The encyclopedia · Finance & Accounting · Financial decision · 2005–2015
Quiksilver was the king of surf — then it bought Rossignol and went bankrupt
Quiksilver paid $560M for ski maker Rossignol in 2005, sold it for $40M three years later, and filed Chapter 11 in 2015 with $811M in debt.
Quiksilver · Rossignol · Oaktree Capital · 2015-09
What happened
Quiksilver, founded in Australia in 1969 and headquartered in California, was the dominant brand in surf and action-sports apparel. Its brands — Quiksilver, Roxy, and DC Shoes — defined beach culture for a generation. Revenue peaked above $2 billion in the mid-2000s.
In 2005, Quiksilver paid $560 million to acquire Rossignol, the French ski equipment maker. The logic was 'mountain meets beach' — a year-round action-sports portfolio. The reality was that Quiksilver knew nothing about ski manufacturing, and Rossignol's business was declining. By 2008, Quiksilver sold Rossignol for approximately $40 million — a $520 million loss.
The Rossignol disaster left Quiksilver over-leveraged and under-invested in its core brands. Revenue declined as the surf fashion cycle faded and competitors like Billabong and Rip Curl also struggled. On 9 September 2015, Quiksilver filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy with $811 million in debt. Oaktree Capital took control, and the company emerged in 2016 as a smaller entity. The surf king had been dethroned by a ski deal.
Why it happened
- The Rossignol acquisition was a $560M bet on a business Quiksilver did not understand — ski manufacturing has nothing in common with surf apparel.
- Selling Rossignol for $40M three years later crystallized a $520M loss that the balance sheet could never absorb.
- The debt from the acquisition starved the core brands (Quiksilver, Roxy, DC Shoes) of the marketing and product investment they needed.
- The surf fashion cycle peaked in the mid-2000s; Quiksilver was over-leveraged at the exact moment demand began to fade.
The lesson
Buying a business you do not understand is not diversification — it is a $560M tuition payment. The Rossignol deal cost more than Quiksilver's market cap and starved the core brands.
Aftermath
Quiksilver emerged from Chapter 11 in 2016 under Oaktree Capital ownership, later renamed Boardriders Inc. The Roxy and DC Shoes brands continue. Rossignol was eventually acquired by a Swedish consortium and has since recovered. The case is cited as a textbook example of failed conglomerate diversification in the action-sports industry.
Sources
- Quiksilver, Inc. — Form 10-K for fiscal 2015, filed 27 January 2016 (Chapter 11 reorganisation; the company's own account names "the significant indebtedness incurred by the Company to finance the acquisition of Skis Rossignol, S.A. in July 2005" among the challenges it was still managing a decade later)
- Quiksilver — Wikipedia (founded 1969; Rossignol acquired 2005 for $560M; sold 2008 for ~$40M; Chapter 11 filed 9 September 2015; $811M debt; Oaktree Capital takeover; revenue peaked above $2B)
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