Globe International

Globe International

Industry	Skateboard, Surf, snow
Founded	1994
Headquarters	Melbourne, Australia; Los Angeles, US; Hossegor, France; Gold Coast, Australia; London, England; Lyon, France
Products	Shoes, apparel, skateboards, accessories
Website	www.globe.tv

Founded in 1994 by three Australian brothers, Globe International Limited is a company that designs, markets and distributes apparel, footwear and skateboard hard-goods (decks, wheels, trucks, etc.) brands for the action sports and streetwear fashion markets. Globe International’s core business is divided between proprietary brands, licensed brands and distributed brands, and its products are sold in approximately 100 countries. As of September 2013, the company's international offices are located in Melbourne, Australia; Los Angeles, United States (US); Hossegor, France; Lyon, France; London, United Kingdom (UK); the Gold Coast, Australia; and Shenzhen, China.^[1] The company is listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and operates in the following three segments: Australasia, North America and Europe.

History

Globe International was established in the 1980s, born out of Hardcore Enterprises an Australia-based company specializing in products that appealed to the skateboard and youth culture markets. In 1984, former Australian skateboarding champions Peter and Stephen Hill, along with brother and current Globe International CEO Matt Hill, founded Hardcore and it rapidly expanded to become one of the world's largest skateboard distribution companies.^[2] The Hills cited that they were unsatisfied with the lack of quality skate products they required, and thus they went into business to import US skate products to Australia.^[3]

The Hills continued to promote skateboarding and wrote two successful books on the subject^[4][5] and became prolific skate film producers. Through constant promotions, tours, contests, video and magazine advertising, Hardcore became a driving force behind the skateboarding explosion during the mid-1980s in Australia and New Zealand. Hardcore’s expansion continued and their first diversification company "Die Hard Pty Ltd" was founded in 1987 as the clothing and accessories division of the business. Die Hard's first licensed label was Vision Streetwear.

Die Hard went on to produce premier labels under license for the Australian and New Zealand markets such as Stussy, Mossimo, Freshjive, Paul Frank, Ecko Unltd, Counter Culture, Split, Girl Star, Undergirl and World Industries. The Hills also co-founded iconic streetwear brand Mooks which operated under the Die Hard umbrella. Die Hard became known as Globe International’s Streetwear Division and was one of the largest suppliers of branded youth clothing in Australia and New Zealand when it was sold to Pacific Brands in 2006.

In 1995 Globe International established its US operation in Los Angeles, California, where the Globe brand is now a part of the American boardsports sub-culture and a key supplier to major retailers of boardsports apparel, footwear and skateboard hard-goods.

In 2001 Globe International listed on the Australian Stock Exchange and achieved the Initial Public Offer goals.^[6][7]

In 2002 Globe International acquired Kubic Marketing, a holding company that owned World Industries and Dwindle Distribution, which, at the time, was the parent company for skateboard brands such as Enjoi, Blind, Darkstar, and Tensor.^[8] Acquiring Dwindle, a company founded by professional skateboarders Rodney Mullen and Steve Rocco, made Globe International one of the world’s biggest skateboard companies.

In 2003 Globe International established its European headquarters, which is based along the south-west surf coast of France in Hossegor. As of 2013, the European office sells directly in the major boardsports markets of the UK, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Netherlands, and Austria, among others. Additionally, all other significant markets in Europe are serviced by third-party distributors.^{[citation needed]}

Having established a stable of proprietary brands and an international distribution network in 2006, Globe International made a strategic decision to divest itself of its licensed Australian Streetwear Division to Pacific Brands and focus on further international expansion of the company’s proprietary brands.^[9]

In 2009 Globe International added to its brand portfolio by acquiring Europe’s number one skateboard brand Cliché and expanding it through international markets.^[10] In 2010 Globe International re-entered the Australian streetwear market and established a new division entitled "4Front Distribution", a company that is responsible for the Australian distribution of brands such as Obey, WeSC and Neff. Globe also moved its Melbourne headquarters to the inner-city suburb of Port Melbourne during the same year, occupying a building that was formerly owned by chocolate company Cadbury's.^[11]

As of September 2012, Globe operates its own wood manufacturing centre for the skateboard decks that are distributed by Dwindle. The DSM (Douglas Street Manufacturing) Premium Woodshop is located in China and maple wood is imported from Canada for the production process.^[12] DSM was first announced in 2003 following a three-year development process that involved the collaboration of Mullen and Dwindle's former president, Frank Messman. The announcement caused a widespread surprised reaction in the skateboard industry, as production had previously been solely based in North America, and concern was raised regarding job losses. Matt Hill, Dwindle's vice-president at the time, stated: "When you get down to the labor issues, if we sell a lot more boards, then we’ll create jobs here (in the U.S.A.), it’ll open a lot more doors."^[13]

As part of the company's Spring/Summer 2013 range, Globe released the new "Lyte" shoe design that fuses "classic sneaker styling with ultra lite athletic sole materials",^[14] David Gonzales's second signature skateboard shoe "The Sabbath", and the "Agius" shoe model from Australian surf team rider Dion Agius.^[15]

As of September 2013, the company operates branded "Globe" retail stores in three Australian locations: St Kilda, Melbourne, Victoria; Torquay, Victoria; and Gold Coast, Queensland.^[16] Globe surf team rider Taj Burrow won the 2013 Hurley Pro event in September 2013 for the first time, beating fellow Australian Julian Wilson.^[17]

Proprietary brands

• Globe
• Gallaz
• FXD
• Chapter
• Dwindle
• enjoi
• Blind
• Almost
• Cliché
• Darkstar
• Tensor
• Speed Demons
• Superior^[18]
• Dusters

Licensed brands

• Stussy
• Vison Streetwear
• Obey
• Neff^[19]

Distributed brands

• Girl
• Chocolate
• Thrasher
• Flip
• Royal
• Lakai Limited Footwear
• Juxtapoz
• Skate Mental^[20]
• Glassy
• 3D

Skate team

• Rodney Mullen
• Mark Appleyard
• David González
• Chris Haslam
• Ryan Decenzo
• Louie Barletta

Surf Team

• Dion Agius
• Taj Burrow
• CJ Hobgood
• Damien Hobgood
• Nate Tyler
• Yadin Nicol
• Brendon Gibbens
• Creed McTaggart
• Mark Occhilupo
• Pancho Sullivan

Movies

• Canvas^[21]

Skate

• Canvas^[22]
• Opinion^[23]
• United By Fate 1-6,^{[24][25][26][27][28][29]}

Surf

• Somewhere, Anywhere, Everywhere^[30]
• The Secret Machine^[31]
• New Emissions of Light and Sound^[32]
• Ungu^[33]
• Year Zero^[34]
• Electric Blue Heaven
• Strange Rumblings [In production]

Major events

Skate

• Globe World Cup Skateboarding - Melbourne, Australia 2002^[35]
• Globe World Cup Skateboarding - Melbourne, Australia 2003^[36]
• Globe World Cup Skateboarding - Melbourne, Australia 2004^[37]
• Globe World Cup Skateboarding - Melbourne, Australia 2005^[38]
• The Global Assault!!! - Melbourne, Australia 2006^[39]
• Double Stack Cash Attack - Gold Coast, Australia 2007^[40]
• Slaughter at the Opera - Sydney, Australia 2008^[41]

Surf

• Globe Pro Fiji WCT Event - Tavarua Island, Fiji 2005^[42]
• Globe Pro Fiji WCT Event - Tavarua Island, Fiji 2006^[43]
• Globe Pro Fiji WCT Event - Tavarua Island, Fiji 2008^[44]

Special projects

Led by its Special Project Division, Globe has worked with other well-known brands and artists, including:

• The Clash^[45]
• Jason Ellis^[46]
• Devo^[47]
• Christies Of London
• G-Shock^[48]
• Gears Of War
• Splatterhouse^[49]
• Gojira
• Sekure D
• Wayne 'Rabbit' Bartholemew
• Martin Potter
• Pete Townend^[50]
• Halo X
• Neff^[51]
• Beavis and Butt-Head

References

External links

• Globe
• Globe International corporate site
• Dwindle Distribution
• Globe Shoes UK Retailer