Rip Curl

Adventure clothing and equipment retailer

Founded in New Zealand in 1987. Kathmandu shifted manufacturing offshore during the 1990s and does not currently produce any products in-house. In 2006, founder Jan Cameron sold Kathmandu, comprising 46 stores in Australia, New Zealand and Britain, to private equity firms Goldman Sachs JBWere and Quadrant Private Equity. In 2009, Kathmandu was floated on the Australian and NZ stock markets. Approximately 80% of Kathmandu products are manufactured in China. The company currently operates 162 stores, with 47 in New Zealand, 114 in Australia and 1 in the UK.