Liberated Brands Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, Volcom & Other Brands Move to New Partners

Liberated Brands—the company that held the licenses to Volcom, RVCA, Billabong, and a bunch of Boardriders-owned surf shops—has officially gone belly up. They filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this past Sunday, signaling the end of their run as a major player in the surf industry.

For a full timeline of how it all came undone refer to our story from December last year – Major Surf Brands In Turmoil As ABG Pulls North American Licenses.

It’s cheery stuff.

What happened?

Liberated, founded by ex-Volcom execs in 2019, took on a massive expansion after the COVID retail boom, thinking the good times would roll on forever. They went from running 67 stores to 140, nearly tripled their staff, and took over the retail/e-commerce operations for Billabong, Quiksilver, RVCA, and more.

Though you wouldn’t have gathered it from the endless optimism in their Sept 2023 letter to shareholders, Stab heard whispers that they initially resisted taking on these new licenses, citing concerns over stretched resources and the risk of diluting brand identities.

However, since ABG not only owned a piece of Liberated but also Liberated’s prized possession (Volcom), it used that wedge to push Liberated into licensing retail and e-commerce for Quiksilver, Billabong, Roxy, RVCA, and Honolua North America in September 2023.

Then, reality hit:

• Interest rates and inflation skyrocketed
• Supply chain issues caused delays
• Consumer demand dropped (and shifted away from their products)
• All those new retail stores became financial dead weight

By 2024, the company was in full crisis mode, bleeding cash and scrambling for investors. When that failed, their main licensing partner, Authentic Brands Group (ABG), pulled the plug in December, taking back the rights to Volcom, RVCA, Billabong, and the other brands.

What’s next?

• All Liberated-run retail stores in the U.S. will close (with liquidation sales already happening, expect 60% off everything).
• The brands themselves (Volcom, RVCA, Billabong, etc.) are not going away—they’re just shifting to new wholesale partners. (You can find the new licensees below)
• Employees got hit hard—Liberated already laid off 1,400+ people across stores and HQ.
• JP Morgan is bankrolling the bankruptcy process to help Liberated sell off what’s left.

The bigger picture?

For years, big surf brands have been bouncing between corporate owners, private equity firms, and licensing deals. This is just another chapter in the ongoing surf industry pantomime— where the biggest losers are often the people working in the industry.