All Billabong, Quicksilver and Volcom stores slated to close

Feb. 6 (UPI) — More than 120 Billabong, Quicksilver and Volcom stores in the United States will close permanently following a bankruptcy filing by license operator Liberated Brands.

Liberated Brands attorneys filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Sunday in Delaware bankruptcy court, NBC News reported.

The bankruptcy filing doesn’t mean the end of the Billabong, Quicksilver and Volcom brands owned by Liberated Brands, but it does mean an estimated 1,400 employees of those retail stores are out of jobs.

The dates when the respective stores are to close were not announced.

Instead of selling goods in retail stores, Liberated Brands owner Authentic Brands Groups has transferred the rights to those business entities to another company that will continue selling the respective brands’ clothing through other marketing channels, Fortune reported.

The three clothing brands marketed skateboarder and surfer clothing to enthusiasts and others who enjoy the clothing styles, which mostly were bought and worn by younger consumers.

Liberated Brands officials in the bankruptcy filing cited the rise of so-called “fast fashion” clothing that is produced quickly and sold at low prices while keeping pace with emerging fashion trends as making it too hard to stay in business.

The clothing corporation cited debts totaling $226 million and a recent loss of in-person business at some 140 retails stores as cause for its bankruptcy filing seeking to re-organize the business model.

Liberated Brands had 67 retail stores prior to the COVID-19 pandemic but more than doubled their number to 140 during the pandemic when more young people were spending more time outside.

As the pandemic receded, so did the retail sales at respective stores while higher interest rates and rising business costs make it virtually impossible to maintain a profitable business model, Liberated Brands Chief Executive Officer Todd Hymel said in the bankruptcy filing.

Hymel cited a “dramatic rise in interest rates, persistent inflation [and] supply chain delays” lowering Liberated Brands’ revenues while increasing its operational costs.

He also said fast fashion competitors enabled former customers to “cheaply, quickly and easily order low-quality clothing garments” while adapting to clothing trends much faster than is possible for traditional retail stores, like Billabong, Quicksilver and Volcom, CNN Business reported.

Many of those Liberated Brands’ 140 retail stores were “burdened with outdated and under-performing locations” and the respective brands’ clothing will be sold through specialty retailers, department stores and online, company officials told CNN Business.