The guys at FootJoy just shared (via Twitter) this cool little infographic detailing the company’s success last year.
Side Note: It’s all very weird to me that 2015 is now last year.
Anyway, the highlights include more tour wins than any other brand, the #1 winning shoe model, and a whole lot of money earned by FootJoy players.
It’s your basic, but well-articulated, #1 Shoe, Glove and Sock in golf story.
Et tu Titleist?
Here’s hoping Titleist does something similar with the golf ball.
Seeing the Pro V1’s tour dominance displayed graphically would be something.
Regis
8 years ago
The question is where does Jordan hang his hat? I’d like to see Jordan/Under Armor team up with a company like Cleveland/Srixon or Wilson. It would create another player in the equipment field instantly.
Josh
8 years ago
I’ve heard speculation that if/when Fila sells Titleist, UA might find that a good brand to go after… But who knows if they could afford that.
Tony Covey
8 years ago
I think they can afford it, and UA buying insert company name here rumors persist, and have amplified with Spieth’s success. At one time or another UA was reportedly interested in Cleveland, Adams, and TaylorMade. Nothing ever substantive, but enough for me to believe that UA wants to expand its footprint in golf.
Titleist makes the most sense…it’s the smartest investment in golf, and makes UA instantly legitimate, however; I think there’s a massive culture clash. Titleist is suit and tie tradition…UA as WE MUST PROTECT THIS HOUSE. The individual brand identities don’t align well, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t work. Spieth could be positioned as a best of both worlds icon that perfectly straddles the seemingly divergent brands.
It’s intriguing.
Callaway is potentially another option for UA. Identities better align for sure.
But who knows…nearly anything is possible.
Tony Covey
8 years ago
Jordan re-upped with Titleist and UA not long ago, so he’ll be their guy for a little while longer. After that…depends. He could be the rare guy who truly believes in his equipment and takes less money to stay where he is. If that doesn’t happen, the two most likely destinations are Nike and PXG. He’s a prototypical Nike athlete, but they won’t sign him until they can outfit him head to toe. PXG doesn’t have the apparel entanglement to worry about. UA will fight hard to keep him (he’s their gateway to the golf industry), or drive Nike’s price up like it did with Kevin Durant.
My guess is that both PXG and Nike will continue to spend, and arguably will be the only big spenders in the tour market for the next few years.
For athletes coming up on renewals, the choices will be PXG, Nike, or stay where you are for less.
adidas will likely be in cost cutting, or at least cost savings mode with TaylorMade for the foreseeable future, and that means tour staff. I’m all but certain Day will sign elsewhere next year (while Day talks about how much he loves being a part of the TaylorMade family, his agent is kicking every tire in the lot, which shouldn’t surprise anyone).
Callaway doesn’t view the tour the same way as the others, so they won’t spend what it takes to get Spieth (if he ever hits the market).
Wilson, Srixon, etc., the money just isn’t there to get a Tier 1 guy…probably not even a Tier 2 guy.
As long as we’re speculating…Titleist may be sold at some point in the not so distant future. There’s an obvious culture clash with UA, but if they could make it work, it’s an instant empire.
Callaway could also be a buyout target. For all the success (market share, popularity, etc.)…look at the financials. The company is still struggling to turn a profit. Realistically, further growth potential is limited and so without increasing profits significantly (higher margins) or cutting costs, it’s uncertain how long they can sustain what they’re doing. What Callaway lacks is a sizable collection of high margin products to offset, or at least support, low margin items like clubs.
If you look at who is truly succeeding in golf right now, there’s an undeniable commonality.
Titleist – They have the ball, and they have FootJoy (lots of high margin, even keystone products). It’s not the clubs that drive the business.
Nike – Kills it with apparel. Again – high margins. Very profitable golf business. It would love to sell more clubs, but it doesn’t actually need to.
PING – Privately held, different sets of rules drive the business. Karsten corp. generates income from other sources.
TaylorMade-adidas – hard goods hurting (TM clubs), but high-margin apparel still strong. Double-digit declines or not, the golf business still makes money.
What’s your takeaway…there are some who think that 2016 will be a make or break year for several companies. Contraction or sell-offs (same brands new owners) is not out of the question before year’s end.