Billabong to Acquire E-tailer Swell
Billabong International Ltd. has announced a conditional agreement to acquire San Clemente, Calif.–based online boardsports catalog and online retailer Swell. Financial details of the deal have yet to be disclosed. Paul Naude, president of the Billabong USA division, said in a statement that the acquisition would allow Billabong to manage its brands in the growing online market. “We look forward to growing the Swell business and further developing it as a showcase online platform for the U.S. boardsports industry,” he said. “The Internet plays a significant role in the recreational habits of the youth market, so it is important for our group to ensure we provide them with a premium-brand experience when shopping online.”
Swell, which debuted in 1999, sells a wide variety of surf and skate apparel and hardgoods brands for men and women, including Billabong, Volcom, O’Neill, Hurley, Rusty, Quiksilver, Insight, RVCA, Roxy and Swell, its private-label brand.
Calls for comment to executives at Swell and Billabong were not returned by press time. Swell was founded in 1999 by Nicholas Nathanson, a former e-commerce analyst at Salomon Smith Barney, and Jeffrey A. Berg, a finance and new-media executive.
The acquisition of Swell may be just another way to increase distribution for Billabong. During the past five years, it has purchased physical retailers such as the Honolua Surf Co. It also runs the surf and skate chain BeachWorks.
Dave Hollander is one of the pioneers of surf e-commerce, and his retail company, Becker Surf, has run Beckersurf.com for more than 15 years. “There will be a lot more eyeballs for Billabong,” he said of the purchase. Swell will benefit by not having to worry about warehousing big inventories; Billabong should take over much of their back-office business, he said. Hollander said he also thought the purchase would ultimately drive more surf consumers online.—Erin Barajas, with additional contributions by Andrew Asch
