Golf Business News talks with Graeme Stevens, Managing Director of multi-brand owner and distributor Worldwide Golf Brands about the first six months of Stuburt’s partnership with LIV Golf, how the partnership is helping him fulfil a personal ambition, and the next steps for the brand.
GBN: You’re six months into Stuburt being the official apparel supplier for LIV Golf teams Fireballs G.C, Stinger G.C. and Torque G.C. How has it been?
GS: It’s made for an incredibly busy start to the year, but I couldn’t be happier with how it’s gone. The teams and players have performed so well. Joaquin Niemann has won twice and leads the season standings, Sergio Garcia has won once and been in three play-offs and all three teams have had great success. We had five players in the Open and Stuburt apparel has featured in every Major. Purely in terms of brand visibility, it’s been an incredible first six months for Stuburt and we’re now seeing that translate into orders.
GBN: When the deal was first announced it was a surprise for many people. Why did you think Stuburt was the right fit for this deal?
GS: I’d been thinking about growing a global brand, as a personal ambition really. I knew that to start from scratch was a big challenge, so when the chance to work with the LIV teams came about I jumped straight in with Stuburt. We knew for it to work we had to elevate everything about the brand. We immediately switched suppliers to the same team that produce Oscar Jacobson and made sure that the main range reflected the quality of the team wear. This means that what was a traditional value brand has increased in price, but we are keeping it below the price point of premium brands while the quality is up there with the best. This has helped us expand all over the world, and in six months we have deals in place with the biggest retailers in the U.K, South Africa, Argentina, Chile and Australia. There’s a lot of work to do, but our global brand isn’t far off.
GBN: The deal looks to have been a success, but how has it been working with LIV?
GS: Most people won’t know that we didn’t have an official agreement signed until the first event in Hong Kong, but we’d obviously had to be working with the teams for a few months to get them kitted out. The process of getting the deal over the line was complex, but the faith and enthusiasm the teams, and particularly the captains (Sergio Garcia, Louis Oosthuizen and Joaquin Niemann), had shown in the brand gave me the confidence to move everything forward without that signed guarantee. We invested significant amounts of time and money, but all along the guys at LIV and the teams gave us the confidence that they saw Stuburt as the best long-term partner, we just had to work out the detail.
GBN: What has the process looked like?
GS: It’s been very professional all along. The team at LIV are clearly in this for the long term. They really care about choosing the right partners and we had to prove that we matched their long term ambition with our plans for Stuburt. But it starts even further back than that. We were initially approached through a contact of mine who works with the three teams. Once we agreed on Stuburt we had to communicate our vision for the brand to the captains and get them on board. Once they were happy with the plans, each team has a board of directors that we had to present to and get their sign off. Only then, once everyone on the team side was in, did we go through to LIV for them to sign off the deal.
GBN: So the team captains were involved from pretty much day one?
GS: They have been. We had to show them that we could produce apparel of the quality they were used to wearing. We started by consulting them on design ideas, materials, fit and fabrication and learning about the DNA of the teams. This led to us presenting over 40 polo designs to each team which they narrowed down to 10 or so that we made into samples. At every stage we’ve had their input so that the final items represented everything they wanted in golf apparel. These are some of the most discerning golfers on the planet, but they’ve all been fantastic to work with.
GBN: And how does that reflect in the main Stuburt range?
GS: A great example is that the teams all said that every trouser and short should be water-resistant. We’ve offered these as an option before, but they when you have 12 of the world’s best players all saying the same thing, you take it on board! So now, every trouser and short in our 2025 range has water-resistant properties. We’ve also blended the team designs and fit into the main range. And while we know that there won’t be a huge demand for Fireballs red on your average British course, we’ve incorporated styles and accents through the core range that follow on from the team wear.
GBN: Will the team wear be available for those who want to show their allegiance?
GS: We launched the team outfits at the last LIV event at Valderrama, and every single item sold out for all three teams. We launched on the website at the same time and we’re very nearly through the entire first drop of stock. We’ve had orders coming in from all over the world and the demand has surpassed anything we expected.
GBN: And when can golf retailers get their hands on the team wear?
GS: We’re launching a team capsule collection as part of our SS25 range. That will be the first opportunity to stock our full range of team wear and our core Stuburt range. Because of the shared DNA between the two lines they merchandise together perfectly. With very competitive price points for the quality on offer, plus POS featuring players from the three teams, Stuburt SS25 will be a fantastic addition to any golf retailer.
GBN: And finally, what’s next for Stuburt?
GS: We’ll continue to grow the partnership with LIV and use that as a vehicle to get the new, elevated Stuburt in front of as many people as possible. We’ve also been working behind the scenes on a new shoe range for 2026. We’ve invested in a new team of designers and some really innovative technology that will elevate the brand to be the equal of any other shoe manufacturer. I said at the start that I want to develop a truly global brand and to do that, we need quality at the heart of everything we do. And keep an eye out for Stuburt at the Paris Olympics! We’re currently working on the team uniforms for Joaquin Niemann and Mito Pereira who will be representing Chile. LIV winners, Major Championships and now the Olympics – things are on the up for Stuburt!
GBN Thank you very much, Graeme.
