Following the announcement that MacGregor Golf Company has been in advanced discussions to create a new licensed distributor for its Greg Norman Collection brand in the UK and Europe, Greg Norman Collection has confirmed that a new business partnership has secured the Greg Norman Collection licence for this region.
A spokesman said, “Creating a vital and dynamic platform for continued growth, the company has formed a business partnership with a highly strategic licensing expert who has significant operational knowledge across a range of markets, most notably the fast moving and complex gaming industry.”
The new company is called Severn Under Ltd.
“We are confident we’ve chosen a first-class partner in Severn Under for the Greg Norman Collection brand in Europe,” said Michael J. Setola, president and CEO, MacGregor Golf Company. “Their resources in addition to the proven leadership of Tony Wilkinson are a solid combination for future growth in this market.
“As brand director, Tony Wilkinson now takes full responsibility for brand development and sales and, in so doing, has retained the proven elements from the brands’ former operations whilst blending these with handpicked new facilities.”
Significantly Greg Norman Collection’s highly skilled Customer Services team in Lancaster has been retained and their market expertise will now feed into a new dedicated state-of-the-art UK warehouse.
“The new warehouse is perfectly placed to despatch orders efficiently around the UK and Europe,” the spokesman continued. “It also includes GNC’s advanced new embroidery function so that all product lines can dovetail swiftly into the cresting facility, leading to ultrafast order turnaround.”
Tony Wilkinson states, “The new totally privately-funded business is highly strategic and carefully considered. Our philosophy has always been to create a dynamic structure which is fluid and responsive, answering our customers’ needs quickly with a total understanding of what the market requires.
“We now have a superb structure in place which we believe will support all our customers, whatever their size or location, in a highly effective and mutually beneficial manner. I am extremely excited about the new foundation that we have put into place which is designed to implement the strongest possible brand development and growth.”
Meanwhile there has been no comment about the future of the MacGregor Golf brand in Europe following the news which broke on 27th September that MacGregor Golf Europe had gone into administration. Staff based at the offices in Henley, Oxfordshire, left the company the same day.
This follows the shock news which broke at the beginning of August that John Ennis, well-known in the European golf business after more than 25 years of service to MacGregor (including a period as chairman of the British Golf Industry Association), had left the company.