Quiksilver

About Quiksilver

Authenticity, innovation, trust and the belief in limitless potential were the basis to make Quiksilver one of the largest and most renowned clothing companies in the action and outdoor sports industry. Along with the principles that made Quiksilver so successful, so does the name. The German term "mercury" describes a liquid, elusive and easily changeable metal. To the wife of founder Alen Green, this description, heard from a novel, sounded like a reflection of what Alan wanted to achieve with his company. Quiksilver derives from an old alchemist's term for the transformation of base metals into gold. This is also the motto of the company, to make exceptionally good products from good materials.

They also wanted to incorporate this striving passion into their logo. They have definitely achieved this with a logo that is now recognized worldwide. A towering wave with a well-known mountain below, Mt Fuji.

Movie: Quiksilver 80s Commercial

The History

How a young man in Vicoria invented an industrial giant... in a garage.

Image: Alan Green and their first statement

The essence of Quiksilver's birth was surfing. Out of this passion, Alan Green started making board shorts in 1969 , borrowing $2,500 from his father. Four years later, in 1973 , the company started with Alan Green and John Law, who set out to start a business together based in Torquay, Victoria to surf. The first and still the main product they sold was board shorts. When they first started designing board shorts, it was all about making them better than the ones that already existed. That was their mission statement at the beginning, even if they didn't know what a mission statement was at the time. The reputation and demand for board shorts grew enormously and Quiksilver was soon available across Australia. All the top surfers of the '70s wore Quiksilver board shorts, including World Champion Kelly Slater and World Champion Lisa Andersen.

Between 1976 and 1984 it was able to expand all over the world and licenses were issued to sell Quiksilver in the USA, Europe, Japan, China, Brazil and so on. By 1988 at the latest, the success that Quiksilver had in Australia and the USA was repeated in Europe and Japan.

In 1990 , Quiksilver launched the subsidiary brand Roxy, which was very successful shortly thereafter. Today, Roxy is a global sports and lifestyle brand offering products exclusively for girls for every aspect of life. In the years that followed, Quiksilver was able to steadily increase sales and add other brands to its ranks. In 2004 Quiksilver became a billion dollar company. Quiksilver also started a charity to help victims of the Boxing Day Tsunami.

Today in 2020 , Quiksilver is still one of the biggest action and outdoor sports brands out there. Their range of products goes from board shorts, wetsuits and other surf items to men's and women's casual wear of all kinds to highly technical winter sports clothing. Quiksilver is a company with deep roots in the history of outdoor sports.