Huntington Beach surfwear maker Quiksilver Inc. is hoping to score a hole-in-one with a new line of edgy golf clothes designed by John Ashworth.
The line, dubbed Fidra, is set to launch later this month in a 1,200-square-foot booth at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, Fla., according to trade show officials.
“I’m a golfer,” Quiksilver Chief Executive Robert McKnight recently told the Business Journal. “(Professional surfer) Kelly Slater is a golfer. This helps create a line that is correct for our generation and our attitude for golf.”
Quiksilver leads the surfwear market and has branched out into several other related markets, including last year’s move into skateboard apparel with the purchase of Tony Hawk’s Hawk Clothing. The company also recently launched a new women’s line called Alex Goes and has a winter sports division that makes snowboards, bindings, boots and snowboard apparel.
The move into golfwear is part of Quiksilver’s ongoing diversification. It follows Foothill Ranch-based Oakley Inc.’s move into golf with a line of shoes and apparel set to launch this year.
Compared to the estimated $2 billion a year surfwear industry, the golf industry generates some $30 billion in yearly sales, including $5.6 billion spent on golf gear, apparel and accessories, according to data reported by the PGA Merchandise Show.
Quiksilver has tapped a tested hand for its drive into the golf market. Ashworth made his name as co-founder of Carlsbad-based golf apparel maker Ashworth Inc., which holds the rights to the Ashworth brand. He began designing a new line last summer after a non-compete agreement with the golfwear company bearing his name expired. He left Ashworth Inc. in 1997 to build a golf course in Scotland and later sold his interest in the project.
While Quiksilver isn’t able to use the Ashworth brand name, Fidra’s tag line is “a John Ashworth company.” Fidra is a Quiksilver company in partnership with John Ashworth. Robert Redding, a Quiksilver designer, moved from the company’s QS Silver line to co-design the Fidra line with Ashworth.
Last summer, Quiksilver loaned Ashworth money to start a new line with first dibs on the brand once it was completed. Ashworth has been working on designs from an office at Quiksilver’s headquarters. The line is set to include sweaters, golf shirts and longer walking shorts than those traditionally worn by golfers, McKnight said.
“John Ashworth is an icon in the green grass golf channel,” said Joe Teklits, an analyst at Ferris Baker Watts Inc. in Baltimore who covers Quiksilver and Ashworth Inc. “He is credited with changing the way golfers dress, and with creating a new burst of growth for the golf shops. Therefore, the line, which will not be branded Quiksilver, should have instant credibility and will generate immediate interest from the targeted accounts.”
Surfwear icon Bob Hurley followed a similar path two years ago when he dropped a 15-year license agreement with Irvine-based Billabong to start his own company. His unproven Costa Mesa-based Hurley International brand became a hit with consumers and retailers and counts an estimated $50 million in annual sales.
Quiksilver tried to launch a golf brand once before. The company considered buying Ashworth Inc. five years ago, but the deal never materialized. Instead, former Quiksilver president Randall L. Herrel switched camps to become Ashworth’s chief executive.
Analyst Teklits said he isn’t handicapping Quiksilver’s golf bid.
“Quiksilver has been very good at building specialty businesses, and golf apparel is certainly a specialty business since the green grass channel is comprised of roughly 5,000 potential accounts that can support a higher price point,” he said. “This is not a surfwear company getting into golf. It is a company that specializes in doing business with thousands of small accounts that now has acquired a product and marketing expertise in golf.”
The challenge for Quiksilver is to establish credibility with golf retailers who are accustomed to selling the collared-shirt uniform required by many golf courses.
“Quiksilver doesn’t have relationships with the golf shops,their relationships are with surf shops,” said Mitch Kummetz, an analyst at A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc. in St. Louis, Mo. “But with John Ashworth’s name,even though they can’t use the Ashworth name,people in the golf channel know him and respect him and likely will be willing to test the line more so than if it wasn’t John Ashworth. They have a fighting chance.”
Quiksilver’s golf bid comes at a time when 24-year-old Tiger Woods is leading a new youth movement onto the greens.
Additionally, nearly half of all golfers, or 12.6 million people, are ages 12 to 39, while 8% are ages 12 to 17, according to the Jupiter, Fla.-based National Golf Foundation.
“There are people who pigeonhole Quiksilver as a surf company and see their consumer as one who is skateboarding, surfing and snowboarding,” Kummetz said. “But what people don’t recognize is that these kids are also out playing golf.” n
