Introduced to the world by the Beachboys’ music and the movie “The Endless Summer” the surf culture exploded in the 60’s and surf brands were close behind. Cottage industries at first, the “big 3” brands: Quiksilver, Billabong and Rip Curl rode the wave of surf culture’s growing popularity. From 2005 to 2008, the “big three” went on a spending spree, acquiring overvalued brands in poorly timed moves. Ironically the success of the “big three” surf brands also caused them to lose the trust of its core demographic: surfers. Global economic crisis hit and sales began to nose dive.
Despite these brands’ current troubles, the global demand for surf-styled apparel is expected to remain strong. This creates opportunities for a new focused company like M. Nii to establish strong subcultural credibility and to claim their share of the market.
M.Nii is a revival of the original M.Nii boardshorts brand created in the 50’s. History and Hawaiian heritage establish authenticity and local subcultural credibility. Focus is on purity and simplicity of design and quality construction in retro surf inspired clothing styles. The other surf brands focus their brand identity on professional surfers and competitive surfing. I’d like to focus M. Nii’s brand identity on the true love of surfing and the soul of the surfing lifestyle which is very natural, healthy, and pure.
Introduced to the world by the Beachboys’ music and the movie “The Endless Summer” the surf culture exploded in the 60’s and surf brands were close behind. Cottage industries at first, the “big 3” brands: Quiksilver, Billabong and Rip Curl rode the wave of surf culture’s growing popularity. From 2005 to 2008, the “big three” went on a spending spree, acquiring overvalued brands in poorly timed moves. Ironically the success of the “big three” surf brands also caused them to lose the trust of its core demographic: surfers. Global economic crisis hit and sales began to nose dive.
Despite these brands’ current troubles, the global demand for surf-styled apparel is expected to remain strong. This creates opportunities for a new focused company like M. Nii to establish strong subcultural credibility and to claim their share of the market.
M.Nii is a revival of the original M.Nii boardshorts brand created in the 50’s. History and Hawaiian heritage establish authenticity and local subcultural credibility. Focus is on purity and simplicity of design and quality construction in retro surf inspired clothing styles. The other surf brands focus their brand identity on professional surfers and competitive surfing. I’d like to focus M. Nii’s brand identity on the true love of surfing and the soul of the surfing lifestyle which is very natural, healthy, and pure.