I was over in Manly today and saw this unsettling sight, the old Billabong stores' retail facade on The Corso has just being boarded up in preparation for redevelopment. Soon, all traces will evaporate forever.
Signalling the end to an era, this once-mighty Billabong flagship mega store was a vibrant & thriving retail surf outlet neatly tucked into Manly's premiere, ritzy, beachside retail strip, The Corso.
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| A plain wooden hoarding now covers the old facade of the former Billabong flagship store on Manly's Corso. Photo: Steve Core |
But some surf brands have tumbled from the Top Ten and fallen as once powerful and dominant market leaders. Billabong is one of them and it will never be the same again. The weighty, halcyon days are long gone.
I have a soft spot for Billabong because it was founded in 1973 by an old mate, Gordon Merchant, who used to be a shaper at Jackson Surfboards in Caringbah, back in the late '60s and early '70s when I was working at Peter Clarke Surfboards and G&S Surfboards.
Later on in the '80s, when I owned a few surf shops, I got be the #2 Billabong account in NSW. So this story does tug at my heartstrings.
My good old friend, ex Billabong employee, Steve Savage summed it nicely when he said to me "I think Billabong lost its cred with the new generations a long time ago. These days, I see it mainly worn by my age group, non-regular beach goers, or holiday makers. When Billabong dropped "Only A Surfer Knows The Feeling" because they wanted to be relevant to more than just surfers & surfing, they abandoned their core culture ethic.
Interesting isn't it? Why the backslide, what have they misjudged? Why has Billabong fallen between the cracks and slipped off that top 3 podium. What are your thoughts? I'd love to hear them. Please feel free to comment below.
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