David Orr, the GM of Dakine Equipment and longtime Oregon resident, is departing the company as it prepares to move from Hood River, Oregon, to Torrance, Calif.
Dakine Equipment is owned by Dakine licensee JR286 and comprises the part of Dakine’s business that the industry is familiar with – accessories and equipment for the surf, snow, bike and other outdoor markets. JR286 is consolidating Dakine Equipment into JR286’s facilities in Torrance.
David, who is opting not to move to California, previously worked at Keen, Timberland, Reyn Spooner and adidas before joining Dakine in January 2019.
Marquee Brands bought the Dakine brand from Altamont Capital Partners at the end of 2018.
Pamela Levine, who is the Senior Vice President of the Dakine brand and works for Marquee, answered questions for us about the changes.
With the departure of David Orr as GM of Dakine Equipment, will he be replaced?
Pamela Levine: Yes, as JR286 consolidates operations in Torrance they will be looking for a new General Manager of Dakine Equipment.
Any concerns about taking Dakine out of the Hood River environment and the changes in staffing (i.e. the 39 layoffs)?
Pamela Levine: Hood River’s heritage built over the past 36 years will not be lost. We remain committed to our community whether we are in the water, at the mountains, or on a journey in-between and, if anything, we feel even more connected to our community during this time. As the brand moved from its birthplace of Maui to Hood River, where we developed our wind and mountain foundation, the Dakine Equipment business will now move to LA to support the growing demand for lifestyle, travel, and accessory products while maintaining focus on the core sport equipment categories of surf, snow, and bike.
Image courtesy of Dakine
How is the brand responding to the pandemic? Any bright spots you are seeing online or in some other channel?
Pamela Levine: Dakine has always been about two things: community and bringing trusted, durable, and purposeful products to market. The current situation challenged us to rethink how we connect – we weren’t able to surf, snowboard, ski, or mountain bike, and we felt the need to be a source of escape and support during this time.
Since March, we have been leading a weekly social series called ‘Mind Surfing’ which highlights our team riders in surf, mountain biking, skiing and snowboarding via Instagram Live, giving the community an opportunity to interact and get to know them better. You can see the series on Dakine.com.
We have also been celebrating local surf and mountain shops through our “shop local” announcements, highlighting core community retailers who are open for business.
And finally, we will be coming out with a large community program for back to school, a season where Dakine has always been a trusted part of our consumers’ lives.
Through all of this effort, we are seeing great engagement from our community and will remain dynamic to the ever-changing conditions we all facing together.
