Liberated Brands, North American licensee for surf and skate brands like Quiksilver, Billabong and Volcom, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the state of Delaware on Jan. 2–3, according to SGB Media. Liberated had been handling these accounts since 2023. The brands themselves live on.
Liberated has engaged the Bostonian advisory firm Gordon Brothers to run going-out-of-business sales at more than 120 stores in North America and is seeking buyers for the business units in Australia, Europe, Japan and Canada. The company is headquartered in Cosa Mesa (California) but has regional headquarters in Boulder (Colorado), Anglet (France), Tokyo and Sydney.
The court has since granted Liberated access to $25 million of its $35 million debtor-in-possession financing from JP Morgan Chase – Liberated’s biggest creditor, with a loan worth $83 million due in August. Liberated has about $98 million and $143 million in secured and unsecured debt respectively. Of this some $78 million is in trade claims and $50 million in unpaid royalties.
Another hearing in court is scheduled for March 4.
It was specifically in September of 2023 that Liberated reached a long-term deal with Authentic Brands Group (ABG) to handle retail and e-commerce in the US and Canada for Quiksilver, Billabong, Roxy, RVCA, Honolua and Boardriders, all of which ABG has just acquired. Another deal followed three months later, covering Quiksilver, Billabong, Roxy, RVCA, DC Shoes, Element, VonZipper, Honolua and others in Australia, New Zealand, Thailand and Indonesia.
