2024 PlatinumPGA Professional – Industry Insider – December 2008
A recent article in the PGA Professional featured an indepth interview with Glenmuir’s Marketing Director – Andy Bough.
28 November 2008 2 minute read
Glenmuir is one of the longest standing companies in the world of golf. It was started by a Glaswegian entrepreneur in 1891. I’ve not been here quite as long; just 12 years.
Where are Glenmuir garments manufactured? If in the UK, why? Likewise overseas?
We source our products in Europe and the Far East and choose factories carefully on the basis of their expertise, quality, service and, of course, price.
Do you play golf yourself? If so, do your experiences play a part in the development of the company’s products?
Hockey has always been my main sporting passion, and I still play for a club in Edinburgh, but I do play golf when I can, off a very sociable 18 handicap. The playability of our garments is always the paramount design consideration, so any opportunity to test this out is welcome. However, playing golf is first and foremost a pleasure.
Glenmuir has been associated with/kitted out Europe’s Ryder Cup for the past 21 years, an arrangement that will continue at Celtic Manor. How important has this been to the business?
The Ryder Cup is one of the world’s great sporting events, and having such a long relationship with the European Team reinforces Glenmuir’s status in the game and the industry. We have moved the Glenmuir brand forward considerably over recent years and the Ryder Cup has been a great vehicle in helping us communicate these changes to our consumers.
Golf apparel appears to be coming increasingly fashionable, how does Glenmuir spot the trends or set them?
We take as much time as we can looking at design trends in all fields of fashion, at fabric and trade shows but also at retail. This means looking beyond the golf market at the leading fashion designers, and increasingly at the performance markets such as ski and outdoor, which have been leading the fabric development in performance clothing.
On that note, increasingly fashionable golf clothing could offend golf club committees and ruling bodies who can be small ‘c’ conservative when it comes to what players are allowed to wear. Do you consult with ruling bodies before launching a new line and how hard is it to push the boundaries?
Our design focus is on style colour and performance rather than short-term fashion statements. We also seek to appeal to a wide range of golfers so do not come across this sort of problem. I also think golfers in general are enjoying the new fashions made available to them, even those committee members!
There are a substantial number of companies manufacturing or marketing golf apparel. Is the market over-populated and, because of the current economic circumstances, do you see it contracting?
There are certainly many more companies competing these days but there remain a small number, including Glenmuir, which dominate the European market. Global economic conditions have already led to changes at some of our American-based competitors and I think some of the smaller European-based fashion companies may find trading conditions very difficult over the next few years.
Because this competition is so intense, how does Glenmuir remain one of the industry leaders?
We are looking during the next period to concentrate on, and crucially to invest in, the key strengths of our business: a strong recognisable brand at trade and consumer level, great product well presented, stock available to our customers on a quick turnaround (crested or plain), and an unrivalled cresting service. Most important of all we intend to be very customer-focused. We believe we have sales programmes and services that can ensure our customers make the most of whatever demand will be out there next season and we will work hard to support them.
Glenmuir is a PGA Partner – how important is this to your business?
PGA Professionals make up the vast majority of our business in the UK and around Europe, and so the relationships we enjoy with the PGA and the PGAs of Europe are very valuable to us. Our support spans training and development (we are sponsoring the Teaching and Coaching Conference in Birmingham next year) and of course the playing side (we sponsor the Glenmuir PGA Professional Championship and the PGAsE International Team Championships). When we sit down with our friends at the PGA to plan for 2009 and beyond, we will in particular be looking to make sure that Glenmuir’s support is concentrated on those areas of activity that most directly benefit our customers, their skills, and their trading position.
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