Golf Business News talks to Graeme Stevens, Managing Director of Worldwide Golf Brands, which handles leading golf brands Oscar Jacobson, Stuburt, MacGregor, Farah Golf, Big Max and Zoom, about the state of the industry and his plans to meet growing demand from the US.
GBN: You were among many members of the UK golf industry that travelled over to Florida at the end of January to attend the PGA Show. What was your impression of the show and the general mood of the industry heading into 2023?
Graeme Stevens: It was really good to go and feel some positivity around the industry. There’s been a lot of uncertainty over here and it’s felt like the UK and European markets have gone a little flat. But to get out and speak to our partners from around the world there was a real buzz and a lot of people were looking to do business.
I know that we’re all feeling the pinch of price rises across the board, there are still issues from Brexit to overcome and we’re much closer to the war in Ukraine, but from our perspective, business is still good. We obviously need to be strategic in our planning, but I think we’ve still got more to be optimistic about than many in the industry are being.
GBN: You mentioned issues from Brexit. How is it for you and the brands you work with when dealing with the EU now?
GS: It’s definitely better than it was, but it’s still a bit of a nightmare. We work with some great freight companies who have got their heads around shipping, and internally we’ve got accustomed to the extra paperwork involved, but overall, it’s still far more difficult to trade than it should be.
It’s more difficult for our apparel brands – Oscar Jacobson, Stuburt and Farah Golf. To be a successful apparel brand you need a responsive delivery system. If someone has a run on large polos and sells a dozen in a weekend, they need to be able to top up their supplies. We simply can’t do that quickly enough from the UK. We could invest in a European base, but with a huge line of products, and different colours and sizes in each range, that would be a massive investment in stock on the floor in the EU, plus the costs of warehousing, distribution and all the extras. And that’s before you consider what to do about the extra tariffs and reduced margins. So that’s the dilemma. If you’re going to service the EU properly, you have to go all in.
GBN: Does the buoyancy of markets and ease of trading influence your plans for the brands?
GS: It does. We’re in a great position with our UK brands and are forecasting steady growth over the coming year, but if we want to grow significantly in the next 12 to 18 months, a huge opportunity lies overseas. We have the worldwide rights to Oscar Jacobson and have made great progress in Australia, South America, Indonesia, across Europe and in South East Asia. The next step is moving into the North American market and I think conditions at home and in Europe have accelerated that. Oscar Jacobson is such a classic golf brand I think it will be really well received in the US and Canada. We’re actively looking for partners to help us penetrate those markets. We know the importance of having local expertise on the ground, so whether it’s a large distributor or exclusive retail partner, we’re open to conversations about taking OJ fully global.
GBN: Have you seen much interest in Oscar Jacobson from US retailers?
GS: That’s the great thing – we already know there’s a demand. We ship to the US from our website and despite the extra costs of shipping, we do good business and get plenty of re-orders too. One of the things that made me realise how popular OJ could be was the response we had to our brand ambassador Richard Bland when he was leading the US Open last year. As he teed off leading the field on the Saturday, we had 15 times the usual traffic to the website and 97% of that was from North America. As we take steps towards a dedicated US presence I’m speaking with a couple of high profile PGA TOUR players to help us get a strong foothold early on. We already have a few players wearing OJ on the PGA Tour Champions and on the DP World Tour, including Daniel Gavins, who won early in February.
GBN: With growth in mind, how is the industry supply chain now, bearing in mind the problems of the past couple of years?
GS: Things are much better than they were. There was some concern around Christmas as large parts of China went into lockdown, but things quickly opened up again. The main issue now is that everyone has too much stock. I’m not going to pretend we’re not one of those who have more stock than we’d like, but I like to think we’re dealing with that situation in a responsible way. The temptation is to discount and try to move stock through quickly. We’ve seen that happen in the last few months with some big-name brands discounting up to 50%, but I think it’s a fast track to devaluing your brand.
We’ve decided to hold our line, protect the brands, and not flood the market with cheap goods. It really doesn’t help anyone. My big concern is that we’ll lose some of the good suppliers in China. I’ve spoken to a few who have had no orders for five months because everyone has enough stock. It will all level out, but hopefully without too many casualties.
GBN: Have the expected challenges of the coming year and the realities of the past few years changed your approach to business?
GS: We have changed approach, but that’s more about the way the business has grown. I’ve been at the helm of a small, growing business for a number of years. It was agile and we would react quickly to opportunity which has been a fantastic approach to get us to where we are.
Now, we’re evolving into a different business. We have five great brands with different strengths, different markets and different opportunities for growth. That makes for a complex set of systems that requires more planning, greater investment and a lot more attention to detail. So yes, 100% we’ve changed as a business. I think we’re taking a more prudent, planned approach that works well in the current environment, but it’s been driven by business need rather than conditions. Take, for example, our decision to do 90% of our business through pre-book. We’ve decided that we’d rather sell out and make our forecast profit than overstock in the hope that we sell more. That’s a decision that protects the brands and shows retailers the way we want to do business.
GBN: And finally, what are the highlights going to be at WWGB for the coming year?
GS: Our big story will be Stuburt. It’s been a fantastic brand for us over the years, with a great heritage and customer base. A Stuburt customer is looking for value, and they will still find that with the brand, but the way we’ve elevated the apparel and shoe lines for 2023 will shock a lot of people. We commissioned an Italian shoe designer a couple of years ago and the new designs will hit stores in the next week. They’re all designed from an off-course perspective, but with golf functionality. We want to create a category where you can walk the dog in the morning, play golf in the afternoon and go to the match at night all in the same pair of shoes. I’m really excited to show what we’ve come up with. It’s a fantastic range, and every pair still comes in under £100.
From an apparel perspective we’re moving towards a more generic market too, with a view to becoming an all-sports outdoor brand in 2024. Currently we sell more Stuburt fleeces to the outdoor market than we do to golf, so we’re developing apparel that is fit for every activity. Add in a new logo and a more premium feel for the brand, this will be an exciting few years for Stuburt.
For more information on WWGB, contact info@wwgb.uk