Pacific Sunwear of California, LLC, commonly known as PacSun, is an American retail clothing brand. The company sells lifestyle apparel, along with swim, footwear and accessories designed for teens and young adults. As of 2022, the company operates 325 stores in all 50 states and

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

. PacSun is headquartered in

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orang ...

, and formerly operated a distribution center in

Groveport, Ohio Groveport is a city (United States)#Ohio, city in Franklin County, Ohio, United States. It is a suburb of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus. The population was 6,009 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Groveport had its start as a sing ...

. The company's regional directors, district managers and store positions are located throughout the United States. The company went bankrupt in April 2016 and is now owned by

Golden Gate Capital Golden Gate Capital is an American private equity firm based in San Francisco. The firm makes investments in a number of select industries, including technology, financial services, retail and industrial, through leveraged buyout transactions, as ...

History

Initially founded by Jack Hopkins and Tom Moore in 1980, its roots can be traced back to a small surf shop in

Seal Beach, California Seal Beach is a coastal city in Orange County, California, United States. It was originally known as Bay City before it was incorporated into Orange County under its current on October 24, 1911. As of the 2020 census, the population was 25,242 ...

. PacSun built its business selling merchandise from established surf brands but later expanded to include skate and

streetwear Streetwear is a style of casual clothing which became global in the 1990s. It grew from New York hip hop fashion and Californian surf culture to encompass elements of sportswear, punk fashion, punk, Skateboarding#Culture, skateboarding, 1980s no ...

labels. The company offers products for both men and women that include: jeans, tees, tanks, polos, knits, flannels, hoodies, boardshorts, bikinis, shorts, pants, dresses, rompers, skirts, sweaters, jackets, snow apparel, shoes, sandals and accessories. The company had an

initial public offering An initial public offering (IPO) or stock launch is a public offering in which shares of a company are sold to institutional investors and usually also to retail (individual) investors. An IPO is typically underwritten by one or more investm ...

on March 15, 1993 and at its height had over 1,300 stores in all 50 states. PacSun opened a second chain of stores called d.e.m.o., in 2000. The last of these stores closed in 2008. On February 23, 2005, the company restated results for certain periods to correct its

accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entity, economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activit ...

for

lease A lease is a contractual arrangement calling for the user (referred to as the ''lessee'') to pay the owner (referred to as the ''lessor'') for the use of an asset. Property, buildings and vehicles are common assets that are leased. Industrial ...

s. In 2012, PacSun collaborated with celebrity influencers

Kendall Jenner Kendall Nicole Jenner (born November 3, 1995) is an American model, socialite and media personality. She rose to fame in the reality television show ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians,'' in which she starred for 20 seasons and nearly 15 years ...

and

Kylie Jenner Kylie Kristen Jenner (born August 10, 1997) is an American media personality, socialite and businesswoman. She starred in the E! reality television series ''Keeping Up with the Kardashians'' from 2007 to 2021 and then the Hulu reality televisi ...

to produce their own fashion line. From 2009 to 2017, Gary Schoenfeld was the CEO of PacSun. Following his departure from the organization, James Gulmi became the interim CEO. In 2016, PacSun filed for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, w ...

and reorganized through a debt-for-equity restructuring agreement with

, emerging as a privately owned company. At the time of the bankruptcy filing, there were 593 stores with no immediate plans to close any locations. In 2018, PacSun merged with Eddie Bauer, also owned by Golden Gate, to form PSEB. Mike Egeck, CEO and President of Eddie Bauer, became the Chief Executive Officer of PSEB, with oversight of both the Eddie Bauer and PacSun brands. James Gulmi continued to serve as a PSEB director. On February 4, 2020, Egeck stepped down from his role of CEO, but remained as an active

Board Board or Boards may refer to: Flat surface * Lumber, or other rigid material, milled or sawn flat ** Plank (wood) ** Cutting board ** Sounding board, of a musical instrument * Cardboard (paper product) * Paperboard * Fiberboard ** Hardboard, a ...

member and shareholder. PSEB announced that James Gulmi would become the interim CEO, a role he previously held from 2017 to 2018. At the time of the announcement, PacSun was down to 400 stores. On September 25, 2020, PacSun launched the 'Gender Neutral Shop', a unisex collection of basic clothing, graphics, pants, hoodies and sneakers. With this collection, the company is "taking a big step towards a more sartorially inclusive future, joining in on a generational movement of less rules and more options".

Marketing practices

In May 2011, PacSun launched its first national advertising campaign called 'Dress Irresponsibly'. The highlight of the campaign included television commercials aired across a variety of networks that featured famous athletes from the brands they work with. Appearances by Rob Machado, Bucky Lasek, Chris Pfanner, Kelia Moniz, Ryan Dungey and Leo Romero, were significant in helping re-establish the brand among its male audience. Other elements of the campaign included print media in both endemic and fashion publications, and a digital engagement initiative on

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

titled 'Dress Irresponsibly: Style Challenge.' Through a customized Facebook app fans were encouraged to upload photos of themselves that met weekly style challenges in exchange for a chance to win a styling gig at ''

Nylon Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups. Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...

'' in New York City.

Gallery

File:PacSun 2003.jpg File:PacSun 2004.png File:D.E.M.O. 2003.jpg File:D.E.M.O. 2004.png File:D.E.M.O. 2006.png

References

External links

*{{Official website, www.pacsun.com Clothing retailers of the United States Clothing brands of the United States Swimwear manufacturers Companies based in Anaheim, California American companies established in 1980 Clothing companies established in 1980 Retail companies established in 1980 Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2016 Companies formerly listed on the Nasdaq Surfwear brands 1980 establishments in California