California Apparel News

John John Florence, a two-time world champion surfer, recently announced that he was starting a new brand called Florence Marine X. Scheduled to launch for Spring 2021, Florence Marine X will offer men’s apparel, board shorts, wet suits and other categories.

The Hawaii-based Florence said that he would partner in this venture with surfwear-industry star Bob Hurley and his family. The Hurleys recently started a new company named Kandui Holdings LLC, based in Newport Beach, Calif. The new business was started a short time after their namesake Hurley International LLC brand was sold to Bluestar Alliance, a brand-management company, in December 2019. Hurley’s former parent company, Nike, Inc., sold Hurley for an undisclosed amount.

Hurley has worked with Florence before. The brand served as one of Florence’s sponsors during his stellar surfing career. Florence won back-to-back world titles on the 2016 and 2017 World Surf League men’s championship tour. He was also scheduled to compete in surfing during the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with Team U.S.A. until the games were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Florence said that he has remained close with the Hurleys after they exited their namesake brand.

“I am excited to announce Florence Marine X, an apparel brand that I am proud to launch alongside Bob Hurley, who has been an inspiration to me over the years, along with being a longtime friend and industry leader,” Florence said in a statement. “We are excited to explore what’s possible and build products that celebrate the ocean, sustainability, exploration and, overall, just doing the right thing. I’m looking forward to the road ahead and invite you to follow along with this new adventure.”

Hurley said that his family’s partnership with Florence is strong. “We’ve been on the same team before, and we really had a whole lotta fun,” Hurley said in a statement. Florence will serve as a “hands-on” owner and will take part in creative and business decisions. He’ll also work on testing out the brand’s product.

Kandui Holdings recently made news by acquiring other brands. On Aug. 3, it announced that it had acquired the outstanding assets and intellectual property of Simple Shoes LLC from the company KTSimple LLC for an undisclosed price. Jeff Hurley, Bob Hurley’s son, serves as Kandui’s co-founder and chief executive officer.