Surfwear giant Billabong is continuing to strengthen its business and brands, after recently rejecting two takeover bids.
The company, which owns Board Sports Retail Group and its retail businesses Surf Dive 'n' Ski, Jetty Surf, Surfection and Co-Op Surfection has revealed it will relaunch the Surf Dive 'n' Ski e-commerce platform this month, in an effort to boost its global presence.
The announcement follows two takeover bids which Billabong knocked back last month from US private equity group TPG Capital. As previously reported on ragtrader.com.au, the group has since made moves to beef up the business and recently appointed two former executives from Super Retail Group and Target Australia to the Billabong board.
The revamped Surf Dive 'n' Ski site will feature thousands of the latest styles in surf, skate, snow and fashion wear from over 100 brands, including Billabong, Quiksilver, Rip Curl, Volcom, Rusty, Insight, Nixon, Von Zipper, Element, Tigerlily, Roxy, Seafolly, Havaianas, Vans, and Hurley.
The new platform will also see more than 300 fresh products uploaded to the site each week, with domestic and international shipping available to over 60 countries worldwide, with full track and trace parcel delivery and 100-day exchange and refund terms.
Extra functions such as real time live chat, fast drop down navigation menus, left navigation refiners – which allow users to select by select price range, specific sizes, colors and categories – product zoom, revamped personal accounts, personal favourite’s lists, and the ability to store multiple addresses, have also been added.
Board Sports Retail Group marketing manager Matt Owens said the Surf Dive 'n' Ski site relaunch is a push by the brand to raise the bar and facilitate international expansion plans.
“The new site allows us to expand globally, and the added functionality, such as live chat, look books, the dedicated customer service team, gift lists, and saved profile preferences will all combine for a more personalised shopping experience online,” Owens said.
“We’ve been working on the site for the last 6 months, so it’s great to see the finished product live. We expect the site will become one of our A grade stores and, looking ahead, customers can expect personalised product recommendations, user review tabs, style inspirations, and more integration to the SDS blog and social sites to come over the next few weeks.”
Surf Dive ‘n’ Ski, part of the Board Sports Retail Group brand stable, was founded in 1964 and curently operates over 44 stores nationally. The group was acquired by the Billabong Group in October 2010 and has since played a vital role in Billabong’s transition from wholesaler to retail giant.