When Captain Fin began dabbling in apparel more than a decade ago, it built a following among those who appreciated its cheeky humor and vintage aesthetic. Now, owner Liberated Brands hopes to make a splash with an apparel relaunch executives estimate will likely become Captain Fin’s largest source of revenue in the future.
“We’re seeing a trend within fish, freshwater, and Americana, whether with wave pools or brands, where you’re seeing the surf lifestyle cross over into other regions or activities. So, we thought, ‘Great, there’s a bigger opportunity to expand Captain Fin,’” said Liberated Brands CMO Ryan Immegart. “There’s so much equity in what Captain Fin did with apparel prior to Liberated buying it that there is this existing customer base. And, if you look at some of the other brands that do the surfing, fishing positioning, there is a white space as far as Captain Fin and the way the brand projects itself.”
The apparel relaunch, set for Spring 2024, is the first major announcement since Liberated Brands acquired the business last year. The deal added Captain Fin, launched in 2007 by Mitch Abshere, to a portfolio that includes the master licenses for Volcom and Spyder.
Apparel is part of a raft of news coming out of Captain Fin that also includes innovation on the fin side (with the company looking to maintain focus on hardgoods), along with new rider and ambassador deals.
The moves come as the broader action sports industry faces a momentous shift in the business landscape due to the pending sale of Boardriders to Authentic Brands Group. The changing tide presents a potential opportunity for a number of smaller brands.
“I think any emerging brand is thinking that any time there’s a big change with the major players that consume the majority of the specialty real estate, opportunity is there,” Immegart said. “And the reality is you’re going to have different operators coming into the space, taking over different brands and depending on the retailer, they may want to change things up.”
Captain Fin Apparel Potential
While Captain Fin isn’t a new brand, the team is operating with a more entrepreneurial, start-up mentality.
A Captain Fin brand book describes the brand ethos as “learning, leveraging, and liberating to combat the conformity of a mature industry undergoing consolidation.” A new tag line for the brand is “Any Vessel Will Do.”
For Captain Fin, the team is eager to show the market what it can do with apparel.
While Spring 2024 will represent the full breadth of what the company’s been developing since the acquisition, a smaller fall offering begins rollout in small drops this month with T-shirts, fleece and wovens.
Men’s will be the current focus, but Immegart said there have been a few inquiries about women’s. However, there are no confirmed plans to expand into the segment currently.
About 75% of the spring collection has a sustainable attribute to it, such as organic cotton or recycled polyester.
Moving into Fall 2024, apparel will see expanded design influences through its team riders, outside artists, and founder Abshere who was brought in as an ambassador.
“Right now, we are definitely looking at it like we are an emerging brand, and we have to earn our spot – not so much on the fin side because we’ve had a longstanding business since 2007. But when it comes to apparel, it’s such a tough market, and we absolutely want to bring value and also want to be humble and earn our spot,” Immegart said.
The ultimate goal, he said, is to have apparel help turn Captain Fin into a “leading surf brand in the industry.”
Photo courtesy of Captain Fin.
Captain Fin At Retail
Captain Fin is so far seeing a positive response from the market, according to U.S. sales lead Brent Lantz.
“People are responding to the printables programs as well as the cut-and-sew boardshorts, knits, and wovens,” Lantz said.
The company’s currently booking at-once orders for late summer and fall and pre-booking for the Spring 2024 collection.
“We are only a few weeks into the booking cycle and are still seeing accounts with appointments through the month, so we are excited to see the list of Captain Fin apparel stockists grow,” Lantz said.
Surfside Sports, Icons of Surf, Jack’s Surfboards, Huntington Surf & Sport, ET Surf, BC Surf & Sport, Ocean Magic, Island Water Sports, Hanalei Surf Co., Hawaiian Island Creations, Sessions, and several others are among the specialty surf shops in the U.S. carrying the brand (for both apparel and hardgoods).
Overseas accounts that will also be carrying the apparel include Brine, South Swell, The Suns, and Murasaki Sports in Japan; Saltwater Wine, Surfboard Empire, and Keel in Australia; and NZ Shred and Exit Surf in New Zealand.
“We are stoked to welcome back Captain Fin as a brand partner this coming summer,” said Anthony Wilson, managing director of Wilson Retail Co., which owns Saltwater Wine among other retail concepts. “The range looked epic and the brand sits in its own unique corner. We can’t wait for our friends and customers to see it for themselves.”
Photo courtesy of Captain Fin.
Captain Fin Continues Hardgoods Focus
Ultimately, with the flurry of activity happening at the brand, Immegart said the company expects the Captain Fin business to be up this year, driven not only by apparel but by a continued focus on hardgoods, among other initiatives.
In fact, Captain Fin has a new, snap-in fin system that makes it easy to attach a fin without the need for tools. There are also several fin collaborations with athletes coming.
That includes signature fins with new team riders Yago Dora and Ozzie Wright, along with a fin collection in development with Bret Marumoto. Meanwhile, Jesse Guglielmana and Barrett Miller have signed on as the new apparel team riders.
In distribution, region-specific websites were launched in key markets recently.
A licensee in Argentina is opening up the ninth Captain Fin store this month, with the country being the only market to have branded stores.
Plans call for more Captain Fin stores in other markets when, as Immegart said, “the right spot comes or when it makes sense.”
Liberated took over the lease of the former Blue Planet in Hawaii, renaming it Volcom North Shore on June 30. The door marks the first installment of a branded Captain Fin section in a Volcom store since Liberated bought the brand.
Greater investment into the specialty channel is also part of the strategy as Captain Fin, under Liberated, looks to reset and seeks expansion.
“We don’t want to be too aggressive. We know the market’s tough right now and we feel like we have a super cool, robust program, making it easy for retailers to support us without having to move brands around the store,” Immegart said. “With the change that’s going on in the industry, who knows how things will shake out. But with the uncertainty in the market, we felt like there would be a spot for Captain Fin with the strong backing of Liberated.”
Kari Hamanaka can be reached at kari@shop-eat-surf-outdoor.com.
See images from the Captain Fin lookbook here:
