Can Pat Tenore do a repeat of RVCA and then some? Time will tell.
In the meantime, fans and newcomers alike received a few notes from the desk of Tenore on why he started his namesake label in a bid to pick up where he could seemingly no longer go with RVCA.
“I wanted to send a note to share the success of the Tenore brand launch with all of you and to show my gratitude and gratefulness for the overwhelming support in my pursuit to create a higher standard in what is called a lifestyle brand,” Tenore wrote in a note to brand followers last week.
Tenore started RVCA in 1999 with Conan Hayes and found success with a label that straddled the worlds of MMA, art, surf and fashion.
The entrepreneur later sold the business first to Billabong International Ltd. in 2010. When the Billabong group fell on hard times, saddled by debt and a consumer pullback in spending, several suitors sniffed the business before walking away from a deal. It was ultimately sold to rival Boardriders in 2018 in a deal valued at roughly AUD$300 million. Most recently, Boardriders parent Oaktree Capital Management sold for $1.3 billion to New York-based Authentic Brands Group last September.
That said, Tenore did not transfer over with RVCA in the Authentic Brands acquisition, the latter of which caused enough of a stir within the surf and skate industry to make outsiders think the world was ending.
Second Act
Instead, Tenore quietly picked up where he left off – pre-Billabong acquisition or corporate parent for that matter. Apparently, a non-compete was never contemplated, or someone has some savvy lawyers.
Either way, he has been carefully laying the groundwork for a second act since his RVCA departure. He snapped up new headquarters in the same city RVCA was based, in Costa Mesa, and partnered with some of surf’s most prominent names (Lisa Andersen and Kelia Moniz to name a few). But, the biggest advantage Tenore the label has: Pat Tenore.
The entrepreneur has a track record in building a brand straddling multiple lifestyles and distribution channels. In a nutshell, RVCA appealed to surfers and fashionistas alike, making it easy to sell in everything from Nomad to Fred Segal and American Rag.
The aim of Tenore, the founder said in his message, is to develop a “brand that is trustworthy, built off integrity and the connectivity of our community.”
Tenore touts the tag line “Highest of the Ordinary” to which the founder wrote is meant to inspire the “best version of yourself, while positively impacting others.”
“Pushing to be better than the day before,” he continued, “by putting in the work and overcoming obstacles along the way to become our ‘highest self.’
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