Menu
Finance

Adidas Shifts Focus With Golf Division, Seeks Buyer For Adams, Ashworth Brands

adidas is focused on "finding a buyer for Adams," a brand within its TaylorMade golf unit that "makes clubs for beginners, and the Ashworth polos and cardigans business," according to Aaron Ricadela of BLOOMBERG NEWS. But adidas Chair & CEO Herbert Hainer "isn't ruling out exiting the entire business" of golf if Guggenheim Partners "advises." A culture shift is "partly to blame: weekend players are aging, millennials aren't taking up the sport, and Tiger Woods is not exactly a big draw anymore." UBS analyst Fred Speirs said, "Golf equipment demand is undoubtedly going through a tricky patch and it's getting harder to envisage a significant recovery at least in the near-term." adidas' TaylorMade golf division had $995M in sales last year, but "valuing it is difficult." Speirs said that a buyer "could pay" 80-100% of '15 sales. Titleist ball maker Acushnet in '11 sold for $1.23B. But in the case of TaylorMade, there are "no obvious suitors." Nike gets less than 5% of sales from golf and is "unlikely to invest in the sport." Speirs noted that while Under Armour sells golf apparel and "could potentially use a deal to add clubs." Bryan Garnier & Co. analyst Cedric Rossi said, "The only interested buyers could likely be investment funds who could restructure it and sell it to someone else" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 8/6). DZ Bank analyst Herbert Sturm said TaylorMade's 26% year-over-year sales drop in Q2 was "disappointing" and "much worse than expected." The FINANCIAL TIMES' James Shotter noted the unit's "underperformance contributed to a profit warning" by adidas last year (FT.com, 8/6).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: May 3, 2024

Seismic change coming for NCAA? Churchill Downs rolls out major premium build out and Jeff Pash, a key advisor to Roger Goodell, steps down

Learfield's Cory Moss, MASN/ESPN's Ben McDonald, and Canelo

On this week’s pod, SBJ’s Austin Karp has two Big Get interviews. The first is with Learfield's Cory Moss as he talks about his company’s collaboration on EA Sports College Football. Later in the show, we hear from MASN/ESPN baseball analyst Ben McDonald on how he sees the college and professional baseball scene shaking out. SBJ’s Adam Stern shares his thoughts on the upcoming Canelo-Mungia bout on Prime Video and DAZN.

SBJ I Factor: Molly Mazzolini

SBJ I Factor features an interview with Molly Mazzolini. Elevate's Senior Operating Advisor – Design + Strategic Alliances chats with SBJ’s Ross Nethery about the power of taking chances. Mazzolini is a member of the SBJ Game Changers Class of 2016. She shares stories of her career including co-founding sports design consultancy Infinite Scale career journey and how a chance encounter while working at a stationery store launched her career in the sports industry. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2015/08/07/Finance/adidas-golf.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2015/08/07/Finance/adidas-golf.aspx

CLOSE