The story
History
1991–1995: Origins
Volcom was founded in 1991 by Richard "Wooly" Woolcott and Tucker "T-Dawg" Hall, who based the ethos of the company on their own experiences with boardsports. In March 1991, the two friends went on a snowboarding trip to Tahoe, U.S., and afterward, they decided to start a clothing company.
Chet Thomas was the first professional skateboarder to be sponsored by the brand. In 1995, Volcom was the first action sports company to create a record label, Volcom Entertainment.
1995–2011: IPO, Kering and ABG acquisitions
In April 2005, the company adopted its current name, "Volcom, Inc." Volcom became a publicly traded entity on June 29, 2005, when Wachovia Securities, D.A. Davidson and Piper Jaffray underwrote an initial public offering on NASDAQ. They priced 4.69 million shares at US$19 a share, raising a total of US$89 million.
In early 2008, Volcom made its first acquisition, taking ownership of Electric Visual Evolution LLC for US$25.3 million. In early 2016, Eric Crane acquired the brand from Volcom for an undisclosed amount.
On May 2, 2011, PPR (turned Kering in 2013) launched a friendly takeover offer to buy Volcom Inc. for US$24.50 a share, valuing the company at US$608 million. Volcom's board unanimously backed the PPR offer, and shareholders were advised to tender their shares to the French company.
Since the takeover, Kering has sought to expand and diversify the Volcom brand. The support from Kering allowed Volcom to launch its first ever closed-toe footwear line in July 2013.
On April 3, 2019, Authentic Brands Group had announced it acquired Volcom from Kering.
2013 Volcom Pipe Pro Event
The 2013 Volcom Pipe Pro surf competition that took place between January 27 and February 7, 2013, has been designated as a Deep Blue Surfing Event as it completed the ASP (Association of Surfing Professionals) Green Guidelines Recommendations. The event strove to reduce the environmental impacts of a professional surfing contest and to provide social benefits for the local community.
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2014 Volcom Pipe Pro Event
The 2014 Volcom Pipe Pro surf competition took place between January 26 and February 7, 2014, at the Banzai Pipeline with waves at 8–12 feet, and was televised on Saturday, June 7, 2014, on NBC. The competition is an ASP, WQS (World Qualifying Series) 5-Star Event with a $130,000 prize purse, and once again has been designated as a Deep Blue Surfing Event, working with Sustainable Surf, a waste diversion company.
From Wikipedia’s article on Volcom, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.7