Mervin CEO on sale to Altamont

Pete Saari

Mervin Manufacturing announced last night that the sale of the company to Altamont Capital Partners has closed.

Mervin CEO Ryan Hollis, a longtime Quiksilver employee, answered a few questions about what’s next and what the deal means.

What does this mean for Mervin?




Ryan Hollis: First, Mike, Pete and I could not be more excited about what is in store for us in the next chapter.  We all have nothing but great things to say about Quiksilver and truly appreciate their support over the last 16 years. 

As you know, Quiksilver has made a strategic decision to focus on its core brands, which resulted in divesting Mervin.  Though we remained relatively autonomous during our time at Quiksilver, we could not be happier to have found such great partners in Altamont.  What this means is that Mervin will continue doing the things that we love, starting with building the best product on Earth (Made in the USA…near Canada).

Do you envision being able to invest more in the brand’s growth?

Ryan:  In short, yes. 

Mervin was built on the fundamentals of innovation, connection with our athletes and relationship with our retail partners.  We intend to invest across these dimensions.

Mervin has an incredible team of athletes.  We plan to be by their side as they progress these sports to new levels.

Retailers are becoming more sophisticated.  We plan to invest in ways to ensure our retailers are successful when it comes to Mervin products and our customers have a great experience with our brand.

Innovation has been our single most important focus since the company’s inception.  We will continue to invest in R&D.  We have incredible things in the works and we guarantee the consumer is going to be inspired.

A few things we are excited to talk about now are our reintroduction of Lib Tech outerwear for ’14/’15.  We have worked hard with our team of athletes to create a line worthy of the Lib Tech name.  Another project we are excited about is our DIY board builder program (https://www.lib-tech.com/diy).  We are working with our retail partners to create the most progressive custom board program ever. 

The bottom line is that we need to continue to invest in all aspects of our business to deliver on the fundamentals that have made Lib Tech, Gnu and Roxy the brands they are today.  We will do everything we can to support this industry and the sports that we feel so lucky to be a part of.

You, Pete and Mike are staying with the brand? I know you, in particular, have a long history at Quiksilver and wondering if it is hard to leave.

Ryan: The entire staff at Mervin is staying on board, including Mike, Pete and myself.  We all feel truly blessed every day to be doing what we do.  Mike and Pete founded this company nearly 30 years ago and are just as excited, as I am, to work with our new partners. 

Though it is bittersweet to be leaving the Quiksilver family, I am truly honored to have worked with them for so many years and in so many different capacities.  We all wish them the best of luck as Bob and Andy continue to strengthen the Quiksilver, Roxy and DC brands around the world.

How comfortable are you with the people who are buying the company?

Ryan: We are ecstatic to be working with the team from Altamont.  We have spent a lot of time with Randall, Jesse, Steve, Scott, Greg and Nic, both in and out of the office, and are excited to be working with such a great group of people.  They have spent a lot time in and around this industry and will be great partners in helping us build the Mervin business. 

We are just as ecstatic to be in the same family with DaKine.  We have always had great respect for our neighbors in Oregon. 

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