Hurley’s Private Line Hits Racks Next Year

Moving quickly to establish his own company after 15 years of leading Billabong USA, surfwear maker Bob Hurley said Tuesday his new clothing line will be in stores by January.

Although his licensing agreement with Billabong Australia runs until June 1999, Hurley confirmed that he will present his “Hurley” line in September at the Action Sports Retailer trade show in San Diego.

Hurley denied that his decision to sever ties with Billabong stemmed from a clash with founder Gordon Merchant.

“I’ve been doing this for 15 years,” he said, “and I wanted to do something new.”

Industry insiders have said a feud between the two men--based partly on Hurley’s unwillingness to launch a women’s line--caused the split.

His new company will have a women’s line, Hurley said Tuesday. “We’re working on some girls’ stuff right now, and, depending on how it looks, we’ll be adding that,” he said.

Overall, the new company will produce the same types of clothing it has made for Billabong, including pants, board shorts, T-shirts, denim wear and zipper-less wetsuits.

Hurley also said he will keep his team of employees and the same Costa Mesa location, where on Tuesday the receptionist answered the telephone with a “Hurley and Billabong” greeting.

Professional surfer Chris Malloy said he and brothers Keith and Dan have already decided to ally themselves with Hurley’s new company. The surfing trio has been sponsored by Billabong USA for six years.

“We are 100% Hurley,” Malloy said.

Meanwhile, Dougall Walker, international marketing manager for Billabong Australia, said executives plan to meet soon with Hurley to work out the details of his departure.

“After 15 years of working together, we can’t just change things overnight,” Walker said.

The international company has no qualms about Hurley showing both his brand and Billabong at the September trade show, Walker said.

“We’ve got no intention of putting any barriers in front of Bob,” Walker said. “Bob made a decision to move on with his own thing, and we wish him all the best.”

Hurley, 40, is credited with turning privately held Billabong USA into one of the most respected surfwear companies in the industry. Hurley said 1997 sales were $60 million, considerably higher than the industry estimate of $45 million.

Billabong Australia said it has not yet lined up another licensee for its U.S. market. “We do have 12 months to put this together, so we’re not going to be rushing into anything,” Walker said.