PacSun, short for Pacific Sunwear, is an American retailer of youth clothing that began in 1980 as a small surf shop in Seal Beach, California, opened by Jack Hopkins and Tom Moore. Now based in Anaheim and owned by the investment firm Golden Gate Capital, it runs about 325 stores across 46 states and Puerto Rico. Swimwear, bralettes and soft intimates are one part of a teen and young-adult range that also covers denim, tees, streetwear and shoes. Earlier descriptions of PacSun as a Hawaiian brand are wrong: it is Californian from the start.
A Seal Beach surf shop, 1980
Seal Beach sits at the northern end of Orange County's coastline, and in 1980 a surf shop there needed surf brands to fill its racks. PacSun built its early business selling established surf labels to local kids. Over the following decade it widened the offer to skate and streetwear labels, following its customers as Southern California youth style moved off the beach and into the mall.
The mall was where PacSun grew. Its stores carried a version of the coast to shopping centers far from any ocean, and the format scaled well.
PacSun's mall years and the IPO
The company went public on March 15, 1993. Through the 1990s and 2000s it expanded rapidly, and at its peak it ran more than 1,300 stores in all 50 states. It also tried a second concept, a chain called d.e.m.o., which operated from 2000 until it was closed in 2008.
The product list grew with the store count. By the 2010s PacSun stocked jeans, tees, tanks, polos, flannels, hoodies, boardshorts, bikinis, shorts, dresses, rompers, skirts, sweaters, jackets, snow apparel, shoes, sandals and accessories, for young men and women alike.
Kendall, Kylie and the swim racks
Celebrity product arrived early at PacSun. In 2012 Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner launched their own fashion line with the retailer. For a chain that depended on teenage girls, two teenage reality television stars were a direct line to the customer.
Swimwear has always mattered more at PacSun than at most mall retailers, because summer and the beach are central to the brand's image. The women's swim offer leans toward triangle bikini tops, bandeaus and cheeky or high-cut bottoms in prints and solid colors, alongside bralettes and lounge sets that sit somewhere between underwear and outerwear. This encyclopedia records about 698 PacSun products, most of them swim separates and soft bralette-style tops. PacSun's position here is closer to Aerie than to a lingerie specialist: casual, youthful, priced for teenagers and sold as part of a whole outfit.
Chapter 11 in 2016
Mall traffic declined through the 2000s and 2010s, and the teen retailers that had grown fastest were hit hard. PacSun filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April 2016. The restructuring converted debt into equity, and Golden Gate Capital became its controlling owner. PacSun emerged as a private company.
The store fleet is now about a quarter of its peak size. Revenue in 2025 was reported at about $950 million, which shows that the smaller chain still does substantial business.
Emma Chamberlain, Formula 1 and the Rams
After the bankruptcy PacSun leaned harder on partnerships to stay relevant to a young audience. It worked with the YouTuber Emma Chamberlain in 2021. In 2022 it signed a multi-year licensing deal with Formula 1, putting racing merchandise into a chain built on surf and skate. It also built ties with Los Angeles sports teams, including the Rams and LAFC.
In September 2025 PacSun hosted its first Purpose Partner Summit, gathering more than 300 industry figures. Forty-five years after Hopkins and Moore opened in Seal Beach, the surf shop is gone, but bikinis remain one of the clearest links back to it.
Last updated
Sources
- en.wikipedia.org: PacSun
- pacsun.com
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