Client: Quiksilver is one of the largest manufacturers of surf and boardsport-related clothing, accessories, and related products. The company is based in Huntington Beach, California and operates over 600 stand-alone stores in major cities across the world.

Project: Labbrand created a powerful and effective Chinese verbal identity for Quiksilver. This made the famous brand more accessible to Chinese customers and better known in the huge Chinese market.

Process: Starting with a creative brief between Labbrand and Quiksilver, as well as an analysis of a competitor’s Chinese brand name, Labbrand’s naming team finalized 17 candidates through three rounds of creation. The creative brief was later fine-tuned to include fashion and lifestyle attributes, and then a linguistic check was performed in various regions in China. Through the comprehensive evaluation of the recommended name candidates during consumer focus groups, the best name candidate was finally chosen for registration.

Solution: The final Chinese name selected was奇克尚风 [qí kè shàng fēng]. 奇 [qí] means unusual and unique, and 克[kè] means to overcome. Not only are these two characters phonetically similar to “Quik,” they also implicate the brand’s foreign origin. 尚 [shàng] means both esteem and style; 风 [fēng] means wind and attitude. The last two-character phrase conveys the brand’s fashion and lifestyle attributes. Thus, 奇克尚风 [qí kè shàng fēng] eloquently expresses Quiksilver’s core identity of confidence, style and adventure, while also conveying the brand’s spirit of originality and novelty. Quiksilver’s new Chinese name will appeal to surfing and sports fans, as well as fashion-driven consumers.