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RETAIL: OC -grown brand lends name to parent in strategic shift
Swell is about to hit the Asia-Pacific and European markets.
The wave will come as the Irvine-based e-commerce retailer lends its name to sister properties- Surfstitch.com in Australia and Surfdome.com in the U.K.-after a global rebranding effort takes hold this year.
"It will be a stronger sum of all parts under one brand," said President Lex Pedersen, who along with Chief Executive Justin Cameron founded Swell's Australia-based parent, SurfStitch Group Ltd., in 2007.
The group, whose fiscal 2015 revenue was up 29% year-over-year to $140.5 million, plans to keep its corporate name but consolidate its online operations into a single website-Swell.com. It will be upgraded to feature six languages, handle 18 currencies and still provide next-day delivery of action sports apparel and gear to customers in more than 130 countries. The change aims to reduce expense duplication and optimize logistics, among other improvements, according to the company.
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The founders wanted to make sure the Swell.com brand, once launched globally, isn't "just a transactional, sterile e-commerce platform," but also a content generator that pulls in younger audiences.
"We don't want to...