MARCH-APRIL 2006

News & Notes

Industry News | New Products

Sporting Goods Sales up
Wholesale sales of sporting goods equipment, sports apparel and athletic footwear were slightly stronger in 2005, according to the Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association. Sales last year rose to $55.7 billion from $52.5 billion in 2004—a 6.8 percent jump. A 7 percent gain is expected for 2006, with projected sales reaching $59.5 billion.
The renewed popularity in sports brands for both fashion and performance were largely responsible for the surge in sales last year, noted SGMA President Tom Cove, who announced the results in January during the Super Show, the sporting goods industry’s annual trade show in Orlando, Fla.
In 2005, wholesale shipments of sports apparel rose by 9 percent to $26.1 billion. What’s significant is that consumers purchased more units of sports apparel and paid more for them. The leading activities for sports apparel usage are walking, running, basketball, golf and baseball/softball.
Athletic footwear shipments were also up by nearly 9 percent to $10.9 billion.
Golf equipment sales rose slightly to $2.6 billion from $2.5 billion, and two smaller categories within equipment, tennis and soccer, continued their upward trend in sales. Both grew by more than 10 percent in 2005.
These increases follow several years of flat sales, resulting from the weak economy, stalled participation rates in many sports and an increased interested in sedentary attractions. Cove said that except for fitness and exercise, participation in most sports and outdoor activities has been stable or in decline for at least 10 years.

Failed Footings Lead to New University Range
The University of Washington in Seattle has closed its driving range for 10 months while a new, expanded practice center is built. The facility’s tee line and clubhouse sit on a capped landfill and new pilings are needed to support them, says John Pariseau, the university’s director of recreational sports programs. Rather than renovate the existing 1968-era structures, the preferred option was to create a more modern range, he notes.
The original 43-station tee line will be replaced with 47 bays, 35 of which will be covered, an improvement over the 20 tees previously enclosed, says Pariseau. In addition, several stations will be heated and two of the tees will be dedicated instruction bays for private lessons and small group activities. The natural grass on the 260-yard-deep landing area will be replaced by artificial turf, and the barrier netting at the end of the landing area will be raised from 37 feet to 65 feet. Other improvements include enhancements to the natural turf putting and chipping green, a second synthetic practice green and new lights.
The range is scheduled to reopen in time for the 2007 spring semester.

J.A. Cissel Names New President
David Morgan has joined J.A. Cissel Mfg. Co. in Lakewood, N.J., as president and chief financial officer. He has 14 years’ experience in the recreation industry, most recently as director of finance for Playworld Systems, a commercial playground manufacturing company. In his new role with J.A. Cissel, Morgan will focus on strengthening the company’s sales and marketing efforts.

Banner Year for Play Golf America
Play Golf America, a player development program launched in 2004, continued to expand in 2005, with rising numbers of participation from golfers. There were more than 556,000 participants in group lessons and 4.9 million total participants in organized play (leagues, outings and events), compared to 1.6 million in 2004.

Report Details ‘What Women Want’
What Women Want—from Golf offers advice for teaching women golfers as well as selling equipment and apparel to this growing golfer demographic. Released last fall by Women in the Golf Industry, a Florida-based organization that promotes women in the golf business, the report is a compilation of successful grassroots activities WIGI’s members have used to encourage more play such as mother/daughter clinics, ladies night out leagues and newsletters.
The report can be downloaded from www.golf2020.com/industry reports.asp.

Service Desk Moves Closer to Customers
The Golf Academy at Chelsea Piers has moved its customer service desk from the third floor of the Golf Club to the first-level lobby. Academy professionals staff the desk to check in students, book appointments and answer questions about upcoming programs and clinics. “One of the main reasons we moved the desk, second only to ease for customers, was to continue to drive traffic to the academy,” says Joanna Shapiro, public relations associate at Chelsea Piers Management in New York. Range customers who might not otherwise visit the academy now have access to information about instructional programs offered. Moving the desk also has made it more convenient for lesson-takers to check in.

Miniature Golf Course, Caribbean-Style
Sputters, a 19-hole miniature golf course, opened this past summer in Simpson Bay, St. Maarten. Owners Ric and Kathy Hetzel contracted Mini-Golf Inc. of Jessup, Pa., to build the course, which includes pint-size replicas common to the French/Dutch Caribbean island, such as the Philipsburg Court House, a Dutch windmill, an Eiffel Tower, a Winair plane and the French/Dutch border monument. A large deck and snack bar overlook the course, which has reportedly been a hit with locals and tourists.

Connecticut Range Adds Club Fitting
Golf Quest Family Sports Center in Brookfield, Conn., has added club-fitting and repair capabilities with the addition of Performance Clubworks. A full-service golf shop, Performance Clubworks is a subsidiary of Stony Hill Custom Golf, which opened its first location in Bethel, Conn., 13 years ago, and a second location at the Southington, Conn., Golf Quest center in March 2005. The factory-certified club fitters at Performance Clubworks use the EDH FlightScope ball monitor, among other assessment tools, to custom fit clubs to golfers’ individual needs.

Mission Bay Golf Center Closing
As reported in the San Francisco Chronicle, Mission Bay Golf Center got its packing orders in January from landlord ProLogis, which plans to build offices and condos on the six-acre site. Operator Jack Scott said he has until April 15 to clear the property, meaning the double-deck tee structure, 3,000-square-foot clubhouse, nets and irrigation system all must go. Scott has reportedly approached the San Francisco Port about moving the driving range to the waterfront location. Since opening in 1992, Mission Bay Golf Center has sold 3 million buckets of balls and run free programs for juniors and local high school golf teams.

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