How Pacsun Transformed From a Traditional Retailer to a Gen Z Lifestyle Brand

If you grew up in the 90s or early 2000, chances are you remember PacSun as the ultimate spot for a cool California surf style.

Fast forward to today and it is one of the greatest comeback stories in modern retail after a top hatch in 2016, the brand completely reinvented itself to capture a whole new gen of Gen Z shoppers will joining me live here at the New York Stock Exchange to talk about revamping a.

Legacy brand as well as navigating today's retail economy is Brieana Olson, the CEO of Pacsun.

Bree, great to have you here.

Thank you so much for joining me.

Thank you for having me.

Well, when we think about PacSun, depending on how old you are, you might have different perceptions of the brand, but tell us what you have done to revamp PacSun.

Yeah, when I joined PacSun, PacSun was really a retailer, and today we are proudly a brand.

Is really acknowledged by Gen Z as one of their favorite brands and what we had to do to do that was really to lead with purpose and Purpose L was an inside job first and then we really moved it to our community and bringing our community in to inspire the next generation of youth and really build community at the intersection of music, fashion, art, and sport.

And Bree, when we think about what's changed in the last couple of decades, it is the introduction of technology.

So depending on how active you are across social media platforms, you might be glued to your smartphone all hours of the day.

So tell us what you did to capture Gen Z's attention.

Yeah, I think first our philosophy was to meet them.

They are, so if they're spending an inordinate amount of time on TikTok or Snapchat, Discord or Reddit, even the resurgence of the malls, meeting them back in our 300+ stores and giving them experiences that they haven't experienced before.

And so I think it was really important to lean into the digital age, but to also acknowledge Jen.

Alpha is digitally native and so I think the integration of technology is very fluid for these generations and both Gen Z and Gen Alpha really look at it as a uniform world where they can go seamlessly between online and in store shopping on TikTok shopping on YouTube.

Yeah, and of course we have to talk about authenticity here, especially when we're talking about social media.

So what's the difference when we're talking about the Gen Z demographic versus say our generation?

Yeah, I think Gen Z, first of all, there are some very large misconceptions about them, but they can be very brand loyal.

And they are looking for brands that stand for purpose, and I think for us with Gen Z it was really important to understand the things that drive purchasing patterns such as music, for example, is the largest way that Gen Z and young people identify with their style, and we learned that through the PacSun Youth Report.

Which is a report where we survey 6000 young people each year to really get at the emotive why behind these consumption pattern changes, and we do that in partnership with Global Data.

Yeah, and I know that purpose is very important to you.

You just came out with the book co-created, so we are talking about a time when Americans out there are living through a key-shaped economy and grappling with the cost of everything seemingly rising.

So how are you navigating the landscape right now?

Yes, I think it's really important to offer the consumer something that has great value, but that also provides them an emotional connection.

And what I think PacSun has successfully done over the last decade is to move from retailer that carried other brands perhaps in the surf and skate realm and move into really having a brand of our own.

So over 50% of our sales are actually through the PacSun brand, and denim is a huge piece of that.

So PacSun denim and the virality that we've seen in TikTok with the Astra Jean has been a really. piece of it and so I think that is an important part of really grounding ourselves and connecting with these young generations.

And finally, Bree, before I let you go, we are here at the New York Stock Exchange and we're halfway through the 2026 mark, almost there.

But given the fact that it is the summer months, a lot of young people are going to be going to the beach and enjoying outdoor sports.

So when we're talking about.

For PacSun, what is the vision for the future?

Yeah, so PacSun's purpose is to inspire the next generation of youth, and you know, the way that we do that is bringing our community to co-create the future of the brand alongside us.

One of the initiatives that we've had that has been very meaningful to the brand is our PacSun Youth Advisory Council, which is comprised of 14 young people between the age of 12 and 26.

Who are helping us forge the path forward and so I think really continuing to be a brand that is building with the next generation as opposed to a brand that is in command and control, speaking to the generation or audiences, having that real pivot point is super important.

Well, Bree, it was wonderful to have you on the show.

Thank you so much for joining us today and thank you so much for sharing your story.

Thank you for having me.

My pleasure.