Sector9 Co-Founder Discusses Billabong Deal

The fireworks and celebration began a bit early this year over at Sector 9 after it was announced on July 2nd that Billabong had purchased the brand. Transworld Business was able to wrangle a few minutes of co-founder Steve Lake’s time after the smoke lifted momentarily to get his thoughts on the deal and what it means for Sector 9 and Gullwing.

Transworld Business:
How long has this been in the works?

Steve Lake:
We first spoke of the possibility in January of this year.

TWB:
What does this mean for Sector 9?

SL:
This means we will have access to resources we never imagined possible for Sector 9. Our team will now have a much larger platform from which to grow the business both domestically and internationally.

TWB:
Do you see a lot of synergies?

SL:
Billabong has the most successful multi-branded platform in our industry. They are an industry leader with an amazing global footprint and our synergies are plentiful.

TWB:
Any new initiatives you have planned now that you have deeper pockets?

SL:
Not all new initiatives take deeper pockets to execute. Our merely having a mentor to help us avoid the inevitable costly mistakes in growing our business is what we look forward to most.

TWB:
Do you foresee being in more doors now?

SL:
Yes, especially internationally where there remains tremendous growth opportunities for our brand.

TWB:
Will you have to pull out of some of your current accounts?

SL:
We have no intentions of changing any of our retail account base. All of our accounts so far have been very supportive of this deal and they can look forward to even better products and customer service from Sector 9 in the future.
TWB:
What are you most stoked on about this deal?

SL:
We are excited to be part of such a dynamic and forward thinking group. The same crew that grew Sector 9 from the backyard to this point will now be armed with the best horsepower in the industry. We’ve set some pretty lofty goals for ourselves and now we have no excuses but to reach them and we’re up for the challenge.

TWB:
How will oversight/reporting with Billabong work?

SL:
I’ll let them answer this question if they want to. I will say that our crew that got us here remains intact and if history repeats itself we will operate autonomously within the group.

TWB:
What can we look forward to as far as design collaborations?

SL:
Lot’s of really good stuff…