Chapter 13: Billabongs Retail

Billabong currently has around twenty company-owned stores across Europe and Hazell says it has plans to grow as suitable opportunities arise, whilst not compromising its core business as a wholesale driven operation which sells to surf and board sports stores worldwide.
"Retail offers Billabong an opportunity to showcase our product portfolio and this helps us drive brand value and awareness," adds Hazell. "In these situations, it's critical that the IT platform is both robust and efficient, and sits comfortably within the retail environment."
"We chose VC STIMELESS because it's the only truly international retail software vendor for a retail like us, and it was fundamental to our growing needs to integrate regional and country specific retail practices, like fisility and legislation, as well as have instant support for our staff in their own language," concludes Hazell. Anticipated benefits of the new system include:

• easier to use and learn for store staff
• improve (more informed and quicker) customer service, especially at busy times
• significant reductions in surplus and discounted stock through improved forecasting
• fewer returns to the central warehouse
• cost savings and increased performance
• less shrinkage
• improved accuracy on inventories
• less paperwork, so considerable times savings
• fewer errors than with previous manual processes (e.g. supplier tracking)
• real time information and improved management reporting