Kathmandu buys Rip Curl in US push
Kathmandu has snapped up an iconic Aussie surfwear brand in a bid to push hard into the US market. The sale comes 50 years after surfer friends started the brand in Torquay.
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Iconic surfwear brand Rip Curl has been bought by Kathmandu.
The New Zealand-based outdoor clothing specialist will pay $350 million for Rip Curl which was founded by surfer friends Brian Singer and Douglas Warbrick in Torquay in 1969.
The deal comes as Kathmandu, whose black puffer jackets are ubiquitous during the cooler months, moves to strengthen its summer offer and push into the US.
The deal, which must be voted on by shareholders, is set to be completed by the end of the year.
It brings to an end 50 years of private ownership for Rip Curl.
Mr Singer and Mr Warbrick have been looking to sell the business for a number of years.
Kathmandu chief executive Xavier Simonet said the acquisition of Rip Curl would transform Kathmandu into an outdoor and action sports company throwing off about $1 billion in annual sales.
The Rip Curl buy follows Kathmandu shelling out $97 million for US-based hiking boots business Oboz last year.
“The combination of Kathmandu, Oboz and Rip Curl achieves diversification in product, channel, geography and seasonality and creates a platform for the acceleration of our brands’ global expansion into new channels and markets,” Mr Simonet said this morning.
Rip Curl, which owns the Ozmosis surf retail chain, operates 173 stores in Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia, Brazil, North America and Europe.
It also sells its products through 6000 third-party retailers.
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The deal will give Kathmandu a combined global footprint of 341 owned retail stores, 254 licensed stores and over 7,300 wholesale doorways.
Mr Simonet said Kathmandu, Oboz and Rip Curl would each retain their unique brand identities.
Michael Daly will continue as Rip Curl chief executive, reporting to Mr Simonet from the company’s headquarters in Torquay.
Kathmandu will issue $134.5 million in new stock in order to help fund the deal.
Mr Singer and Mr Warbrick will receive $31 million in new Kathmandu shares as part of the sale.
Kathmandu shareholders will vote on the deal at a special meeting to be held on October 18.
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