Retailers of Tiger Woods Merchandise Eager for Masters
Tiger Woods return to golf is a very important for Nike and for retailers of golf equipment and Tiger Woods Nike apparel. Nike is one of the few sponsors that has stuck by Tiger Woods and golf stores carry a lot of Tiger Woods Nike products. Martin E. Hanaka, CEO of Golfsmith, told the New York Times, that they are looking forward to the Masters and Tiger's return.
"Selfishly, this is perfect," said Martin E. Hanaka, chairman and chief executive of Golfsmith, a 74-store golf and tennis retail chain. "The season's kicking off. The Masters is the No. 1 event. Spring is blooming. People are itching to get out there."
If Tiger Woods doesn't play well it won't be good for Nike or for golf sports retailers. Tiger Woods increases overall interest in the sport when he is at the top of his game. Some retailers had to discount Tiger Woods' apparel after the scandal broke, but only by 20%, to get products to sell.
Golfsmith and the New York Golf Center say that, at worst, sales of Woods clothing have dipped a bit. "When it happened, we didn't have deep inventories," Hanaka said. "Then we went to 20 percent off, and his stuff moved pretty well."
Gary Lynch, a salesman at the New York Golf Center on West 35th Street near Broadway, said Woods's clothing line was hurt because women were less eager to buy his $100 shirts or $130 pants for their golf-playing husbands. In addition, with Woods not playing, the store's front display table could not lay out his popular Thursday-to-Sunday schedule of shirts.
It probably depends who is purchasing the Tiger Woods products. If women are buying they are still going to be less likely to buy Tiger Woods' merchandise, even if he is winning golf matches, because of the tawdry affairs. If men are buying they will probably be less likely to buy Tiger Woods products if he is not playing well. A poor performance at the Masters, plus the scandal, could weaken the Tiger Woods' brands. The expectation in the world of golf is that Tiger Woods will play well, which is probably why Nike has stuck with the world's top golfer, even though he is a cheater.
