Hybrid Apparel inks Hurley women's licensing agreement

By

Gabriella Lacombe

Published
Feb 20, 2020

Cypress, California-based apparel company Hybrid Apparel has entered into a multi-year licensing agreement with the Hurley brand to design, manufacture and sell the surf brand's range of women's apparel.

"We believe Hybrid Apparel has an opportunity to elevate and expand Hurley's women's business based on white space we currently see in the marketplace," said Hybrid Apparel, CEO, Bill Hutchison.

"Hybrid Apparel is a market leader in women's apparel that will now include Hurley in its diverse mix of leading entertainment and pop-culture licenses, with industry-best talent in design, merchandising, sourcing, marketing and sales. This will allow us to bring innovation to the Hurley brand through speed to market with defining and cutting-edge products."

Founded in Huntington Beach in 1999, Hurley was acquired by Bluestar Alliance in 2019. It was formerly owned by Nike, which bought the surf brand in 2002. Earlier this month, Bluestar unveiled its future plans for the brand, including category expansions, a new distribution agreement for the label’s EMEA operations and a new direction for its athlete program. 

Hybrid also announced it has hired 13-year Hurley veteran, Natasha Thomsen, as vice president, women's sales, global brands. Prior to Hurley, Thomsen held a strategic account management role at apparel company, Gamechangers, and in a sales management position at lifestyle brand,  Birdiebee. 

"[Thomsen] has a deep understanding of Hurley brand's roots, culture and consumer dynamics essential to the brand vision," said Hybrid Apparel chief merchandising officer Kristye Anderson.

"Her focus will be to maintain and develop relationships with key retailers and work closely with design and merchandising teams." 

In addition to Hurley, Hybrid's other licensee and production partners have included Adidas Group's Reebok brand and Levi's. Outside of its fashion brand partners, Hybrid serves as a licensee for a variety of food and beverage, game, lifestyle and TV/movie clients, among others.