At the beginning of this month of February it was known that the company Liberated Brands, Distributor in the United States of Billabong, Quiksilver, Roxy and Volcomamong others, he declared bankruptcy and announced the closure of his stores. Due to the historical linkage of surf signatures, media and analysts have affirmed that the business movement reflects that sport has gone out of style. And from Blue Banana They have taken a step forward to defend otherwise.
They do it with a campaign, designed next to the creative agency Blackflag, which is being able to see during this week in the shop windows of its stores in different parts of the Spanish territory, and which is articulated around the Claim “Surf Is Not Dead”. With it he claims that surfing is neither a trend, nor a fashion, and that it represents a real lifestyle.
“Sensationalist headlines in relation to the closure of Billabong, Quiksilver and Volcom stores in the United States can make a sport can die. But there are things that cannot disappear because someone decides to bury them”, Have explained from the brand through their profile in LinkedIn. “Surf is above all this. It is an act that expresses how the human being and nature can create wonderful things when they come together and coordinate”
Blue Banana defends that no one can make surfing a fashion, and points out that for many people it is more than a sport, It is a way of living in itself. The brand ensures that for many surfing is a shelter that they go seeking to disconnect from the routine and connect with something bigger than they themselves.
Expresses this philosophy with the phrases “Surf is not a trend”, “surf is not fashion”, “surf is not dead”, which will accompany beautiful photographs of people practicing surf. The pieces will spread during this week in the Digital screens of the windows of the Blue Banana premises, an action that ensures that will impact a million people They pass through their stores in Spain weekly.
“It is our way of defending surfing, its culture and of claiming our mission of empowering new generations to make their lives an adventure, which for us is far from being a fashion”; Juan Fernández-Estrada, co-founder and Co-Co-Co-Banana co-one has pointed out through LinkedIn. “In Blue Banana Brand we will continue to promote a lifestyle that allows us to connect with a young and not so young audience that, although it evolves like us, continues and will continue to be surfer”
Some voices have related the bankruptcy of Liberated Brands with different changes in the market and society. The rise of Fast fashion promoted by Asian companies, such as Shein or Temu; and the development and growth of multideport signatureslike Decathlon, are some of the factors that have harmed fashion brands traditionally settled in the territory.
However, the company’s business has also been influenced by a generational change which has found referents in other brands, guided by other fashion styles and aesthetic currents, and also more adapted to perceptions on sustainability, environmental impact and diversity.
