Sanuk shut down its offices in Orange County Thursday and moved to the headquarters of parent company Deckers Brands in Goleta near Santa Barbara.
Members of the Sanuk team told us only a few people are moving to Goleta to take roles there.
The sales team is one of the few departments that will keep on several members who will work remotely, we are told, including Jeff Booth and Erik Ecklund.
Otherwise, the senior leadership team will no longer be with the brand.
President Jake Brandman is gone, and VP of Marketing Ethan Anderson choose not to move. VP of Global Product Trisha Hegg and a few members of her team are continuing for a few months to help the company during the transition but also chose not to move with the brand up north.
Deckers is hiring a whole new team for Sanuk in many areas of the company and Deckers will absorb some other backend positions.
Lots of people who previously worked in Irvine are now out of jobs, including some who had been with the brand for many years.
People I spoke to estimate about 90% of the people who worked at Sanuk have lost their jobs or will lose their temporary, transition jobs after Deckers fills positions in Goleta.
SES tried repeatedly for more than a week to get a comment and information from Deckers for this story, but the company did not provide information.
The two months between when the Irvine office closure was announced until the final day yesterday have been fairly chaotic, we are told.
The Sanuk staff worked to set the new teams up with what they will need, but since many positions are not yet filled in Goleta, things are still somewhat up in the air.
However, several former Sanuk employees told us they believe in the brand’s resilience and its ability to survive the changes.
Others worry that a brand that seems to have lost some of its special sauce since the Deckers acquisition and the eventual departure of Founder Jeff Kelley may travel even farther away from its DNA by moving north and becoming more intertwined with Deckers.
Deckers’ goal has been to grow the brand beyond its surf roots to a bigger audience while keeping a foothold in the surf market, a tricky balancing act for many brands in the industry.
When Deckers announced the Sanuk move at the end of January, executives said the goal was to help cut costs and “enhance Sanuk’s growth prospects,” by leveraging Deckers’ infrastructure.
Teva President Wendy Yang will now oversee Sanuk, and she will also have responsibility for the Hoka One One brand. Teva, Sanuk and Hoka One One will all be part of the new Performance Lifestyle group, which Yang will lead.
Sanuk has had some hits in the past few years, including with its popular Yoga Sling style, and has grown revenue since the Deckers acquisition. It has also greatly expanded its women’s business and its casual shoe offering for men. But the brand has been struggling lately and not meeting its targets. Sanuk’s sales declined in the three most recently reported quarters, 7%, 9% and 17% respectively.
Sanuk’s fiscal year ended yesterday, and Deckers has not yet reported full year results.
Sanuk has more than doubled in size since Deckers acquired it in 2011 for $120 million plus earn-outs.
In fiscal 2014, Sanuk’s revenue totaled $102.7 million.
In 2010, before the acquisition, Sanuk revenues totaled $43 million.
