Seafolly is sold to foreign buyer Bondi Brands Group just months after the swimwear company split Australia with non-binary model Deni Todorovič

One of Australia’s most iconic swimwear brands has been sold just months after customers threatened to boycott the label over its inclusion of a non-binary model.

Seafolly, a brand promoted by models such as Lara Worthington, Miranda Kerr and Gigi Hadid, was sold by American retail specialist L Catterton in a deal worth around $70 million.

The sale comes just months after the swimwear company was bailed out of administration and forced to cut its operations in half from 60 to 30 stores.

Seafolly’s overseas buyer is the Bondi Brands Group, which was first established in June, according to documents from the Hong Kong Companies Registry.

The main founder is clothing manufacturer Vision Brands Group, with the company also having ties to other offshore shareholders, the Australian Financial Review reports.

Seafolly caused a backlash in March when non-binary activist Deni Todorovič, who uses she/she pronouns and identifies as non-binary, was pictured wearing lime green Seafolly bikini bottoms and a matching cover-up (pictured)

The company was first put up for sale four months ago and FTI Consulting was brought in to handle the sale of one of Australia’s most nostalgic swimwear brands.

Seafolly sparked backlash in March when non-binary activist Deni Todorovič, who uses she/she pronouns and identifies as non-binary, was pictured wearing lime green Seafolly bikini bottoms and a matching cover-up.

Writer Alexandra Marshall spoke out against the campaign, saying the swimwear brand was “mocking women” and warned she would boycott Seafolly.

Bye @seafolly. Never again. Have been buying swimwear from you for many years. Never again,” she wrote on Twitter.

Boycott boycott boycott @seafolly erasing women is NOT OK! Push your products away. I’m ready!’ another user wrote.

Others took aim at Todorovič on Instagram, with one writing: ‘Since when do women have penises in their bikini bottoms. This is beyond disgusting and Deni, you’re trying to weed out biological women. regrettable.’

However, many others left positive comments on Seafolly’s official Instagram page.

‘As someone who hasn’t shopped at Seafolly in years, I’m back now! I love seeing brands being inclusive and that’s where I want my money to go,” one woman wrote.

“So great to see this, Seafolly. I love to see brands pioneering the celebration of pride and inclusion,” added another.

The brand has been modeled by Miranda Kerr on numerous occasions

Lara Worthington last posed in the iconic swimwear in June 2021

The swimwear label was a family business until 2014, when Hungarian immigrant Peter Halas and his wife sold a 70 percent stake to L Capital Asia for about $70 million.

Two years later L Catterton purchased L Capital Asia and inherited several Australian brands including Seafolly, RM Williams and 2xU.

In 2018, the Halas family cut all ties. In June 2020, Seafolly fell into administration.

As Australia went into lockdown due to Covid, Sydney-based investment firm KordaMentha was appointed as trustees and within months had backed a ‘rescue’ proposal.

It is understood that L Catterton put $10 million of equity into Seafolly during the administration process, with Longreach Credit Investors also providing funding.

The brand has shrunk from 60 to 30 stores, but is still sold abroad, most notably at US department store Nordstrom.

Seafolly also sells through 2,100 other retailers, such as Australia’s David Jones.

FTI Consulting said the company accounts for 32 percent of Australia’s womenswear swimwear market and is on track to earn $90 million this financial year.

American model Gigi Hadid also wore the swimwear during a photo shoot in 2015

The brand has shrunk from 60 to 30 stores, but is still sold abroad, most notably at US department store Nordstrom (pictured, a Seafolly store)

This has been “driven by two consecutive years of strong double-digit growth across all channels and key markets” as the world emerges from the pandemic.

Seafolly’s revenue is expected to grow to $129.7 million in the 12 months to the end of June 2026, according to the company’s three-year business plan.

About 56 percent of current sales are in Australia and New Zealand, 24 percent come from Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and 13 percent from the US.

Up to 12 Seafolly stores achieved sales of more than $1 million in the past fiscal year.

The latest accounts filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) show that Seafolly lost $91.9 million in the 12 months leading up to the June 2020 administration.

The company had also lost $45.8 million in fiscal year 2019/2020, the second half of which coincided with the onset of the pandemic and lockdowns.