ABG Plans to Build on the Success of Spyder With Volcom Partner Liberated Brands
Authentic Brands Group (ABG), a global brand owner, marketing and entertainment company, today announces the transition of its core licenses for Spyder, a leading active lifestyle brand, to Liberated Brands. Through the long-term agreement, Liberated Brands will assume outerwear and apparel sourcing, product design, marketing, wholesale, e- commerce and retail store operations across the U.S., Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, U.K., Russia and select territories in the European Union.
“We’re excited to be partnering with Liberated Brands on Spyder. We’ve had a successful three- year relationship with them growing Volcom’s presence around the world and look forward to continuing the process with Spyder,” said Corey Salter, COO of ABG.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Spyder to the Liberated Brands operation,” said Todd Hymel, CEO of Liberated Brands. “Together with ABG, our shared vision is to expand the robust Spyder universe to further encompass all omnichannel touchpoints, from digital and e-commerce to traditional bricks and mortar, while continuing to offer customers the ultimate shopping experience.”
Liberated Brands is a strategic partnership between ABG and the Volcom management team. As the dedicated operating platform for Volcom, one of the most iconic brands in surf, skate and snow, Liberated Brands brings unparalleled capabilities in brand building, technical design, specialized retail, athlete ambassadors, action sports marketing and e-commerce. They also operate over 100 Volcom-branded stores around the world.
Liberated Brands intends to leverage the expertise and know-how it has built over the last decade with Volcom to continue the expansion of Spyder into a full four-season business and broaden its global footprint.
Spyder has been the exclusive official apparel partner of the U.S. Ski Team since 1989 and Volcom signed on as the official apparel partner of the U.S. Snowboarding Team in 2019. Todd Hymel continued, “As brands with deep roots in active and outdoor, there are a lot of synergies between Spyder and Volcom in terms of design innovation, distribution, content creation and athlete alliances.”
Spyder’s business operations will transition to Liberated Brands and the Spyder team will continue to be headquartered in Boulder, Colorado.
Spyder is currently available in over 150 direct-to-consumer retail outposts globally as well as department stores, sporting goods stores and specialty retailers throughout North America, Europe, Middle East, South Korea and China.