Across the boards

Alicia Robinson

It didn’t quite happen in the blink of an eye, but anyone who hasn’t

visited The Camp for a few weeks would have missed the closing of the

Billabong store.

Not to worry. Only weeks after Billabong closed, Active Ride Shop

has taken its place. Active opens today and carries Billabong

merchandise as well as other popular brands of surf, skate and snow

gear.

“We’ve made some major efforts to get it open for the

back-to-school shopping,” Active Vice President Shane Wallace said.

“We’ve never worked harder to put a store together.”

The Ontario-based company took over the building Aug. 1, and by

Friday -- a mere two weeks later -- employees were putting the

finishing touches on the ninth Active store. Growing out of a healthy

catalog business, the company’s stores are all in Southern

California.

Among the store’s offerings are skateboards, surfboards,

snowboards, jeans, top brands of skate shoes -- such as Emerica,

Etnies and Lakai -- and products from Orange County surf-wear makers

like Hurley.

Wallace thought his store would be a good fit for The Camp, which

has a mix of businesses catering to the adventurous and

health-conscious.

“I think the architecture and design and landscape of The Camp is

one-of-a-kind,” he said. “Billabong was ready to move on, and they

came to us, and we were able to make a really fair deal to take over

the store.”

Billabong had been in The Camp for about two years, but most of

its other stores are smaller and rely on the foot traffic in larger

malls, Wallace said.

“Billabong is one of our top brands, and it’s doing very well, but

to fill a whole store just with Billabong was difficult because it

was a 6,000-square-foot store,” he said.

With its diverse mix of skate-, surf-, and snow-gear brands,

Active will make a nice addition to The Camp, Camp owner Shaheen

Sadeghi said in an e-mail to the Pilot.

“The opportunity is a win-win for all of us, as well as the

consumer, as it gives Billabong the chance to work with all of their

local retailers,” he said.

Active plans to stage events this fall, including a grand opening

in September, a skate demonstration and a visit from the Burton

snowboarding team. Active Ride Shop opens at 10 a.m. today at The

Camp, 2937 Bristol St., Costa Mesa.

* ALICIA ROBINSON covers business, politics and the environment.

She may be reached at (949) 764-4330 or by e-mail at

[email protected].