Billabong will take an Australian $11.7 million write off after terminating a service provider engaged to integrate its wholesale, retail stores, e-commerce and social media platforms on line.

In reporting its first-half results on February 24, Billabong noted that while several of its omni-channel project tracks were moving forward as scheduled, implementation issues with one of the software vendors had delayed the launch of new e-commerce and retail point of sale systems. The
company was in ongoing discussions with that vendor to address the issues.

In a statement on Friday, Billabong stated, “The company remains committed to rolling out its Omni-channel solution. Despite the change in service provider, the company expects to deliver the overall solution materially close to its original range of budget expectations and to accelerate implementation by utiliszng advancements in cloud computing and best in class technology for each of the major components. The first of our new e-commerce websites, Surf Dive ‘n’ Ski, is expected to launch before the end of this calendar year. As a result of the termination of the agreement, an impairment charge of approximately AU $11.7m will be booked as a significant item in the FY17 results.”

A full update in respect of the company’s performance and the roll-out of our omnichannel solution will be provided in the FY17 Full Year Results release on August 30.

Photo courtesy Billabong