CALIFORNIA – Liberated Brands announced it was filing Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closing over 120 stores nationwide. The Orange County-based company is the retail operator for popular surf and swim brands including Billabong, Volcom, Roxy and Quicksilver.
According to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN), Liberated laid off 363 California employees in January. About 1,400 employees were laid off nationwide.
The bankruptcy filing will allow the company to reorganize and sell off parts of their business in a structured way to try to pay off their $226 million debt.
Liberated said the bankruptcy won’t affect the brands because they’ve already moved to new partners who are working to help them grow and succeed in the future.
“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,” Liberated Brands said in a statement.
According to the company, many associates have found new opportunities with other license holders.
Fast Fashion led to Liberated Brands’ decline
Liberated said in their court filing that the rise of ‘fast fashion’ has led to decreased profit margins due to losing part of their overall market share and pricing power.
“Consumers can cheaply, quickly, and easily order low-quality clothing garments from fast fashion powerhouses and have such goods delivered within days. These fast-fashion companies can cater to micro-trends as opposed to the traditional seasonal trend-forecasting retail model,” said Liberated.
Brands like Shein, Zara, and H&M are known for being part of the fast fashion industry.
The company also faced financial struggles in 2024 due to rising interest rates, inflation, supply chain delays, declining customer demand, and costly system transitions after acquiring Boardriders.
These challenges, combined with high fixed costs, created significant pressure on their revenue and liquidity.
Extra 60% off online sale
A liquidation sale process, conducted by Gordon Brothers Group, has commenced at Liberated’s U.S. retail locations.
Following the liquidation, Liberated’s 100-plus retail locations in the U.S. will be closing. The status of the company’s nine retail locations in Hawaii is currently being negotiated.
Billabong, Volcom, Roxy, Quicksilver, Spyder, RVCA and Honolua websites are giving customers an extra 60% off purchases. In addition, the company says after February 16, 2025 they will no longer be able to accept gift cards as a form of payment online or in-store.
