The Rising Wave of Billabong
Santa Barbara, Huntington Beach, and San Diego are just a few of the beach cities branded with these classic coastal storefronts. While Southern California is certainly a hub for all things surf and skate, Billabong made its start in the home of an Australian couple on the Gold Coast in 1973. What began as selling boardshorts marked by the classic wave logo to local surf shops quickly became a powerhouse of surf, skate, and snow gear for both men and women. Today, Billabong, Quiksilver, and Volcom are all owned by the company Liberated Brands.
As surfing gained popularity in the U.S., Americans flocked to the beach and storefronts popped up all along the West Coast. From wetsuits to skateboards (and obviously) to bikinis, what began as just Billabong became the iconic trio of surf shops, representative of surf culture and its boardwalk adjacent towns.
Billabong in Pop Culture
In the classic surfer girl movie Blue Crush, Anne Marie sports an iconically 2000s-era rashguard branded by Billabong. Not only is this movie the best for pretending it’s summer when heat randomly rolls into Santa Barbara in February, but it perfectly captures that carefree, sunkissed surfer lifestyle that Billabong embodies.
This isn’t the brand’s only Hollywood appearance; Billabong has produced some of the most recognizable surf films, including Sabotaj, Blue Horizon, and Interlusion. Beyond supplying amateurs and professionals alike, Billabong has become integral to surf culture as well as the sport itself.
The Pro Surf Scene
To make a desirable bikini and pair of boardshorts for the amateurs, though, it’s important for them to be worn by the pros (preferably on the front page of a magazine, straight out of the water after a big win in a tournament). Billabong has sponsored some of the biggest names in the sport, including Taj Burrow and Joel Parkinson.
Serving as ambassadors for the brand, these pros compete wearing the brand’s team name, earning their attire the title of winning bikini. Billabong targets both communities of athletes and recreational surfers, all while creating a product that sets up both for success.
Downfall
Despite the brands’ position as pillars of both coastal and mountain communities, Liberated Brands filed for bankruptcy last month. The company attributes its filing to the “volatile global economy,” changes in consumer behavior due to “inflationary pressures,” as well as a shifting preference for fast-fashion brands, according to the Los Angeles Times. The last concern is upsetting, but unfortunately not surprising.
As stated by Liberated Chief Executive Todd Hymel, fast-fashion retailers focus on “micro-trends” rather than the “traditional seasonal trend-forecasting retail model.” Billabong is a longstanding brand which focuses on quality in rigorous outdoor activity, maintaining classic designs that can’t go out of style. Unfortunately, today’s retail environment and culture surrounding fashion simply no longer set up brands like these for success. With extremely low-priced, often copycat designs, consumers have the option to purchase their desired product online and have it delivered in just a couple of days. This poses a threat to any kind of retail storefront, as seen with the closing of many Kohl’s and Macy’s locations.
The loss of brick-and-mortar retail stores is reminiscent of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is already evident on Santa Barbara’s State Street. Unfortunately, Billabong is another shop there which is destined for dark windows.
Continuing the Legacy
While the perfect experience of wandering off a boardwalk and into a surf shop may be declining with the closure of these storefronts, Billabong, Quiksilver, and Volcom products will still produce branded merchandise, but only online, and through a different company from Liberated. Although the same products will still be available despite the bankruptcy and transfer of ownership, this shift calls to question the foundation such longstanding, culturally significant brands hold amidst a retail environment that prioritizes fleeting trends.