an article in afr about bbg, page-4

Agree Hero.
The business model had been clever in accumulating fresh smaller brands into their stable to cover the'ageing'of the Billabong brand customer.
I think its been their push into vertical integration by buying retail outlets thats hurting them as much as the decline in demand for Billabong branded products.
Its very difficult times for all retailers right now - Billabong is going to find it challenging to keep their retail business model from being a sterile formula 'one size fits all'store approach -that becomes rapidly dated and irrelevant to the local customers in any given shops area. The unique retail experience at store level is a problem facing a lot of chains at the moment where "you've seen one - you've seen them all."