John Ashworth Returns To Ashworth To Help Move Brand Forward
 |
Fred Couples One Of Several PGA
Tour Players Endorsing Ashworth
|
After leaving Ashworth ten years ago, John Ashworth returned in January to the
company he founded 20 years ago to “re-infuse panache into a brand that many retailers
say has become stale and corporate,” according to Adam Schupak of GOLFWEEK. Once
the “top seller of golf apparel, Ashworth has ceded its leadership position to
the likes of Adidas and Nike.” Leanne Sanders, Manager of Merchandising for Kohler
Resorts’ Blackwolf Run and Whistling Straits, said, “Adidas and Nike are very
strong for our shops but more with the younger crowd. Someone my father’s age,
who is 65, he’s not a big fan of Nike or Adidas. Adidas was tennis to him and
Nike was basketball. To him, Ashworth is golf.” But Schupak notes a “lack of visionary
leadership hurt the company immeasurably.” John Ashworth said that “returning
to form is just a matter of making good product.” He is “keeping mum on the company’s
upcoming lines. But he more than hints that it’ll be far different from what rivals
are offering now.” The company’s endorsers include Fred Couples, Rich Beem, Chris
DiMarco, Stuart Appleby and Steve Flesch (GOLFWEEK, 4/28 issue).
|
