Authentic Brands Group announced Wednesday that it has finalized a deal with French company Beaumanoir to acquire the former Boardriders operations in France and to license the Quiksilver, Roxy, Billabong, DC Shoes, Element, RVCA, and VonZipper brands in Western Europe.

Beaumanoir, with 2.3 billion euros in annual revenue and 2,000 retail stores, operates a variety of brands and retail concepts across the fashion spectrum, including Cache Cache, Bonobo, Sarenz, and Vib’s.

The deal is a big one for Authentic for a few reasons. Since acquiring Boardriders in September, it has been operating the business in Europe, something it usually doesn’t do as a licensing company. In addition, Beaumanoir will also be responsible for implementing job cuts and restructuring efforts at the former Boardriders headquarters in St. Jean De Luz, France, which is an expensive and complicated process. So expensive, that the French headquarters avoided the multiple rounds of layoffs that the Boardriders Americas and APAC regions went through under former Boardriders owner Oaktree Capital Management.

Going forward, Beaumanoir will take on design, manufacturing, wholesale, retail, and e-commerce for the brand in key categories such as apparel, swim, travel, accessories, and more for men, women’s and kids, according to Authentic.

“With great expertise behind us, we are confident in our ability to stimulate the development of famous brands such as Quiksilver, Billabong, and Roxy, in France and across Europe,” said Jérôme Drianno, CEO of Beaumanoir. “Wholesale operations represent a key growth area for the future of the Boardriders Group, and an avenue for diversification of Beaumanoir, as does the international expansion this acquisition makes possible.”

The current president of Boardriders EMEA, Nicolas Foulet, who has led the region since 2021, will continue in his role.

“The acquisition by the Beaumanoir Group opens up new avenues for long-term investment for all the Boardriders brands in Europe,” Nicolas Foulet, president of Boardriders EMEA, said in a statement. “Like the teams themselves, I am fully committed to and enthusiastic about this news, which promises to increase the presence of our brands in their market.”

Europe has been an important region for Boardriders, with many of the brands having a more elevated position in the market, and they are often more profitable in the region as well. Several Boardriders brands also have their global brand teams based in France, including Roxy, Element, and Quiksilver.

David Brooks, executive vice president of Action Sports and Outdoor Sports at Authentic, told SES in a previous interview that the global brand teams for those brands will remain based in Europe.

“Nico Foulet and his legacy Boardriders team in Europe have a deep understanding of our customer and extensive wholesale relationships, combined with Beaumanoir’s expertise in sourcing, logistics, and retail, we are excited for the future and for the opportunities that the partnership will bring.”

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