Roxy, owned by surf wear and board sport gear manufacturer Quiksilver, has already boosted its brand recognition offline with a strong retail presence. After opening its first location in Hawaii in 1997, the chain now boasts more than 600 stores globally. Its brick-and-mortar M.O. has paid off: 89 percent of all girls between the ages of 13 and 19 nationally know the Roxy brand (and it’s the top California-style surf brand among the same demographic).

Even though Quiksilver was already an established, authentic surf company, women surfers and snowboarders just didn’t get as much press as their XY-chromosome counterparts. So it was important right from the get-go for Quiksilver to establish the Roxy brand’s estrogen-driven identity when it kicked off the women’s swimwear/sportswear line in 1990.

Toward that end (and maybe with a little divine intervention from Kahuna himself), the Roxy crest was derived from the Quiksilver wave-on-a-mountain logo. The Roxy version is simply two mirror images of the Quiksilver logo placed together to form a heart, adding a feminine touch to the already recognizable Quiksilver symbol.

This logo appears prominently on the Roxy homepage, perched atop the continually rotating opening image. One week it sits confidently on a wave’s crest, as a wetsuit-clad warrior takes on the Big One; another week, it may oversee surfer Sally Fitzgibbons riding a camel, surfboard under her arm. Superimposed on top of the salty spray and desert sands are the ROXY letters, exuding daring and confidence through their all-caps typography. Aesthetically pleasing aquas and greens are splashed throughout the site, evocative of a sun-soaked day riding the waves.

Roxy has expanded its product line since its inception, and these brand extensions are all represented on the site: Eyewear, a snow line, footwear, watches, jewelry, handbags and backpacks populate the site in abundance. There is also Teenie Wahine (Roxy’s children’s line) and Roxy Room products (a line of bedding, lamps and posters) for the taking.

The casting director for the site was obviously briefed on Roxy’s overall branding strategy. Don’t expect to find bikini-clad vamps along the lines of a Victoria’s Secret catalog or the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue: The featured models are fresh-faced and confident and don’t strike overly sensual poses that exhibit the “come hither” lip purse that usually accompanies a girls-in-bathing-suits pictorial. After all, according to Roxy’s own brand directive, “natural beauty goes beyond sexiness—a Roxy girl doesn’t need to try to look sexy.”

It goes without saying that a Roxy girl is in the know and Internet-intelligent. The site’s news section and blog keep the good times (and information) coming. Roxy’s online presence is bolstered by links to its personalized Facebook, MySpace and YouTube pages, and girls can sign up for a free subscription to Roxy’s ongoing podcasts, which showcase the brand’s snow and surf team riders ripping it up around the world.

Quiksilver is surely stoked about how well its female-focused offshoot has done. The economy may be tanking right now, but Roxy’s strong offline identity, complemented by its energetic online presence, will ensure it keeps cleaning up while its daring demographic tries not to wipe out.