Sector 9 Sold to Billabong Surf

[Mile_High_Mark]

I meant to ad that Sector 9 has just realized the American dream. Start a company from scratch, carve out a market, expand that market, dominate that market, sell your company for tons of money and skateboard the rest of your life.

Please, anyone, tell me what is wrong with that?

Not one damn thing.

[Petary791]

Most people in this thread need to take a damned Economics class. If you don't like their stuff, instead of bitching on the internet, don't buy it. You're in control of them believe it or not.

And +10093 MHM. If I was in their position, I'd do the same thing.

[sprodigy]

I meant to ad that Sector 9 has just realized the American dream. Start a company from scratch, carve out a market, expand that market, dominate that market, sell your company for tons of money and skateboard the rest of your life.

Please, anyone, tell me what is wrong with that?

I agree. It is the goal of every entrepreneur (unless you are socially motivated) to harvest your business in one form or another.

Just be glad it's Billabong - a company with some of the same ideals and background as S9.

Imagine the uproar on here if NIKE bought S9?

[Mile_High_Mark]

Most people in this thread need to take a damned Economics class. If you don't like their stuff, instead of bitching on the internet, don't buy it. You're in control of them believe it or not.

And +10093 MHM. If I was in their position, I'd do the same thing.

So would I.

[Stubbs]

Sprodigy - SECTOR 9 has always done both: made money and been socially motivated. Now, because there has been some behind the scenes paper shuffling, it seems all that has been forgotten.

[Camel]

carve out a market

Good way of wording it....

C

[sprodigy]

Sprodigy - SECTOR 9 has always done both: made money and been socially motivated. Now, because there has been some behind the scenes paper shuffling, it seems all that has been forgotten.

What I mean is...pure social entrepreneurs are people who start businesses (mostly non profit) for some kind of goal to better society (YMCA, Habitat for Humanity, etc.).

I'm not saying you can't be socially motivated and make a profit, but when you start selling your business off who knows what can happen to those original goals and ideals of the business when YOU started it. It's not in your hands anymore.

[EBasil]

A few people have been kind enough to point out several other, well known brand names that are also owned by the Billabong empire. How many of you can post photos of the Billabong-Nixon glasses, for example?

You can't, because the value of the brand they bought was in the name and logo and market placement. It's the same with Sector. The marketing wonks, attorneys and analysts that justified the acquisition of a new skate line product certainly looked at Sector's market position (with access to data that would make Brooke giddy and put Sk8Norcal into a posting frenzy!) and came to an opinion that the crew of jewelry-crusted, tea-drinking golfers at the top of the Sector 9 operation had something that could be made even better under Billabong's funding and marketing power. That's why companies like this buy smaller brands -- not to dilute or absorb. That's also why the buyer asks the smart folks at the top of the acquisition to stay on: so the thing keeps working and Billabong's crew can work their magic.

Sure, there are plenty of opportunities to decry the death of longboarding, the death of core, the good old days when we were unique... like those aren't all relative states of being anyway. I think the better or more realistic view is to realize that very big, very important and very wealthy investors have just given a huge vote of confidence to longboarding. We should be stoked that the Sector boys had this sucess, because it is ours, too.

[mc99david]

ill sell dopamine longboards for a million!!! anyone? anyone??? i would love to retire right now...

[XCrunner]

I'm like shocked about this...Normally I would be excited about bashing on S9's but they really are decent boards and it sucks that some Surfboard company absorbed one of the biggest and lets face it solid LB companies on the market..Good thing the Exec's and creators are still on board though

[jspats40]

A few people have been kind enough to point out several other, well known brand names that are also owned by the Billabong empire. How many of you can post photos of the Billabong-Nixon glasses, for example?

You can't, because the value of the brand they bought was in the name and logo and market placement. It's the same with Sector. The marketing wonks, attorneys and analysts that justified the acquisition of a new skate line product certainly looked at Sector's market position (with access to data that would make Brooke giddy and put Sk8Norcal into a posting frenzy!) and came to an opinion that the crew of jewelry-crusted, tea-drinking golfers at the top of the Sector 9 operation had something that could be made even better under Billabong's funding and marketing power. That's why companies like this buy smaller brands -- not to dilute or absorb. That's also why the buyer asks the smart folks at the top of the acquisition to stay on: so the thing keeps working and Billabong's crew can work their magic.

Sure, there are plenty of opportunities to decry the death of longboarding, the death of core, the good old days when we were unique... like those aren't all relative states of being anyway. I think the better or more realistic view is to realize that very big, very important and very wealthy investors have just given a huge vote of confidence to longboarding. We should be stoked that the Sector boys had this sucess, because it is ours, too.

that is an awesome way to say it, i totally agree. now that a huge company like billabong has come into the longboarding industry, hopefully, longboarding will become more and more popular. this should bring more money to not only S9 but other longboarding companies, thus increasing the quality of all longboards.

but with anything mainstream, there comes posers.

[Firefox777]

what about tony hawk , bam margera and other big nime mooks. you can buy a tony hawk board that dosnt roll with no name trucks no name wheels and it will snap on you if you do tricks with it. and it costs up to $110 bull sh*t if you ask me
they wont increase the quality . most likely they will drop the gullwing name and say s9 trucks bushing and wgeels. or better yet it will go the way of walmart and sell a complete for 60 bucks with cheap chinese "gallwing" trucks and "lime big zugs"

[Petary791]

Well if there's posers I'm gonna stop skating then.

*pouts in corner*

[One_hungry_ninja]

hmm sector bong...not bad

[Joaquin Stick]

I meant to ad that Sector 9 has just realized the American dream. Start a company from scratch, carve out a market, expand that market, dominate that market, sell your company for tons of money and skateboard the rest of your life.

Please, anyone, tell me what is wrong with that?

Your use of all caps and the regurgitation of capitalist propaganda is, at best, LAME! Please stop. Let me pull you out of your "capitalist utopia" for just a moment, if I might? You do not start a company from scratch. You start a company with money. Without money all you have is just a good idea. Nothing more. This is a very important distinction because it kills your idea of this buy-out as fulfilling an imaginary capitalist American dream. Listen very closely: What people mean when they complain about big money swallowing more of the longboard market is due less to being what you call anti-capitalist and "Idiots", but more so they are in support of the guy with the idea and love for longboarding who may not have the capital to compete with Billibong who have hundreds of millions to throw around. Please listen one more time: this is very important: 90% of longboard companies and the people who actually go out and longboard do not have big capital, so they cannot compete with the big corporations. This inability to compete with the guys with capital (big business) is why Individual Americans don't own very many of the stores and businesses in their own neihborhoods anymore. The "Billabongs" own them. That is what sucks about this aquisition. No one is mad at the REAL and 100% skateboarders out there. What people are concerned about is the type of capitalist aquisitions that makes it hard for the average American to compete. This buy-out is not an American dream come true, it is a giant and destructive machine running rampant. Perspective. Where do you fit in? I am a proud and struggling American with a voice against ignorance and Greed!

"There comes a time when the apparatus of the machine becomes so odious, makes you so sick at heart, that, you can't take part, you can't even passively take part; and you've got to put your bodies upon the gears and upon the wheels, upon all the apparatus, and you've got to make it stop. and you've got to indicate to the people who run it, the people who own it, that unless you're free, the machine will be prevented from working at all." Mario Savio

Power to the mass of skateboarders, not to big business!!!

[downhilljunkiedc]

I think it's rad because i just got a check in the mail for 10,000 dollars.


Not really, I bet all the haters just pooped a little in thier pants, good. One very positive aspect of this deal will be that poeple like Jeff Budro and EG can really concentrate on thier REAL jobs. I've worked in the factory and just spent a lot of time there (working and lurking) and I'll tell you what...they are very busy guys. The entire staff at that place are all super busy people that really put thier work in. I mean, just to look at the calendar that hangs in Jeff's office is insane. Surf comps, skate comps, races, other events, deadlines, meetings, trips, ect. Couple all of that with people calling Jeff about every 15 minutes wanting some kind of hand out (people from all industries and back-grounds) they simply don't have the time in a day to get things done as quickly and smoothly as they want to. I think it'll be a short matter of time before this problem will be solved. What does this mean for us? Jeff and EG will have more time and better resources to do thing like more R and D, maybe organize and throw races and take better care of the team as well as being able to focus on newer and better stuff for all of the rest of anyone who supports Sector 9. And thank you to those who do. But c'mon EBasil... Sandals? I have a 10 year old sock-tan! Now maybe some slide gloves with built in bottle openers that double as beer coozies...

[mrpauliepants]

UGH. This makes me sick.

• Figures Sector 9 would go and sell out to a company that doesn't have any existing skate products.
  
• This means that we will see exponentially more "ignorant Sector 9 kids"; with which I keep bumping into already, one tried to cause a fight with me on the bus the other day because I was riding a LandYachtz Chinook, apparently that's a " flimsy piece of crap ### board".
  
• Maybe if we're lucky, we'll start to see Sector 9 stocked in Target, Fred Meyer and Joe's. NOT.
  
• All I can say, is I doubt a company like LandYachtz, Loaded, Kebbek, or anyone BUT Sector 9 would of sold themselves off to some secondhand, 90's era surf/clothing company. Tsk Tsk.

[Cheefa]

This means that we will see exponentially more "ignorant Sector 9 kids"; with which I keep bumping into already, one tried to cause a fight with me on the bus the other day because I was riding a LandYachtz Chinook, apparently that's a " flimsy piece of crap ### board".

your post made me sick, don't blame sector 9 for being picked on. Any normal person would have kicked that kids ****ing ass, or at least do something about it.

[snoopykojiapple]

Embrace change.

[southshorelocal]

your post made me sick, don't blame sector 9 for being picked on. Any normal person would have kicked that kids ****ing ass, or at least do something about it.

Y would u fight a dumb ass kid that doesnt know #### about longboards and isnt even worth the time