition, we see Boardriders’ potential as a thriving online marketplace under Authentic’s ownership. With Boardriders’ proven retail playbook, we also see tremendous opportunities to accelerate the expansion of its shop-in-shops, branded retail stores, wholesale and ecommerce worldwide.”

Boardriders chief executive Arne Arens added: “We are proud of our deep connection to the global action sports community, industry-leading brands and world-class teams. Under Authentic’s ownership, Boardriders will be uniquely positioned to expand the reach of our iconic brands to millions of consumers, capture market share in our core categories and grow white spaces, including premium athleisure, training and lifestyle.”

Boardriders has had a tumultuous history with the company filing for bankruptcy in 2015 before emerging from the slump in 2016 and going on to rebrand and acquire Billabong.

According to the announcement from the companies, adding Boardriders’ brands to the Authentic portfolio is expected to increase its systemwide annual retail sales to nearly $27.6 billion and retail footprint to more than 11,100-plus freestanding stores and shop-in-shops globally. In the event that all approvals are secured, Authentic’s acquisition of Boardriders would be expected to be finalised in Q3 2023.

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