What is Pacific Sunwear?
Pacific Sunwear (PacSun for short) started as a surf shop in 1980, but wasn’t called Pacific Sunwear. During that time, the store carried surfboards and wax. As they say during wintertime in California, the beaches get empty. During that time, people there go to the mall. And that’s when the founders got an idea for this youth-oriented store. 1981 in Santa Monica Place (of course, in Santa Monica, California), was when and where the first mall store opened. In 1987, they had a total of 21 stores.