Boardriders Inc., the parent of Quiksilver, Billabong, Roxy, DC Shoes, RVCA and Element, announced today that it is taking a range of actions to respond to the global health crisis as well as the associated demand impact that government-mandated shutdowns have had on its business.
To protect the health and well-being of its team over the last several weeks, Boardriders has transitioned to remote work arrangements, limited travel on a global basis, and closed stores and facilities in accordance with local government regulations. In addition, Boardriders has strengthened its cleaning and sanitizing protocols across all its facilities and has been actively practicing social distancing.
Boardriders CEO David Tanner said, “We are grateful that our teammates around the world have been able to follow our safety and protection protocols, as well as the advice of various government and health authorities, and have been able to remain healthy to date.”
In response to the demand drop off caused by various government restrictions and mandatory shutdowns, Boardriders is implementing a series of measures to buttress its short-term position while simultaneously reconfiguring its business for the post-coronavirus world. These measures include pausing a range of business activities and reducing associated costs to match the overall slowdown in commercial activity. In addition, the company has made the difficult decision to implement pay reductions across its global teams as well as temporary furloughs in certain functions and geographies.
Finally, the company has undergone a coordinated strategy and operations review and has begun to proactively implement a series of initiatives to adapt its business to the new emerging marketplace. These initiatives are changing some internal structures, processes, and ways of working and will, unfortunately, result in some role eliminations.
Tanner said, “There is simply nothing worse than telling highly-valued teammates, who are the heart of our brands, that their paychecks are being impacted by things completely out of our control.” Mr. Tanner continued, “In light of the magnitude of this crisis, we are working with all of our commercial partners, including our factories, landlords, vendors, customers, and athletes to share the burden of this unexpected disruption to everyone’s business. There is simply no way that our business, or any piece of our ecosystem, can fully absorb all of the financial impact of this event on their own. We all need each other to make it through this incredibly difficult time.”
Photo courtesy Boardriders
