LOS ANGELES — Quiksilver Inc. sold its portfolio of women’s swimwear brands, including Raisins and Leilani, to AOM Holdings LLC in a move to focus on its core action sports business. Terms weren’t disclosed.
Quiksilver, based in Huntington Beach, Calif., sold Raisins, Raisins Girls, Leilani, Island Soul and Island Escape to New York-based AOM, a holding company owned by a group of private investors and Breaking Waves International. Breaking Waves is a swim manufacturer that now holds the license for Raisins and the other brands.
Bruce Thomas, vice president of investor relations at Quiksilver, said the swim portfolio that was sold represents a small portion of the total business. In fiscal 2009, Quiksilver, Roxy and DC Shoes accounted for 95 percent of the company’s sales. In the year ended Oct. 31, Quiksilver’s net loss narrowed to $192 million from $226 million as sales fell 13 percent to $1.98 billion.
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Thomas said the sale “doesn’t materially impact our financial results” and that its three core brands “should be our focus.”
Quiksilver retained the Radio Fiji swim brand because it sells to a slightly different demographic than Raisins and has more synergy with junior brand Roxy’s swim offerings, Thomas said.
Billy Zuckerman, president of Breaking Waves, said he plans to hire the creative and sales staff that worked on Raisins and the swim brands from Quiksilver. Prices and retail distribution should stay the same, he said.
Brian Ivanhoe, the current vice president of Raisins, will join Breaking Waves May 1, as executive vice president of Raisins Swimwear.
Quiksilver said Robert Mettler, retired president of special projects at Macy’s Inc., joined its board. Mettler, former chairman and chief executive officer of Macy’s West and president of merchandising full-line stores at Sears, Roebuck & Co., also is a director of Jones Apparel Group Inc. and Stein Mart Inc. With the addition of Mettler, Quiksilver’s board expands to 10 members and the number of independent directors grows to six.