Brooke Farris Resigns as Rip Curl CEO

Stu Nettle picture
Stu Nettle (stunet)
Swellnet Dispatch

Three years after she accepted the job, Brooke Farris is resigning as CEO of Rip Curl, according to parent company KMD Brands.

The announcement comes two weeks after KMD CEO Michael Daly also resigned. 

Like the company head that started life in the mail room, Farris began her time at Rip Curl as a lowly team manager and over fourteen years worked her way up the ladder. In August 2021 she broke the glass ceiling and was appointed CEO of Rip Curl.

At the time it was considered a statement, a sign of the boys club in decline. The promotion certainly matched the times: female attendance was on the rise and greater professional opportunities were available, especially since the WSL began issuing equal prize money.

Farris oversaw the controversy that began unfolding a year ago when Bethany Hamilton - who’d been sponsored by Rip Curl for over twenty years - spoke out against the inclusion of trans women in competitive surfing. This put Rip Curl in an awkward situation as they’d included Sasha Jane Lowerson, a noted trans surfer, in the upcoming summer catalogue.

Shortly after, Hamilton and Rip Curl severed their contract and parted ways. The resultant media frenzy played into the ‘trans in sport’ culture war, with some commenters incorrectly assuming Hamilton had been sacked and replaced by Lowerson (Lowerson was never sponsored by Rip Curl).

Critics noted Rip Curl’s plummeting share price as evidence of them ‘going woke and going broke’. Yet what appeared a simple matter of cause and effect was instead a case of the teller’s tale. It looked and sounded convincing, but it wasn’t true.

In January this year, Rip Curl and Hamilton parted ways and the social media backlash began. First hashtags, then videos of people burning Rip Curl boardshorts, and finally a boycott. It was this, the boycott of Rip Curl’s products, that supposedly explained why Rip Curl was tanking. KMD’s shares* were just $0.70 and falling.

The big picture, however, tells a different story. In the two months after Hamilton spoke out, KMD shares lost $0.15, or 21%.

Yet in the two months prior to Hamilton speaking out, KMD shares lost $0.13, or 18%.

The fact is, since early 2020 KMD shares had been in decline, with the boycott period closely matching the pattern that already existed. In fact, from June to September this year KMD shares rallied, but then fell back to the pre-existing pattern, showing their problem was more complex than a long-forgotten boycott.

Brooke Farris may have been at the helm during the trans faux pas, but that misstep didn’t explain their problem. It may not have even been unique to Rip Curl as all surfwear manufacturers struggled through COVID with the big players now unable to assert themselves in a saturated marketplace.

Unfortunately there’s no get out of jail card for a CEO at an underperforming company. Like a basement-dwelling NRL team, it doesn’t matter what the specifics are, or how much talent is on the field, the buck stops at the top. Out with the old coach, in with the new.

“After fourteen years at Rip Curl, and over three of those in the CEO role, the time feels right for a break and new opportunities,” Farris said in a statement.

During her time as CEO, Farris also oversaw some popular decisions, such as the re-signing of Steph Gilmore and sponsoring the Eddie Aikau Invitational.

Rip Curl will now begin a search for their new CEO.

//STU NETTLE

*Though Rip Curl is the major label, KMD share price includes the sales of two other brands. It could be argued the correlation isn't definitive of Rip Curl’s failings, yet Rip Curl's most recent EBITDA declined 24.5% from the previous year, which had also fallen 6% and 10% in the previous two years.

Comments

Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean Thursday, 17 Oct 2024 at 3:18pm

Very we phrased article
"Like the basement dwelling NRL team. " .....brilliant

velocityjohnno's picture
velocityjohnno's picture
velocityjohnno Thursday, 17 Oct 2024 at 3:38pm

'Trans faux pas' was my favourite, it really makes you concentrate on how you pronounce the final consonant of each word.

velocityjohnno's picture
velocityjohnno's picture
velocityjohnno Thursday, 17 Oct 2024 at 3:44pm

Chart nerd eye sees that support was taken out in June 2023, I guess this was before Bethany voiced her concerns?

Of more interest is how something surf related DIDN'T do phenomenally well in COVID times, for everyone who was yet to surf, began to surf down here, with a heavy emphasis on female surfers. They all needed surfing equipment and gear.

BarbB's picture
BarbB's picture
BarbB Thursday, 17 Oct 2024 at 4:35pm

Bethany first voiced her concerns on February 5, 2023.

BarbB's picture
BarbB's picture
BarbB Thursday, 17 Oct 2024 at 4:01pm

Appointed August 2021 and resigned October 2024.

DonnyD's picture
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DonnyD Thursday, 17 Oct 2024 at 4:13pm

My two cents is ripcurls a tough gig : 1. kids grew up and became uncool dads (we all loved it too much and which kids want what dad likes), 2. it doesn't know whether it is a surf fashion company like hollister or still a hard core brand. The shot illustrates it so well-bikinis that arent super surfable nor super trendy. All this without a super price point means its a middle end piece that kids don't love, and surfers arent super loyal to it, 3. then being in a big brand means your hooked into them. Needs a focus on being a surf/waterman go to or fashion brand. For yours truly bring back the killer wetties. And good quality kit.

Surfalot67's picture
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Surfalot67 Thursday, 17 Oct 2024 at 4:26pm

A balanced report - thank you Stu. So tired of the "gO wOkE gO bRoKE" dipshits online, none of whom ever have any data to back their idiot narrative. Lets hope the Curl bounce back, still feels the most core brand of the big three (two?) and their event sponsorships have pretty much kept the tour alive since the venture capitalist vultures bought up and amalgamated the rest

BarbB's picture
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BarbB Thursday, 17 Oct 2024 at 5:08pm

Stu was wrong when he said: "In the two months after Hamilton spoke out, KMD shares lost $0.15, or 21%. Yet in the two months prior to Hamilton speaking out, KMD shares lost $0.13, or 18%."

Beth spoke out on 5 February 2023. The share price was not falling prior to this.

Also, the KMD share price is not exclusively linked to Rip Curl because KMD has other businesses therefore the KMD share price itself is irrelevant.

Prior to Bethany speaking against biological men in women's surfing, Rip Curl's profitability was improving, as shown in the investor presentation of 22/3/23, for the half year ending 31/12/22

However, 12 months later, Rip Curl's profits fell by 34%.

It possibly might be getting worse with Shaun Tomson now posting on Gabriel's Medina's Instagram. Personally, I unfollowed Medina and won't be buying any Medina boardshorts.

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Thursday, 17 Oct 2024 at 5:19pm

Nah, she actually first spoke in November. RC was involved in January. Check news archives not social media reposts.

Also, degree of RC involvement in the final para.

BarbB's picture
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BarbB Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 5:15am

Stu. I already posted the video from Bethany first voiced her concerns on February 5, 2023. Best to avoid BGrit.

stunet's picture
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stunet Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 6:50am

Mate, I'm writing about her speaking out directly and motivating the boycott that supposedly influenced sales. The boycott began January this year.

It's a moot point anyway considering KMD's long term slump

thermalben's picture
thermalben's picture
thermalben Thursday, 17 Oct 2024 at 5:33pm
BarbB wrote:

Beth spoke out on 5 February 2023. The share price was not falling prior to this.

Eh?

Here's the share price over the last three years - October 2021 was around $1.56. Been a slow steady decline ever since.

Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean Thursday, 17 Oct 2024 at 11:08pm

October 21 peak covid
Covid checks run out in November 21 ?
Back to work slackers
Covid smoko.is over.

velocityjohnno's picture
velocityjohnno's picture
velocityjohnno Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 7:48am

Checks out.

rothmanisatool's picture
rothmanisatool's picture
rothmanisatool Saturday, 19 Oct 2024 at 1:29pm

this!!! ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

BarbB's picture
BarbB's picture
BarbB Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 5:13am

You should read my posts. As I posted:

* The share price is not linked to Rip Curl.

* Rip Curl was simply one of various KMD businesses.

* The Rip Curl profits rose over the previous year, as I posted. Posted again, below.

* In summary, Rip Curl half-year EBIT grew from $28.8M to $31.5M from 1H22 to 1H23; then fell to $20.8M in 1H24.

BarbB's picture
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BarbB Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 5:39am

To add, obviously, there was the Covid spike in sales, as occurred with many companies. If we go back to pre-Covid and note the two months of sales & EBIT are for the Christmas period, we can see the Rip Curl sales post-Covid were in line with historical trends. In summary, two months of sales of Christmas from 19/11/19 to 20/1/20 had $139M in sales and $16.1M EBIT. Compare to half year to 31/12/21 and 31/12/22 with $28.8M and $31.5M EBIT. One would guess the $16.1M EBIT for 2 months Christmas 2019 was around $30M for the whole half year at best. Therefore, the Rip Curl sales & profit, ignoring the Covid spike, before Bethany spoke out were in line with historical trends and growing gradually.

But after she spoke out, the Rip Curl profits fell 34% over a year.

thermalben's picture
thermalben's picture
thermalben Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 6:26am

It's impossible to compare sales trends to "pre-Covid" years, because the pandemic started just a few months after KMD acquired RC (so we don't have RC sales data prior to then). And cherry picking "two months of Xmas sales" isn't very useful.

BarbB wrote:

The share price is not linked to Rip Curl.

Eh?

What does KMD's share price reflect then?

KMD group's sales for FY24 were NZ$979m (-11.2% YOY).

Rip Curl - the first brand listed in KMD's Annual Report - contributed NZ$538.9m (55%), Kathmandu contributed NZ$361m (37%) and Oboz contributed NZ$79m (8%).

Rip Curl contribute the majority of revenue to the group, so therefore it's a fair assumption that its performance has an influence on share price.

Here's KMD's share price since 2009 (has been listed for the last fifteen years). It's share price reached an all-time low just a few months ago. COVID really threw a spanner in the works - you can see KMD's acquisition of Rip Curl gave it a nice boost (mid-way through a nice upwards trend) however I'm unsure how much share dilution occurred as a part of the transaction.

rothmanisatool's picture
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rothmanisatool Saturday, 19 Oct 2024 at 1:30pm

nice i agree. the RC sales/performance is material.

thermalben's picture
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thermalben Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 6:17am

Why are you cherry picking half yearly data?

Here's your 1H FY23 data (from above), showing an 11% increase in profit for the six months until Dec 31st (obviously including AU Xmas sales etc).

Yet the full year FY23 data shows a 6% decrease in profit.

Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 2:11pm

Swllnt code on the Nasdac.

BarbB's picture
BarbB's picture
BarbB Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 5:41am

Also, do you understand charts are for kooks that cannot comprehend financial reports?

dawnperiscope's picture
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dawnperiscope Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 7:02am

Very entertaining thread first thing in the morning.
What does 1H mean Barb?

thermalben's picture
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thermalben Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 7:07am

1H = first half of the financial year. In Australia, that's July 1st to December 31st.

Of course, there's also 2H which is the second half of the financial year, January 1st to June 30th.

Bigger companies will provide half-yearly reports/accounts to the market. Also, they'll sometimes provide intermittent "Trading Updates" to the market, if there are any developments outside of these standard reporting periods that may be price sensitive (i.e. could influence share price).

All of which is published on the ASX website (and others).

https://www.asx.com.au/markets/company/KMD

dawnperiscope's picture
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dawnperiscope Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 7:24am

Thanks TB. You let Barb off the hook!

BarbB's picture
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BarbB Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 9:41am

Barb never on the hook.

rothmanisatool's picture
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rothmanisatool Saturday, 19 Oct 2024 at 8:54pm

thanks for the financials barb. what a garbage business rip curl is. after taxes etc (because some of us live in a non EBITDA world) its probably got 5% net profit. why would you bother thats not even beating current inflation. just buy the index and do better than this awful company

Lukas_Z's picture
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Lukas_Z Thursday, 17 Oct 2024 at 4:30pm

Not sure what clown would pay $700+ for a wetsuit, they may be good but are they that good?

memlasurf's picture
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memlasurf Thursday, 17 Oct 2024 at 4:37pm

How about a bewet jap suit- $1600

Alex Papas's picture
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Alex Papas Thursday, 17 Oct 2024 at 7:01pm

I hear you re the big price tag but holy smokes ripcurl are without equal when it comes to wetsuits imo. ALMOST a big enough quality diff for me to warrant the extra $400 vs the $300 yulex no-name stuff I usually buy.

Island Bay's picture
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Island Bay Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 4:45am

You've been lucky, AP.
I always wanted to like RipCurl wetties and gave it a shot 3 times, incl a top of the line 4/3 Heatseeker. All of them leaked at the crotch within 1-2 months.

Back with O'Neill, and very happy.

dazzler's picture
dazzler's picture
dazzler Thursday, 17 Oct 2024 at 8:15pm

Headed down to Sydney recently & needed a new steamer.

Straight to Rip Curl outlet store on Goldie. $300 for 3:2 eBomb zipperless steamer.

Happy days.

Spuddups's picture
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Spuddups Tuesday, 22 Oct 2024 at 7:24pm

If you live somewhere that gets proper cold you gotta fork out the cash. Can't speak for RipCurl wetties as such but nobody round here that's serious about surfing buys a cheap wettie without regretting it.

memlasurf's picture
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memlasurf Thursday, 17 Oct 2024 at 4:36pm

I don't think any of the old guard are kicking too many goals which, as Stu notes, has got zero to do with any gramsta, bookface, x factor, influenza kerfuffle. Gee times have changed from early this century when they were top of the pops...what goes around comes around.

dandandan's picture
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dandandan Thursday, 17 Oct 2024 at 4:38pm

I agree with you Donny. Rip Curl stopped being a surfbrand for me when other brands started making better products. There was a period where 50-70% of surfers I met in Tassie, where you are always wearing a wetsuit, wore an E Bomb or F Bomb. Oneil eclipsed them for a while, then Patagonia, and now I reckon 90% of the people I see in a car park are wearing Needs.

I feel like if they chose to be fashion they could have caved out a more niche nostalgia segment like others have done, and really leaned into the over 40s, cashed-up market (you'd have to convince them to wear anything other than a Deus t shirt first though). From what I see of it now it looks more like a brand you'd see selling in Target, but at a surf shop price point. Doomed to fail.

velocityjohnno's picture
velocityjohnno's picture
velocityjohnno Thursday, 17 Oct 2024 at 4:44pm

I was in wetsuits so much in the last 10 years, and got to test out lots. I wanted to support Rippy and bought quite a few, but at one stage, the seams started to go really early. This had occurred for me earlier with Quikky.

Current Needs suits are a little stiffer, dry well, and last a full 3 seasons before any worries about seaming, and then it's hardly a leak. So I keep buying.

southernraw's picture
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southernraw Thursday, 17 Oct 2024 at 9:06pm

Interesting VJ. Ive been on the Oneill train for as long as i can remember. Mostly sturdy, reliable no fuss warm wetties.
But that all went downhill post covid.
Dodgy seams mostly. Even had a whole arm come undone. This year's has been much better though so maybe the ship has righted itself after the hectic post covid surf boom.
Did u notice a similar thing with Rippy?

velocityjohnno's picture
velocityjohnno's picture
velocityjohnno Thursday, 17 Oct 2024 at 9:42pm

A bit earlier, a suit from maybe 2018 or 2019, I got about 6 months before seams leaked in knees and groin, before that they'd leak but after a year or so (excellent product support with patching them up under warranty). The Quik ones I remember from about 2014-15. Would like to get an Oneill, nothing but good feedback from mates & you lot, but no leaks so no reason to change just yet.

Westsuits did one nut numbing suit where there was a perforated panel in the groin, as designed. Didn't go too well in Vic.

Primarily a core surfing apparel company makes bloody good wetsuits, to my way of thinking.

velocityjohnno's picture
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velocityjohnno Thursday, 17 Oct 2024 at 9:50pm

To their credit, a Quik 5/4 from 2008 full sealed seams was absolutely superb and warm.

southernraw's picture
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southernraw Thursday, 17 Oct 2024 at 9:58pm

ohhhh brrr! Nobody wants a perforated panel in the groin, ever, anytime!
Cheers for the feedback VJ!

velocityjohnno's picture
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velocityjohnno Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 7:36am

Yeah every time I stepped into the water it was like the faces the Lonely Island guys did in 'Jizz in my Pants' except they were faces of pain. Usually a little whelp too.

southernraw's picture
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southernraw Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 8:13pm

hahaha shit!! A whelp is never good!! WVJ!!! hehe.

seaslug's picture
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seaslug Saturday, 19 Oct 2024 at 10:20am

I'd prefer to have a whelp in my suit than a whelk

natjon651's picture
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natjon651 Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 10:49am

Think i can explain that mate. RC offloaded a couple of very high up wetsuit R&D blokes let's say a couple of years back. Me along with many other SC blokes were RC through and through. O'Neill picked up these blokes and just check out the last 2 years of O'Neills suits. Bloody awesome. Hence all my mates being off the RC suits (very poor quality) into O'Neill. Probably explains why all retail down here cannot move RC suits yet can't keep up enough O'Neill stock. Unfortunately RC got hit by the karma bus by not looking after good quality people.

Solitude's picture
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Solitude Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 4:10pm

I don’t understand how losing certain people suddenly makes suits poorer? Wouldn’t the technology and techniques they had which made the suits good remain?

rothmanisatool's picture
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rothmanisatool Saturday, 19 Oct 2024 at 1:37pm

yep i would like natjon to fill us in more. because typically with wetsuits the product pipeline is at least a few years or more. the fusion line of rip curls is pretty much the benchmark, its just a rip off. has anyone tried john florences suits yet. jesus they aint cheap!?!?

danielclayton1's picture
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danielclayton1 Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 2:47pm

Exactly same scenario for me re; the last couple RC wetties I've had losing seam seals way earlier than in the past. In the market for next winter now. Are Needs really that good? For 300 odd bucks? If so, I might make a purchase. I've heard mixed reports.....

velocityjohnno's picture
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velocityjohnno Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 3:48pm

Go in and try and see if you like the feel/flexibility when fitted. I don't mind it but other mates say way too stiff and much prefer Oneill. That's probably the source of the mixed reports. Only you can determine how it feels for you and what you like on the flex/durability scale.

The needs suits I got were 4/3 and 3/2 and the top of line with the sealed external seams, I did get one 5/4 without and reckon the sealed ones are much better.

Price is excellent. I have no relationship with them, and prefer a simple, sealed & seamed wettie that will last for years.

Solitude's picture
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Solitude Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 4:11pm

You don’t find them too stiff?

velocityjohnno's picture
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velocityjohnno Saturday, 19 Oct 2024 at 1:18pm

No, however I'm letting my board's rail do much of my surfing so I'm not moving as much as someone who might be popping air reverses and flexing into tail slides. (If you watch many young crew on the logs, it is the board that's doing most of the surfing and movement is not as gymnastic, it's more graceful with complicated footwork - I gravitated to this style as a grom in the 90s). They are OK for shoulders and paddling I find.

It's a great thread on wetties like some of the posts below by gowest, Swellnet should get a wetsuit almanac going on who exists (didn't know some names) and who is best at present.

mattlock's picture
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mattlock Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 6:03pm

Needs can be a little heavy

Eeds's picture
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Eeds Thursday, 17 Oct 2024 at 5:53pm

Just like Quiky and Billy, Rip Curl lost their identity in the pursuit of $$$. Their lame woke stance just turbo charged the fall.

Surfalot67's picture
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Surfalot67 Thursday, 17 Oct 2024 at 6:22pm

Please have a look at the share price graph above that Ben shared and pinpoint the moment Rip Curl became wOkE. I'll wait

seaslug's picture
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seaslug Saturday, 19 Oct 2024 at 10:34am

Touche

thermalben's picture
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thermalben Thursday, 17 Oct 2024 at 6:35pm

Interesting to look back at when the brands started to decline. In Quiksilver's case, sometime in 2008 - Stu's article (below) is nearly sixteen years old.

https://www.swellnet.com/news/surfpolitik/2008/11/20/ripples-wall-street...

Billabong wasn't far behind.

Rip Curl on the other hand seems to have navigated things pretty well over the last two decades, as the other brands slumped heavily (though up until they were bought by KMD in 2021, they were a private company so financials weren't publicly available).

spinafex's picture
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spinafex Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 10:37am

From 2013 you started to see online direct wetsuit companies like Need Essentials also around that time a wave of other online brands kick off. Then you have Covid where many people buy said brands and are happy with both quality and price and aren't going back to bricks and mortar retail. Online buying has brought a proliferation of brands which is gobbling sales. This trend is bigger than any Christian hissy fit about trans people.

flollo's picture
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flollo Thursday, 17 Oct 2024 at 9:10pm

Basically a leading, global surf company only generates around $500m of revenue with around 10% margin. There is definitely no money in surfing. I drove through Torquay a couple of weeks ago, stopped to do a bit of shopping. I don't know if I spent $100 on a family of 5. There's nothing to buy there. Rip Curl store is nice but there was no one in it. Empty. Boring prouducts, people are basically digging through boxes, looking for that $5-$10 bargin. Everything else is empty.

velocityjohnno's picture
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velocityjohnno Thursday, 17 Oct 2024 at 9:38pm

Retail armageddon, great description there Flollo.

Dx3's picture
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Dx3 Thursday, 17 Oct 2024 at 10:21pm

The Rip Curl discount outlet in Torquay, even when they offer like 60-70% off, is full of so much genuine horseshit you wonder why they ever bothered to produce so much of it. Can’t even bring myself to drop $15-20 on some of their tees, shorts etc

freeride76's picture
freeride76's picture
freeride76 Thursday, 17 Oct 2024 at 9:13pm

I bought a heavily discounted zipper less f bomb.

It's an Ok suit, nothing special, definitely not worth a premium price as a premium product.

Lanky Dean's picture
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Lanky Dean Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 2:18pm

Quick question freeride76.
How is it to get in and out of ?
I've looked into getting one a while back
Just don't know if my shoulders could fit into it.

RealityTV's picture
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RealityTV Thursday, 17 Oct 2024 at 9:41pm

Agreed. Tassie surfer and haven't paid over $350 for a liquid seam sealed 4/3 or 5/3 for over a decade. So many second tier brands offering decent products that are pretty much as good as the big dogs. I've had rippy, qs, bong, O'Neil and Xcel suits too, but none have lasted longer or performed better than cheaper brands. Big brands guilty of taking the piss out of their core market with their pricing I think.

southernraw's picture
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southernraw Thursday, 17 Oct 2024 at 10:00pm

Any particular cheaper brands that stand out? That's some pretty good intel. You can't get away with a bad wettie in Tassie!

RealityTV's picture
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RealityTV Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 5:37pm

Buell was the main go to for a while, particularly when the Oz / US exchange rate was ok. Of late, C skins, Adelio, Arzen, and a bunch of body board brands (Reflex, Attica, Found). The body board brands seemed to be very similar suits, presumably from a manufacturer who'll pop your logo on if you order enough units, but they've been good. These brands tend to come and go, but there are always a few several pages down the google search!

Sprout's picture
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Sprout Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 8:06pm

My most recent wetty is a bodyboard brand, Pride, one of the best I've had, love it super flexible. Needs one before that died pretty quick, nowhere near as flexible, won't get another one. Attica before that (another boog one) was awesome lasted years, only binned it from holes hitting reef.

southernraw's picture
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southernraw Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 8:12pm

Cheers @RealityTV. Will be good to come back to this thread and browse a few of those names and some others posted throughout it in the future.

Basil's picture
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Basil Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 6:33am

I’d love to be a right wing politician, you don’t have to worry about policy, research, truth, or any of that challenging stuff, all you have to do is come up with a snappy, rhyming phrase to bag someone out, and bingo, your voters are on board… “it rhymes so it must be true…!”

I would’ve thought appointing a female CEO was pretty “woke”. Equal pay for women, “woke” also you’d think. So it seems to me on the right-wing wokeness scale Rip Curl went woke long before the trans dog whistle.

Lottolonglong's picture
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Lottolonglong Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 9:09am

I don't think it's right v left
It's come down to basic common sense
Mentally ill men in dresses that tick the female box and truly believe he is a chick is not right wing
My sister votes liberal yet she celebrates our gay cousin telling us he a chick,she woke as but doesn't vote left
I got kicked out of Xmas lunch cuz I asked cousin if he gonna cut his dick off
I been identifying as a woman lately by ticking the female box at EVERY opportunity
Iv even doubled down and I tick the aboriginal box too
It's that easy to be something u aren't
I stand with Bethany

Brickwalls's picture
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Brickwalls Saturday, 19 Oct 2024 at 10:56am

So why don't you just stay true & tick the box
[○] Sad Petty Fuk ?

Lottolonglong's picture
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Lottolonglong Saturday, 19 Oct 2024 at 10:28pm

I hope u call out real men in women's spaces,ie sports,bathrooms and jails
I'm gonna keep ticking boxes til there's a benefit for me!!!!

Onthebiscuits's picture
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Onthebiscuits Saturday, 19 Oct 2024 at 3:32pm

@Lottolonglong

Calling people mentally ill and then going on to tick boxes that you are female and aboriginal??

You sound jealous of the attention, do u need a pat? siiiiiit...

Lottolonglong's picture
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Lottolonglong Saturday, 19 Oct 2024 at 10:22pm

Thanks for laughing,I dont need the attention, just pointing out and highlighting that these individuals masquerading as women aren't real women
I love dogs and sure can tell what a furry is !!!

Lottolonglong's picture
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Lottolonglong Saturday, 19 Oct 2024 at 10:30pm

What are your pronouns?

RockyIsland's picture
RockyIsland's picture
RockyIsland Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 8:18am

Remember when a 4/3 was a 4/3 if you put calipers on it then the top wetsuit brands started making 4/3s and 3/2s that were more like 2/1s and 1/0.5s if you put calipers on them.
Thats when they lost me.

dannyz's picture
dannyz's picture
dannyz Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 8:53am

whaaaa really? damn never checked that out before... very interesting.

I must say my 4/3 zion must definitely be 4mm/3mm as it's soo much heavier in weight

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 8:57am

It's getting a fair way off topic, however I think there's a fair bit of elasticity in the thickness measurement. Both neoprene itself plus the way suits are put together greatly influence warmth. An example: I recently had a 2mm suit that was every bit as warm as a 3/2 or even thicker. I wore it for the better part of two south coast (NSW) winters.

I mean, neoprene thickness is still a rough guide to how warm a suit should be yet I'm not sure getting calipers out tells the whole story.

Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 2:22pm

Couldn't really get anymore off topic
Then a "basement dwelling NRL team."
Officially in the weeds

stunet's picture
stunet's picture
stunet Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 2:32pm

Business as sport. Not the first time the analogy has been used.

$1.33 at the start of the season, $0.43 at the end. Don't think they'd make the playoffs.

Lanky Dean's picture
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Lanky Dean Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 7:29pm

Don't read too deep into my humor stu
Great article and references.

ron's picture
ron's picture
ron Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 12:51pm

Rip Curl is a sinking ship in all categories other than wetsuits.

Until the fashion revolution completes the full 360 degrees back to its mid 90's status it doesn't matter who is steering the ship.

Kids don't like it, teens don't either. I'm 43 and lived the peak surf fashion boom and still not interested in wearing a RC tshirt. Apart from wetsuits, who is buying this shit?

dannyz's picture
dannyz's picture
dannyz Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 1:05pm

surely Albo will be decked out in ripcurl gear now that he's a copa local

velocityjohnno's picture
velocityjohnno's picture
velocityjohnno Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 1:52pm

I can only hope the puffer jacket goes the same way.

Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 2:28pm

Apparently Less and less people by the day according to the data and analytics.
Though at this point it could be a mirad of different reasons.
The company has been around since 67 and somehow made it this far.
Legacy brands at this point.
Not much else.
I'm waiting for the kids to pick up the ball and start running the surf industry so.to speak .

Surfalot67's picture
Surfalot67's picture
Surfalot67 Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 2:56pm

‘69 mate

Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 7:22pm

I guess you spent two years surfing without a wetsuit.

ron's picture
ron's picture
ron Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 1:04pm

It's not just them, all the big legacy brands feel daggy at the moment.

Surfstitch is a good indicator, They are cutting brands constantly and what's left is always on sale or their own inhouse brands essentially in disguise. No surfboards any more.

Surfing just isn't cool anymore.

seaslug's picture
seaslug's picture
seaslug Saturday, 19 Oct 2024 at 10:42am

"Surfing just isn't cool anymore."

Really......, maybe on Mars :)

Puzzled's picture
Puzzled's picture
Puzzled Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 3:22pm

It seems like there are two halves to a surf company, making products needed to go surfing then making fashionable clothing. By definition all "fashions" go in and out of appeal which may explain the drop in sales. Whilst it seems logical to say they should go back to their core business, a publicly listed company runs on one thing only - growth of the share price. So they need to keep pushing their fashion sales as that's historically where the profit has come from. That's why I wasn't too surprised to see a whole Quiksilver range in BCF and Anaconda the other day...

ron's picture
ron's picture
ron Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 3:41pm

Yes makes you wonder if Rip Curl would still be around if they weren't so highly regarded for the wetsuits?

poo-man's picture
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poo-man Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 3:53pm

With most things it's a combination of factors and the Bethany thing wouldn't have helped but any company that messes with moral issues for some will end up alienating some customers. Look at what has happened to All birds shoes. But the public company thing hasn't served the surf industry well and there really hasn't been a success story on any of them. At the end of the day it's all about producing good product that people want and you can't beat quality. Someone mentioned earlier that they had let a couple of R&D guys go and that's usually where the rot starts. I've had their latest Fusion suit and it was awesome initially but has got leaky quickly. At $800 I'm unlikely again.
The KMD thing just hasn't gone well and just pumping more product into market at cheaper and cheaper prices is where it's all falling apart. A few people have mentioned about buying their steamers cheap from outlet stores. And what's that doing to their forward wholesale orders as retailers that have bought product have found themselves undercut by Rip Curl themselves. I wouldn't be surprised if all these key people jumping is symptomatic of lots more bad news to come. You never hear the real reasons about why people leave do you?

Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 7:33pm

Stock exchange and surfing don't mix.
History tells this tale.
Op is a superb example.

freeride76's picture
freeride76's picture
freeride76 Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 3:58pm

Exactly, when you chase growth you are forced to dump inventory at heavily discounted prices in order to maintain sales and earnings.

Which makes people like me 100% unlikely to ever pay full retail because I know the product will be sold for half the price come sales time.

Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 7:35pm

The model of growth and a shrinking post covid boom = good luck .
Quarterly shareholder reports. # cook the books.com

Gowest's picture
Gowest's picture
Gowest Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 4:20pm

What a ride (and read) this thread has been...
As someone who worked surf industry retail late eighties and nineties to someone who now carefully watches the offerings and failings of many of these brands around Torquay and up and down the coast my summary is this:
Rip Curl are way overpriced with high failure rate and attrocious service in relation to warranty or customer service(and i know a lot of them!?)
Oneill once used to be the premium suits but now highly variable from season to season and my last Premium Oneill 4/3 i sold second hand after 6 surfs(very stiff and heavy a few winters ago)
Need are definitely more realistic price point but still a second rate option in terms of flexibility, cut and longevity.
Vissla are using amazing rubber although seams have been an issue and warranty support and follow up was attrocious until they were forced to replace under Consumer Law threats!

I find its a lottery with every suit and have had the inner thighs leak on a couple of suits walking into the water on first surf and been gobsmacked, thankfully i am not paying $7-800 dollars otherwise the muttering and swearing might turn to fury....the expectation of a suit lasting several winters is gone and if lasts 12 months without leaks then that is the new benchmark unfortunately and 2 years is almost surprising...
Message to all wetsuit manufacturers-IF YOU OFFER A WARRANTY THEN HONOUR IT OR DONT OFFER IT and cut the marketing bullshit and pro teams and reflect that in realistic pricing and you may get back your market share to the now bulging mass surfing market who really don't give a fuck who wears what and then switches brands next week.
Rant over.

Nolan's picture
Nolan's picture
Nolan Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 5:32pm

I've just gotten through my 4th Vic winter with my Isurus 4/3. Not a single leak - its an extremely well made product - best suit I've ever owned and I've had many RC's & Oneill's. It would be perfect if it didn't experience the occasional neck flush on a wipeout.

tip-top1's picture
tip-top1's picture
tip-top1 Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 5:09pm

had a Buel 3/2 front zip steamer from sideways for 3 seasons now,
bloody comfy , good price , no complaints at all
had an Oneill previously , also from sideways, good suit lasted 3 seasons before my heel got stuck and ripped the back calf area, just cut the legs above knees and still wear it as a long arm springy.

wiggy_piratej's picture
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wiggy_piratej Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 6:36pm

Go woke go broke …… simple

Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 7:46pm

According to data they went broke then tried to save themselves by going woke .....

basesix's picture
basesix's picture
basesix Friday, 18 Oct 2024 at 8:01pm

does that mean you are pro-woke? is that a shortened version of 'go-for-broke'?
not really sure what 'woke' means, but these short, peppy phrases leave an old feller like me
wondering what the fuck you bright young things are talking about..

Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean's picture
Lanky Dean Saturday, 19 Oct 2024 at 6:38am

Word for the day " provoke"
Aka shit stiring.......

velocityjohnno's picture
velocityjohnno's picture
velocityjohnno Tuesday, 22 Oct 2024 at 7:15pm

So if the kids aren't wearing the surfwear, what is fashion for them?

Gen Z has gone Grampa style, bless their socks:

https://www.gq.com/story/eclectic-grandpa-style

I eagerly await the big surf co's to embrace Coastal Grandad style:

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/style/coastal-granddad-style-charles...

Looking forward to a RC bright lime green V neck cashmere longsleeve jumper with the quality of my grandad's 1975 version...

Houli77's picture
Houli77's picture
Houli77 Wednesday, 23 Oct 2024 at 6:19pm

big surf can really go f itself.. like ok "insert big surf brand" who's your shaper? oh ok, yeah we don't make boards, we're just a fashion brand that takes advantage of poverty stricken cheap labour in developing countries to maximise profits... gotcha..

theblacksheep's picture
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theblacksheep Thursday, 24 Oct 2024 at 10:10am

I feel sorry for any CEO of a public company - generally they are just a puppet/figurehead for the board who drive all the decisions. Thier degree of influence would rarely been seen outside of closed doors. The politics would be horrible. Probably why the paycheck is worth it. Impressive for Brooke to get the gig.