Will MJ at the helm bring you back to Billabong? Or has that ol ship long sailed?
For those who’ve come into surfing late, for those covid-era newcomers etc, a little lesson on the surf nostalgia brand Billabong.
Once upon a time, twenty, thirty years ago, it was the hottest thing in the game. Created by the gun shaper Gordon Merchant and his wife in a little apartment in Burleigh in 1973 it rose on the back of pro surfing to become wildly influential and insanely popular.
Billabong reached its peak share price in 2007, hitting fifteen Australian shekels on the Australian Stock Exchange, reflecting a market capitalisation of around A$3.8 billion, give or take a mill.
This zenith came amid a global surge in demand for surf and streetwear, bolstered by aggressive international expansion and high-profile sponsorships: Taj, Parko, Occ, Andy etc.
Investors, analysts and even the employees were optimistic, viewing Billabong as a millionaire factory.
The peak marked a stunning rise from its 2000 IPO price of A$2.60. However, this high was short-lived, as debt, pretty much, killed the whole dang thing.
In 2013, the company struggled with that debt alongside declining sales. Oaktree Capital Management, through its subsidiary Boardriders Inc., acquired Billabong for A$198 million, one buck a share, a 28% premium over its pre-offer price.
This takeover, completed in 2018, aimed to stabilise the brand amid competition and market shifts. Oaktree’s ownership included integrating Billabong with other surf brands under Boardriders, such as Quiksilver and Roxy.
In April 2023, Authentic Brands Group bought Boardriders for US$1.25 billion.
And here we are.
Moments ago, sexy Marc Jacobs, who’s been at LVMH for eleven years and whose eponymous brand used to drive the gals nuts, not so much after it was discovered the brand was using Raccoon Dog fur instead of the promised “faux” fur, joined Authentic following the company’s buy of the MJ label.
And it ain’t a stretch to imagine Marc Jacobs twiddling the knobs on Billabong, giving it some much needed juice, introducing cashmeres and swirling abstract floral prints and oversized silhouettes and ripped tights.
Will MJ at the helm bring you back to Billabong? Or has that ol ship long sailed?
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Crystal Cylinders boardies and a Crystal Curl board could get the package at Walton’s for about $200. Yeah the 80s…
Must be so sad if your surfing identity is so closely entwined with branding.
Did Marc Jacobs used to be known as Peter Andre?
On AliExpress you can get great deals on ‘Bilong’ fins.
I’d get some knee length boardies- I’m not skerred to show my age.
Youth wanna seperate themselves from old heads? Nahhh… I don’t wanna be associated with those kooks
It’s not surfers that will save Billabong and it’s certainly not Marc Jacobs.
The surf industry, as well as the mountaineering industry, were damn lucky to be in the right place right time. Then they sold out and as we all know, kids don’t want to wear the same shit their overweight dads wear.
Best they can hope for is some kind of reinvention like Fila. Never going to happen though. More likely it would end up a reinvention like Golden Breed, with a few boutique shops and that’s not gonna cut it with the investors.
Billabong/Quik/Hurley is destined for Target, bringing in a steady but small income stream and sold to poor people and kooks.
It’s just a brand name making T-Shirts, not a fashion manifesto.
Golden Breed would really compliment the twin fin and akubra hat ,van lyfe crowd
Imagine if back around 2000 or so someone told you this would be what becomes of Billabong, or Quik, Volcom, or whichever present-day, joke-of-a-brand we now mourn (or laugh) over. You would’ve taken the bet – NO – in a heartbeat…
At least we have the masses of surfboard builders across the globe with all the financial means necessary to keep making hand-crafted surfboards and not a single fraudster anywhere pumping out disposable nonrenewable floatable soft foamies for the masses wearing Louis Vuitton trunks to take over line-ups, right?…
The ‘ol ship has sunk to the bottom of the boiling sea…
I’m truly amazed at how many people cannot see what’s coming. I know that the human mind is terrible at understanding odds and large numbers (how many years is one billion seconds, etc) but it’s quite obvious to anyone who’s been paying attention that a very dystopian and authoritarian world, likely affected by periods of major drought, is not far away.
https://worldhistoryjournal.com/2024/10/14/the-limits-to-growth-a-legacy-of-environmental-warnings/
31.71 years
unfortunately, I am with you on this 100%…
I literally burned all my surf-tees about 25 years ago.
you were ahead of me at that point I must admit… I was a walking Stone ad whether surfing or snowboarding back then…
i still have a MCD shirt with Andy doing a floater on it. Good condition. Will never get rid of it
Its long gone when a old cunt like me buys them from the DFO for $30 shorts.
Just wait until OP comes back with corduroy shorts straight out of the 70s, BUT will you buy and and wear them?
Katin’s cords are my favorite these days. If my only option are trunks or shorts to my knee have no problem going to Speedos..
“… Busta Rhymes X Juicy X Billabong collaboration capri pants”
😂
Hahahahahaha
If Michael Jackson was at the the helm of Billabong I may have had a squiz. Shamon