The Bob Hurley Story

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The Bob Hurley Story

Author: Groshan Fabiola | Total views: 66 | Word Count: 494 | Category: Business | Date: Jul 14th 2007

The history of Bob Hurley and Hurley International goes back to the surfing industry in Southern California during the 1970's. In those days, Bob Hurley owned a surf shop and he used to shape surfboards for fellow surfers and friends. With his own inventiveness, Bob approached a small Australian company, Billabong, with the proposal of becoming the U.S. licensee for its board shorts and because of his entrepreneurial idea, Bob then created an autonomous company, Billabong USA, and took over full design, manufacturing, marketing and sales responsibility in the U.S, leading Billabong USA to become a $67 million clothing company.

Coming to the end of Bob's arrangement with the Australian licensor, Bob and his management team wanted the opportunity to progress from producing strictly surf products to featuring clothing to a wider teenage market. He realized that independence from a licensor would initiate more freedom, satisfaction as well as opportunity for the management group, thus the Hurley International concept was established.

In December 1998, Hurley International ventured out into the youth market of America and revolutionized the sports wear industry almost instantaneously. Having vitality and an innovative perspective Hurley launched its first line of active wear for men, boys, kids, and juniors along with accessories and wetsuits. The support and zealousness of a new fan base lead to the break of an astounding 500 new retailers from a single ASR trade show event.

Within a matter of four years, Hurley developed immensely into a profitable multi-million dollar clothing company; it multiplied its accounts by 50 percent and became a highly regarded innovative industry leader. Hurley became famous for its fashion-oriented designs and themes of independence, individualism as well as optimism, thus constructing brand awareness through affiliations with trendsetters in a broad range of entertainment, sports and hobbies. Among the company's patented designs is the zipper-less wetsuit and the Velcro-less "easy-fly" for board shorts. The original styles of Hurley include new fabric types, bold prints and "Freedom of Choice" for its young patrons.

By the end of 2002, Bob Hurley opted to partner with NIKE and take Hurley international. Bobs plan was to establish a genuinely unique international lifestyle brand that can relate to teenagers across the world. Bob Hurley was certain that collaborating with Nike would be the best way to achieve these goals without having to compromise the company's foundation.

The success of Hurley is partially due to the company's adventurousness that materializes through the collection going far beyond t-shirts and board shorts. Giving young women's and young men's classics with a fun twist that the public was sure to appreciate, the line has expanded to include a successful shoe line as well as an impressive eyewear collection. With international offices in Sydney, Australia; Barcelona, Spain; Biarritz, France; London and Tokyo, Japan, Hurley continues to expand and centers its attention on constructing international markets operating with an open mind. There is no limit to where Hurley will go.

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The history of Bob Hurley and Hurley International goes back to the surfing industry in Southern California during the 1970's. In those days, Bob Hurley owned a surf shop and he used to shape surfboards for fellow surfers and friends. With his own inventiveness, Bob approached a small Australian company, Billabong, with the proposal of becoming the U.S. licensee for its board shorts and because of his entrepreneurial idea, Bob then created an autonomous company, Billabong USA, and took over full design, manufacturing, marketing and sales responsibility in the U.S, leading Billabong USA to become a $67 million clothing company. 
 
Coming to the end of Bob's arrangement with the Australian licensor, Bob and his management team wanted the opportunity to progress from producing strictly surf products to featuring clothing to a wider teenage market. He realized that independence from a licensor would initiate more freedom, satisfaction as well as opportunity for the management group, thus the Hurley International concept was established. 
 
In December 1998, Hurley International ventured out into the youth market of America and revolutionized the sports wear industry almost instantaneously. Having vitality and an innovative perspective Hurley launched its first line of active wear for men, boys, kids, and juniors along with accessories and wetsuits. The support and zealousness of a new fan base lead to the break of an astounding 500 new retailers from a single ASR trade show event. 
 
Within a matter of four years, Hurley developed immensely into a profitable multi-million dollar clothing company; it multiplied its accounts by 50 percent and became a highly regarded innovative industry leader. Hurley became famous for its fashion-oriented designs and themes of independence, individualism as well as optimism, thus constructing brand awareness through affiliations with trendsetters in a broad range of entertainment, sports and hobbies. Among the company's patented designs is the zipper-less wetsuit and the Velcro-less "easy-fly" for board shorts. The original styles of Hurley include new fabric types, bold prints and "Freedom of Choice" for its young patrons. 
 
By the end of 2002, Bob Hurley opted to partner with NIKE and take Hurley international. Bobs plan was to establish a genuinely unique international lifestyle brand that can relate to teenagers across the world. Bob Hurley was certain that collaborating with Nike would be the best way to achieve these goals without having to compromise the company's foundation. 
 
The success of Hurley is partially due to the company's adventurousness that materializes through the collection going far beyond t-shirts and board shorts. Giving young women's and young men's classics with a fun twist that the public was sure to appreciate, the line has expanded to include a successful shoe line as well as an impressive eyewear collection. With international offices in Sydney, Australia; Barcelona, Spain; Biarritz, France; London and Tokyo, Japan, Hurley continues to expand and centers its attention on constructing international markets operating with an open mind. There is no limit to where Hurley will go. Article Source: <a href="http://www.articlesoft.com" target="_blank">ArticleSoft.com</a> About the Author: For more resources about <a href="http://store.hurley.com/">Surf Apparel</a> or even about <a href="http://store.hurley.com/articles/">Sunglasses</a> and especially about <a href="http://store.hurley.com/">Young Contemporary Apparel</a> please review these links.