Volcom

Volcom is an action sports and lifestyle apparel brand centered on skate, surf, and snow culture. The company designs and sells men’s, women’s, and youth apparel, outerwear, swim, footwear, and accessories, with a look and feel that reflects boardsports, music, and art. Its products are sold through a mix of branded stores, outlet locations, e‑commerce, and wholesale partners ranging from core surf and skate shops to select department and specialty retailers.

The brand was founded in 1991 by Richard Woolcott and Tucker Hall in Southern California, starting out of Newport Beach at a time when surf, skate, and snow were quickly moving from niche to mainstream. From the beginning, Volcom built its reputation by working closely with athletes and local scenes, sponsoring teams and events and developing a distinctive stone logo that became widely recognized in youth and boardsport circles. A key milestone came in 2005 when Volcom completed an initial public offering on the NASDAQ, confirming its move from an emerging independent label into a scaled global action‑sports company.

Volcom expanded steadily through the 2000s and early 2010s, entering new product categories and building international distribution. The brand grew its presence across more than 60 countries through specialty retailers, company‑owned stores, shop‑in‑shops, and online channels. In 2011, French group Kering acquired Volcom, adding resources for wider global reach. In 2019, Authentic Brands Group acquired Volcom and repositioned it within a larger lifestyle portfolio, with a focus on strengthening the label’s boardsport heritage while modernizing how it reaches consumers.

Today, as of November 2024, Volcom operates roughly 100 branded stores worldwide, including full‑price shops and outlets in North America, Europe, and Asia‑Pacific, alongside a meaningful e‑commerce business and broad wholesale distribution. Under Authentic Brands Group, Volcom is managed as a lifestyle brand that grows through a balanced mix of wholesale, digital, and selective brick‑and‑mortar openings. Over the last five years, the brand has continued to open, relocate, and refine stores in markets with strong surf, skate, and snow participation, concentrating on high‑traffic regional malls, outlet centers, and coastal or mountain towns where its customer base is most active.

For owners and leasing teams, Volcom offers a recognizable, youth‑driven soft‑goods tenant with a long track record in lifestyle‑oriented projects, resort and tourist environments, and established outlet destinations. The brand’s current posture favors disciplined, opportunity‑driven growth rather than blanket rollouts, with interest strongest in coastal U.S. markets with surf culture, snow and mountain resort regions, outlet centers in major U.S. and Canadian metros, key Western European surf and skate hubs, and selective Asia‑Pacific lifestyle corridors. Within these settings, Volcom typically sits comfortably alongside athletic, streetwear, and outdoor concepts, helping round out a project’s mix for shoppers drawn to action‑sports and lifestyle apparel.