After 12 years of designing for Billabong, Mandy Fry has left to join a new position at Volcom as Vice President of Women’s—a division they hope to strengthen in the coming years. This announcement, which came yesterday, May 16, 2013, from Volcom, is another blow to beleaguered Billabong which is going through its own series of potential new owners, and represents an important new strategy for Volcom, a leader to action sports lifestyle apparel.
According to Volcom, Mandy will oversee the Volcom women’s merchandising and design teams and will bring a cohesive point of view to the product and brand image. “After 12 amazing years at Billabong, I am now very excited to join the Volcom team and begin a new chapter in my career,” Mandy said. “It will be an honor to work with such a talented group of people. The women’s division has a massive amount of opportunity and I am looking forward to leading the team to new heights.”
“With Mandy leading the women’s division we are now fully equipped to build on an important part of our business. We see an incredible opportunity to further develop our women’s program on a global level,” said Jason Steris, CEO of Volcom. “Mandy’s creative vision and business insight is just what we need to take Volcom women’s to the next level. We are absolutely thrilled and honored to have her join the Volcom team.”
Fry’s work, it should be noted, has been highly acclaimed in the surfwear industry especially, bringing Billabong popularity in Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issues. Fry’s departure from Billabong is among many that have taken place at the brand and it’s various other companies in the past two years.
For Volcom, which is owned by Kerring, Fry will provide a huge asset in shaping up its women’s category, which as our research at Label Networks has shown, is an opportunity for action sports lifestyle and apparel brands.
