Quiksilver reveals the reasons for pulling the plug on Quiksilver Pro New York
Quiksilver’s Vice-President of Marketing Mike Matey delivered the much-awaited explanation for the decision of his company to cancel Quiksilver Pro New York from the 2012 Association of Surfing Professionals (ASP) World Tour, citing financial constraints
and the after-math of Hurricane as the reason for pulling the plug on the pinnacle event of the ASP Dream Tour.
According to Matey, “It's a great question, but it came down to economic realities. Quiksilver Pro New York was an expensive project from the get-go, and Hurricane Irene created additional complexities that are still being assessed.”
Ever since America was hit by recession in 2008, companies have been involved in budget cuts and Quiksilver was no exception either. While they had been downsizing their work force, they had not reduced their commitment to surfing and not only kept America’s
legendary Kelly Slater and Dane Reynolds under extremely expensive contracts, but also held events such as Quiksilver Pro New York to bring the sport to urban locations.
While the company was facing a difficulty in meeting the financial requirements of bringing surfing to the shores of New York, Hurricane Irene added to their complexities of keeping the event alive. Even though the city initially decided to cancel the event,
the event eventually took place, but without the musical festival and other additional programmes.
Matey conceded that the event had played a huge role in raising awareness about Quiksilver and many of surfing’s phenomenal athletes. Quiksilver knew since the start that it would have to bear huge expenses for putting an event like Quiksilver Pro New York,
but the recent circumstances have forced them to take a break. However, the warm reception of the crowd in the recent years is compelling Quiksilver to bring the event back to East in 2013.
The ASP and Quiksilver had announced the cancellation of Quiksilver Pro New York from the 2012 ASP World Tour schedule on Friday, December 16. While the ASP Media Director Dave Prodan had conceded that certain factors had led to the decision, he had not
revealed what these factors were. Numerous attempts were made to get an opinion of Quiksilver on the cancellation of Quiksilver Pro New York, but to no avail. It was only recently that the company decided to open up about the factors that forced them to take
the regretful decision.
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