VOLCOM stands for the name of Clothing Company in Costa Mesa, California whose visionaries Richard “Wooly” Woolcott and Tucker “T-Dawg” Hall formed it in 1991. The company was officially renamed Volcom Incorporated in 2005. The idea for the company’s clothing line came from its founders’ exposure to the field of sports, so Volcom targets the surfing, snowboarding and skateboarding community with its line.

Its emblem the “stone” logo is reputably synonymous with its outspoken stance in support of the freedom and creativity of the youth audience it targets. The Company’s motto “Youth against Establishment” personifies this very fact. Also as part of its social activism Volcom is an active supporter of the “Let the Kids Ride Free” Campaign.

The “Let the Kids Ride Free” Campaign was actually initiated by Volcom. Its primary focus was to ensure that skateboarding, surfing and snowboarding contests is accessible and of no cost to interested youth. Its appeal was striking as it provided a way for the Company to really assist communities and youth without appropriate financial funding, to take hold of the opportunity to compete in a less imposing environment.
To demonstrate the success of the business since its inception, in June of 2005 Volcom offered 4.69 million shares at $19, a share on the American stock exchange. It raised almost nineteen times that in profit. The Company also has its own recording label which is called Volcom Entertainment. In testament to its success, Volcom in 2008 became owner of the Electric Visual sunglasses product.
As part of Volcom Entertainment, music bands such as Valient Thorr, ASG, Single Frame, Goons of Doom and Birds of Avalon are provided with the opportunity of having branded clothing and accessory lines which foster artiste expression and marketing. Rising musicians are also afforded the opportunity to showcase their talents through competitions and other social ventures.
Volcom’s first retailer was opened at 126 La Brea in Los Angeles, California on November 23, 2002. There are three additional locations in California and six others in the rest of the United States including Boulder, Colorado, Las Vegas Nevada and New York. Overseas on the island of Maui and Oahu in Hawaii, there are three clothing stores in Lahaina, Kaaanapali Whaler’s Village Mall and Waikiki.
In order to increase its international appeal in recent times stores were opened in the following countries France, Indonesia, Tokyo, Japan, Durban, South Africa, Bangkok, Thailand, London, England, Santiago, Chile, São Paulo, Brazil, and Stuttgart, Germany.