Fashion & Textiles Marketing

Declining Markets
Gan, A. Kemp, E. Lawson, M. McRae, R. Sinnott, A.

Executive Summary
Australian surf brands have seen a dramatic shift over the past 10 years, forcing iconic
brands into the decline stage of the industry lifecycle. Leaders in the the surf retailing sector;
Quiksilver, Billabong and Rip Curl, have all noticed considerable revenue and public stock
declines, to the point of announcing bankruptcy forcing brands to implement strategic
decline strategies in avoid liquidation and gain back market strength.
The harvesting strategy aims at maximising cash flow in a short period. To do this, firms
generally avoid any additional investment in the business, reduce operating and marketing
expenses and raise prices if necessary. The Maintenance strategy aims at maintaining
market share for the short term, maintaining current strategies the firm has implemented.
Profitable survivor strategy focuses on investing, aiming to gain higher market share through
the establishing themselves as an industry leader. The final strategy or Niche focuses on
specialisation, tailoring product lines to a niche arena gaining considerable market share in
the small market.
Analysing the declining strategies of Harvesting, Maintenance, Profitable Survivor and
Niche, it would be advisable with current trends and the strength of surf culture to apply the
niche strategy. By doing so, brands have the opportunity to gain back market leadership,
tailoring products specifically to the surfing market with high potential of increasing profits.

Table of Contents
Introduction ...5

The Surf Brand Industry and their decline within the market
....6-7

Overview of declining market .8

Strategies for the declining market ...8-12

Recommendations ....13

Conclusion......14

References ...15-16

Introduction
Australia is known for its vibrant and thriving surf culture, attracting sport lovers from all over
the globe to local waters. Today, the surf culture remains as strong as ever with it being a
continued success for tourism. However, despite Australias surf culture remaining strong,
the Australian surf brand market has suffered tremendously in the past few years with many
iconic brands announcing bankruptcy, rebranding and/or profit losses.
Amongst the surf brands who have fallen on the recent hardened times, once were leaders
within the market; Quiksilver, Billabong and Rip Curl. All 3 iconic brands have reported
declining revenues, asset write-downs and growing losses. A far cry from the 1990s and
2000s which saw the three brands excel into international expansion, dominating the strong
market growing at a rapid rate.
The surf brand industry has entering the decline stage of the lifecycle, giving managers the
challenging decision of steering brands to either divest or liquidate or apply relevant
strategies to save market share. In an industry where there is an abundance of competition;
whether that be domestic or international, it is imperative for retail businesses to remain
relevant and apply strategic measures to avoid liquidation. The following report analyses the
declining market strategies and applies relevant recommendations for the three surf brands
to continue to maintain their relevance and market share within the industry.