Delgadillo, others quit Comune after dispute with investor

Frank Delgadillo at Comune offices in Costa Mesa when the brand started in 2008. Shop-eat-surf file photo.

| Published May 13, 2013

Click here to read the release from those remaining with the company.

Comune Founder Frank Delgadillo and nine of the brand’s employees quit en masse this week after a dispute with an investor, according to an email sent by Comune’s Vice President of Marketing.

Comune, started in 2008, mixed many influences including fashion, skate and art and landed in stellar accounts ranging from Jack’s to Urban Outfitters.

VP of Marketing Julie Shumaker described the investor’s move as a “hostile takeover” with the staff told the distribution model was going to change, and that some contributors and employees would be fired.

Shumaker said in the email that Comune was never meant to be a “mass market” brand and the team was not in it to make a quick buck.

The email hinted that the 10 key employees that quit may start something else.

Those employees are:

Frank Delgadillo (Founder and President)

Mike Quinones (Creative Director)

Mark Logan (Brand Manager)

Julie Shumaker (VP of Marketing)

Matt Davis (VP of Sales)

Clifford Lidell (Graphic Designer)

Kerri Banach (Designer)

Billy Garner (Marketing Coordinator)

Sean Ciminesi (West Coast sales)

Cory Heenan (East Coast sales)

Here is a link to a Shop-eat-surf interview with Frank Delgadillo when he launched Comune in 2008.

See Page 2 for the email from the vice president of marketing

Dear Friends:

Hope this email finds you well. I apologize for the mass email however I wanted to let you know that I resigned from COMUNE early this week. COMUNE was launched three years ago with one idea in mind, to create a brand that reflected our image and lifestyle. We felt that there was a void for this in the marketplace and we wanted to be the ones to spearhead this style and aesthetic. We have always told the story of carving a niche out in the marketplace and building a strong, smart and honest brand that would be able to sustain anything and offer superior product for many years to come.

Unfortunately, the vision and story we have been telling for the last three years was litterly taken from us overnight when an investor came in and did a hostel takeover of our brand in which contributors were asked to be fired, employees were fired and the distribution model was going to change.

COMUNE was NEVER designed to be a mass market brand nor did we want to make a quick buck. Our vision was long term sustainable growth and this was ripped away from us. With all of these elements involved we could not longer support the direction COMUNE was going or keep our names attached to it in anyway.

Below is a list of 10 employees no longer with the Company.