Penguin Returns: Brand Inks Baddeley For Foray Into Golf

Munsingwear’s Original Penguin brand “announced its reemergence in golf by signing a three-year endorsement deal with PGA Tour player Aaron Baddeley,” who won the FBR Open in his first start sporting the brand, according to Adam Schupak of GOLFWEEK. Baddeley is the first pro to endorse Penguin in over 20 years. The company is developing “a contemporary golf line.” Baddeley, 26, “fits the company’s target audience: golfers ranging in age from 18-35.” Penguin VP/Branding & Creative David Bedwell said of the brand, “Our customers like the historical value, but they also like the new, quirky sensibility of it.” Some golf retailers believe that the brand “suits an audience seeking a stylish, fitted look that can be worn both on, and off, the course,” but others are “concerned that Penguin is targeting too narrow a market.” Meadowbrook Golf Group Dir of Retail Jack Dillon said that the demographic targeted by Penguin “historically shops less at golf courses and spends less money on golf apparel.” Dillon: “It’s a tiny niche. If I’m going to fish, I’m going where the fish are and not where there are a couple of minnows” (GOLFWEEK, 3/17 issue).