The La Jolla Group (LJG) is exiting the O’Neill Clothing license early after deciding its operating platform business, which provides backend services to small and mid-sized brands, is more profitable, fits the company’s core competency and has more potential to grow.
LJG has held the O’Neill Clothing license since 1993 and also designs and distributes the Voyager brand globally and Hang Ten apparel in the United States under license. In addition, the company invests in and provides shared services to other consumer brands, including PSD Underwear.
The last season LJG will ship O’Neill is Spring/Summer ’27, and the change in direction will lead to job cuts at LJG, including some that took place this week.
Stefan Smit, General Manager Global for the O’Neill trademark owner, sent SESO the following statement about the O’Neill Clothing licensing change.
“As La Jolla Group transitions out of the O’Neill Clothing license, we’re actively in conversations with new partners who share our ambition, commitment to the brand’s DNA and performance ethos. Our global athlete roster remains fully supported, and that’s not changing,” Smit said in an emailed statement to SESO.
“O’Neill turns 75 next year, and we’re genuinely excited about it. It’s a milestone we plan to celebrate in a big way and is just as much an opportunity to look ahead at what the next chapter of the brand looks like.
“On the collection side, we’re focused on finding the right partner to bring Fall/Winter 2027 to the North American market. We’re optimistic about the discussions underway and expect to have more to share in the near term. At the same time, we want to thank La Jolla Group for a productive partnership over many years.”
While neither party commented to SESO on the state of the relationship between the two, there was a lawsuit filed between them in federal court in 2024. This month, there was a joint stipulation filed to dismiss the case.
LJG CEO Daniel Neukomm answered some questions for SESO about this significant move.
Why has La Jolla Group decided to exit the O’Neill Clothing license after more than 30 years?
La Jolla Group (LJG) CEO Daniel Neukomm: La Jolla Group has been the steward of O’Neill apparel in the United States for 33 years, and we are enormously proud of what we have built together. Over that time, LJG has also developed a portfolio of brands, business models, relationships, and infrastructure that extends well beyond surf.
Operational execution has always been our greatest strength. The success of our platform partnerships, most recently with PSD, has demonstrated that we can use those capabilities to help smaller brands operate with the scale and sophistication of much larger companies.
We believe the future of the consumer market will include a growing number of small and mid-sized brands that need exactly what LJG has spent decades building.
The decision to conclude the O’Neill license is therefore a byproduct of establishing a new north star for our company. It is a cooperative decision with O’Neill’s trademark owners that allows both organizations to focus on their respective futures and manage the transition responsibly.
What factors relating to the surf industry and retail channel influenced the decision?
Daniel Neukomm: Surf remains an important and culturally powerful category, but the market has changed. Consumer preferences have broadened, the wholesale channel has consolidated, and retailers are looking for greater diversity, innovation, and newness on their floors.
At the same time, many promising emerging brands lack the operational sophistication required to serve large retailers consistently. They may have compelling products and strong consumer demand but struggle with forecasting, production, inventory, fulfillment, financial controls, and working capital.
When we step back and look objectively at the market and our own capabilities, we see an opportunity to connect those needs: retailers want new and differentiated brands, while emerging brands need a proven operating platform that can help them scale responsibly.
My experience over the past 13 years, both within LJG and outside the company, has given me conviction about this evolution. Leadership requires honoring what has been built while responding decisively to what the market is telling you.
What is the last season LJG will produce, sell, and deliver into the market?
Daniel Neukomm: Spring/Summer 2027 will be the final O’Neill season produced, sold, and delivered by LJG.
We will execute Spring/Summer ’27 in full. Every wholesale order will be honored, every account commitment will stand, and our partners will receive what they have contracted for.
Beginning with Fall/Holiday 2027, responsibility for the O’Neill apparel business in the U.S. will transition to either the O’Neill trademark owner or a new licensee that they will announce.
Our priority is to make the transition as orderly and seamless as possible for O’Neill, our customers, employees, sales representatives, and other business partners.
What does this mean for La Jolla Group employees who focus on O’Neill?
Daniel Neukomm: We are managing the transition thoughtfully and with respect for the people who have built this business. Many members of our team have invested years and, in some cases, decades, in O’Neill, and their contributions deserve to be recognized.
The timing will vary depending on each role. Some positions will transition earlier as their work related to Spring/Summer ’27 concludes, while others will continue through the sell-in, delivery, and sell-through process. Wherever it makes operational and organizational sense, we will look for opportunities to reassign team members to the LJG operating platform or to our growing portfolio of brands.
We also recognize that a transformation of this magnitude creates uncertainty. We are committed to communicating directly, treating people fairly, and providing as much clarity as possible throughout the process.
What does the transition mean for LJG’s sales representatives?
Daniel Neukomm: Our sales representatives have been central to building the O’Neill business and LJG’s relationships with retailers across the country.
For Spring/Summer 2027, nothing changes. Our representatives will continue selling and supporting the O’Neill line throughout the full SS27 season. Beginning with Fall/Holiday 2027, the sales process will be handled by either the O’Neill trademark owners or a new licensee that they will announce in due course.
Our conversations with our representatives are also focused on the opportunity ahead across the LJG portfolio. We see meaningful potential in Hang Ten, Voyager, and the brands that will join the LJG operating platform. Our representatives possess valuable relationships and market knowledge, and we want to build the next chapter with them wherever possible.
How will giving up the O’Neill’s license change La Jolla Group’s business model?
Daniel Neukomm: This represents the largest transformation of LJG’s business model in the company’s history.
We are refocusing the organization around the LJG operating platform, providing consumer-brand partners with the backend capabilities they need to scale faster, operate with greater sophistication, and reduce the cost and risk of building those capabilities internally.
Our platform includes design and development support, sourcing and production, finance, technology, logistics, human resources, marketing enablement, and distribution. This allows founders to remain focused on product, brand, sales, marketing, and community while relying on LJG for the operational backbone.
We will also continue growing our Emerging Brands division, including Hang Ten and Voyager. Building these brands across broader channels allows us to continuously develop and refine the capabilities we offer our platform partners.
What are LJG’s core strengths, and why does this pivot make sense?
Daniel Neukomm: LJG’s core strengths reside in its operating backbone: finance, technology, logistics, human resources, sourcing, production, and deep relationships with suppliers and retailers.
Many emerging brands have strong products and authentic consumer demand but lack the capital, experience, bargaining power, and management bandwidth required to build these capabilities internally. That can constrain growth and make it more difficult to attract investment.
LJG can provide this infrastructure faster, better, and at a lower cost than most brands could achieve on their own. Importantly, our model leaves founders and front-end teams in control of their brands and their futures.
The level of unsolicited inbound interest from potential partners is significant. We see an opportunity to create value for LJG, for founders seeking a better way to scale, and for retailers looking for differentiated brands that can execute reliably.
LJG is a family-owned and -operated business and one of the last remaining large companies in the surf industry to retain its independence. What is the separation from O’Neill like emotionally for your family?
Daniel Neukomm: O’Neill is deeply woven into our family’s story, and I will not pretend this is purely a business decision or that it is without emotion.
For more than three decades, generations of employees, sales representatives, retail partners, and members of our family have poured an enormous amount of themselves into the brand. We are proud of that history and grateful for the opportunity to have helped steward one of the most iconic names in surf.
LJG is also one of the last remaining family-owned and -operated companies of scale in the surf industry. That independence has always required us to balance respect for our history with the responsibility to make clear-eyed decisions about the future.
Great brands outlast the people and companies entrusted with stewarding them, and O’Neill is unquestionably a great brand.
Transitioning it back to its trademark owners for its next chapter is the right decision for O’Neill, while allowing our family and our team to focus their energy on what La Jolla Group will build next.
This transition does not diminish the legacy we built together. It completes an important chapter of it and creates the opportunity to begin another.
Related story: La Jolla Group Owner on 30 Years of Business, State of Industry
