All Quiksilver And Billabong Stores In US To Close After Owner Files For Bankruptcy

The company that owns Billabong, Quicksilver, Volcom and Roxy will close 120 stores across the United States after it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in Delaware this week.

Liberated Brands will also shutter its international offices and has laid off 1,400 employees, Fast Company reported.

CEO Todd Hymel blamed the company's bankruptcy on the emergence of fast fashion brands, high interest rates and inflation.

"The average consumer has shifted their spending away from discretionary products such as those offered by Liberated," Hymel said in the court filing, Fast Company reported.

"Consumers can cheaply, quickly, and easily order low-quality clothing garments from fast fashion powerhouses and have such goods delivered within days," he said.

The individual brands, favorites of the surf-and-skate set, have been sold to other retailers, including Dick's Sporting Goods, PacSun and Kohl's, Fast Company said.

Liberated experienced boom times in 2020 and 2021 when it doubled its retail locations, expanding to 140 stores from 67.

But supply chain issues and inflation began to take a toll on the company as consumers watching their spending opted for budget brands, Fast Company reported.

Liberated said in a statement that it "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."