Competitors
![Picture](/uploads/1/5/0/2/15029652/7985863.png?303)
Billabongs apparel are designed on the subject of Australian beach culture, which is not entirely original. Many brands use this as their staple design including quicksilver, Pacific Sun wear of California, Ripcurl, Inc (PACSUN) and Hollister. However, due to the current popularity of this design of apparel and it's almost unflawed reputation, Billabongs competitors are not currently having a huge effect on the company, although the recent fall on the stock exchange has made Billabong susceptible to becoming overpowered by rival companies. In addition, Billabongs goods are quite expensive, and may therefore steer potential customers away from their shop, and lead them towards less expensive options (which will be expanded on in the section below). Moreover, Billabong may not sell as many products in the coming months as they have in the past due to the publicity that they have received about the ethics of the company. Ethical issues regarding retail are a big problem at the moment, and and company with relations to a sweatshop are currently being frowned upon. Many of Billabongs customers may feel obligated to stop buying their products so as they do not support the sweatshop way of manufacturing products.
Pricing
Due to the fact that BBG is a designer brand, the Goods that Billabong sell are often priced higher than a similar product without the billabong brand. For example, the average price for Billabong's 'Male Short Leg Board shorts' is around $70AUD, whereas a pair of unbranded board shorts are generally priced at around $20AUD to $30AUD. This is because Billabong's logo is associated with good fashion, and the target market (teenagers to young adults) often buy the product because it is a billabong product, not just because of the quality/ style of the product. Another example of overpricing is Billabong's range of 'essential shirts' all priced at about $30AUD each, compared with Target's essential shirts which can be found at as low as $8AUD each for a similar design, just without the Billabong logo. The company play on the fact that people buy their products because of the brand name, and therefor increase the price. However, if Billabong's products were extremely cheap, they may not sell as many products due to the fact that their logo would no longer be considered 'cool'.