Irvine-based La Jolla Group wants to put some polish on surf clothing brand Rusty Apparel.
La Jolla, a manufacturing workhorse that makes clothes and accessories under license for brands O’Neill and Lost, recently bought the rights to make U.S. garb for Rusty as well.
“I see the potential for Rusty to grow into a top-tier surf brand,” said Charlie Setzler, former vice president of sales at O’Neill who’s now president of the Rusty brand at La Jolla.
But it’s going to take some work.
Rusty, hot in the 1990s, lost its mojo and has struggled the past few years to make a splash at surf shops and other retailers.
More popular brands, such as Costa Mesa-based Volcom Inc., have come on and taken away shelf space.
La Jolla wants to take Rusty “back down to the foundation to rebuild it,” said Toby Bost, chief executive of La Jolla.
The plan, according to Setzler: Hire a team of people in product design, marketing and sales; repair relationships with retailers; and design clothes that people want to buy.
“The energy and excitement that made the brand successful needs to be injected back,” he said.
La Jolla is moving ahead despite a legal squabble playing out in the background.
Irvine-based C & C; Cos., which previously held the license to make Rusty clothes and accessories, has sued Rusty’s Australian parent, R And Everything Else Inc.
Unfairly Terminated
C & C; alleges that its Rusty license was unfairly terminated.
“We feel that their termination was not legal and that the termination didn’t follow the detailed terms of the license agreement,” said Dac Clark, C & C; principal.
R And Everything tells a different story.
“We do not believe that they have any basis for going down this path,” said Geoff Backshall, president of R And Everything. “In the meantime, we’ll continue to focus on getting the brand back on track here in the U.S.”
C & C; laid off about 60 people when the Rusty license shifted to La Jolla, Clark said.
C & C; “worked very hard” to find them employment elsewhere, Clark said.
“We are happy to report that most have found new jobs,” he said. “These people were family to us and we were sorry that we were forced to let them go.”
C & C; continues to hold the license for Sanuk Footwear and is getting ready to finalize a license with an undisclosed wakeboard company, Clark said.
The lawsuit comes about a year after Rusty founder, surfboard shaper Rusty Preisendorfer, sold his controlling stake in the company, including the rights to Rusty trademarks, to the brand’s Australian licensee, Vegas Enterprises.
Vegas has a controlling interest in R And Everything Else.
Sale Rumored
There had been rumors that Rusty was going to be sold for a while.
The brand had tried to regroup several times, with hits and misses.
Backshall said he met with several people that wanted Rusty’s U.S. license.
La Jolla “spoke the same language and understood where we were coming from,” he said.
“They are firmly entrenched in the surf apparel market,” Backshall said of La Jolla. “They get it, and that was an important factor when it came to making our decision.”
La Jolla plans to help Rusty regain market share and shelf space,something that “slowly shrank” the past few years, Backshall said.
“Product is king,” Backshall said. “The retailers simply weren’t getting the type of product that (sells out) on a regular basis.”
Enter La Jolla.
The company has led O’Neill clothing on a tear and knows the ropes, Backshall said.
“They have strong relationships with the surf retailers and a proven track record when it comes to sound business practices,” he said.
Rusty needs to generate some buzz around the brand.
People in surf circles know it, due in large part to the popularity of the brand’s surfboards.
But it’s been in the shadows of bigger clothing names, including Huntington Beach-based Quiksilver Inc. and Irvine-based Billabong USA.
La Jolla plans to ramp up Rusty’s clothing offering, particularly in clothes for girls and young women and swimwear.
“This is a marathon not a sprint,” La Jolla Chief Executive Bost said. “We plan on aligning ourselves with this brand for the long haul.”
