Mossimo Giannulli

Mossimo Giannulli was born and raised in southern California, a region of the country heavily influenced by a casual, beach lifestyle. In 1987, while still in his early twenties, Mossimo had an idea to capitalize on that lifestyle. With a loan from his father, he started a small beach lifestyle company out of a garage on Balboa Island in Newport Beach, California. By marketing solely to surf shops, Mossimo’s company grossed $1 million in its first year.

In 1991, Mossimo expanded the line to include sweatshirts, knits and sweaters. By 1995, the collection included women’s apparel and men’s tailored suits. After only eight years in business, Mossimo, Inc. had grown into a multi-million dollar lifestyle sportswear and accessories company. At the time, Mossimo was reported to be the youngest CEO ever of a New York Stock Exchange company.

In 1996, following expansion of the line, Mossimo realized a need to inject new energy into the brand. As Mossimo explained, “From 1987 to 1996, we were on an absolute roll. Tons of profit, tons of growth…but we needed a stronger infrastructure to keep up.” On March 28, 2000, Mossimo, Inc. announced a major, multi-product licensing agreement with Target stores.