Billabong International will be acquiring a portfolio of Australian retail assets from the General Pants Group.
Expected to be completed on 1 November 2010, the acquisition comprises of 38 Surf Dive ‘n’ Ski (SDS) and Jetty Surf retail banners, along with two licensed Billabong stores. It will bring Billabong group’s global retail portfolio door count to 558.
Derek O’Neill, Billabong CEO, said the acquisition between two surfwear retailers will help strengthen Billabong’s position in Australasia.
“We entered acquisition discussions with the view to preserving the assets as core boardsport retail doors and ensuring a route to market for the Group’s strong portfolio of brands,” he said.
According to O’Neill, the acquisition will present opportunities to extract synergies in areas of warehousing, distribution, back-office support and overall retail management consolidation.
O’Neill said the Company plans to retain both banners as multi-branded retailers.
The newly acquired business is expected to contribute approximately 3 per cent of Billabong Group revenue in the 2010-11 financial year. The purchase price has not been disclosed.