History
Hurley was founded in 1981 by 23-year-old Bob Hurley (along with partner Bob Rowland and Business Manager Joe Knoernschild) as Hurley Surfboards/International Pro Designs (I.P.D.). Hurley worked for five years as a surf board shaper for various companies; including Lightning Bolt; Wind-an-Sea and Wave Tools. While becoming known as one of the premiere shapers in Southern California, Hurley licensed the U.S. rights to the up-and-coming Australian surf brand Billabong, and formed Billabong USA in 1983. Founding partners in Billabong USA besides Hurley were Bob Rowland (General Partners), and as limited partners Chip Rowland, Mike Ochsner, Joe Knoernschild, Tom Fletcher and Bill Hurley. In 1998, the U.S. licensing rights for Billabong were up for renewal after the company had grown to over $70M in sales in America. The USA management team decided to not renew the USA license for Billabong USA and in 1999 Hurley International was born. Founding working partners of Billabong USA Hurley, Knoernschild, Ochsner and Bill Hurley transitioned over to Hurley International. Billabong USA's designer Julia Gillard also became a partner with the newly created Hurley International.
On June 4, 2012, Nike announced that Bob Hurley would assume the interim CEO role at Hurley International, LLC. replacing Michael Egeck who has decided to leave the company.
On May 12, 2002, the company was sold to Nike, Inc. for an undisclosed amount. The brand maintains relative autonomy from its Nike parent and has its corporate headquarters in Costa Mesa, California, USA.
A major part of the company's success has been the endorsement of pop-punk bands such as Blink-182 and All Time Low. Furthering their involvement in the music industry, Hurley sponsors the heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold and reggae band The Band.
Read more about this topic: Hurley International
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