Quiksilver rebrand (School project)

What was the Problem: The premise of this project was to identify an organization or company that had an identity or branding flaw in its intentions to communicate to its target audience. Once the problem was defined, through research, we were tasked to propose a focus on redefining and/or changing what we felt was needed for the brand/company. The company I had identified for this project is an Australian-American surf apparel brand Quiksilver. They had been losing profits 6 years straight in the United States and had established a turnaround plan in 2013 to hopefully generate more profit. In the end, the turnaround plan did not go as they envisioned and they filed for bankruptcy in 2015.

What was my Solution: While working part-time in a sporting goods store, I had a general understanding of who they were and what their product line was like. Through further research, I discovered Quiksilver has had a long history of innovation within the surfing community dating back to the 1970s. From further research and doing a situational analysis of the brand, they had a small existence in the Canadian market. A few third-party retailers carried their products as well as a few standalone brand stores and a regional office (North Vancouver, B.C.). My thought process with Quiksilver was to use Canada as a testing ground for a potential relaunch and reposition of the brand while in the process, strengthen the Canadian market. The reposition would refocus them as a male-dominated quality lifestyle outdoor brand that will implement a regionally focused product line. Once a successful model has been established, it would be reintroduced into the US market as a refreshed brand to compete with domestically again. Quiksilver already had a strong distribution network, strong brand equity, and history with their name existing in various markets worldwide; I felt it was important that they still had a name in North America.

 What did I Learn: This project gave me a new perspective of the brand itself as it was something that was sold at sporting goods stores here locally but as a retail associate at the time of this project, I did not have any knowledge of what was going on with the brand until I was looking into trying to define my project and who to focus on. This project allowed me to use the knowledge I had gained working in the sporting goods industry and opened my eyes to consider working in-house for a brand like Quiksilver or even brands associated with the end user being the general public. I also learned that sometimes trying to change too much causes you to miss the mark on what your objective is for the branding. Referring and also refining the brief really helps to ensure things stay in alignment with the project objectives.