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Tiger Woods yesterday launched TGR, a "new company that will house a portfolio of Woods-related businesses," according to Elizabeth Segran of FAST COMPANY. Woods will serve as Chair and "plans to be closely involved in day-to-day decision-making." He is bringing "all of his existing businesses under a single umbrella for the first time and will also pursue new endeavors under the TGR brand." The company gives Woods a "unified corporate structure that will serve as a home base for all of his businesses moving forward." Woods is "wagering that the move will help define his legacy and keep him in the game." TGR will now "oversee TGR Live, his events company that organizes PGA Tour tournaments; his The Woods restaurant, which opened last year (its name will stay the same); TGR Design, a golf-course firm he launched a decade ago; and his charity, the Tiger Woods Foundation, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this month." Several new endeavors are "set to be announced over the next few months." There are curently "no specific plans for TGR to enter the equipment business." But Sub Rosa COO Jeff Kempler, the corporate strategy and branding firm that Woods hired to help develop his new brand, said that it is a "possibility at some point." Sub Rosa wanted to "create a business that could exist apart from its namesake." Kempler: "How can Tiger's global fame and recognizability both empower the new brand, but not create a dependency that would undo longevity?" Now that TGR has launched, the team is "considering where to go next." One "candidate for growth" is Woods' restaurant business. There also is "potential to grow Woods's 10-year-old golf-course-design company" (
FASTCOMPANY.com, 10/17). GOLF.com's Pete Madden noted the rebrand to TGR marks a "shift away from the TW logo that has accompanied Woods' business ventures for years" (
GOLF.com, 10/18).
FOLLOW IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS? GOLF DIGEST's Mike Stachura noted it is "not clear what this new entity will bring, as it seems to be serving as both an umbrella and a startup." Kempler described the future in a "corporate-speaky way that hints at Woods' eventually limited future playing career." The move "seems reminiscent of the kinds of moves other elite athletes have made in the past." Stachura: "Is Woods positioning himself like Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Greg Norman, all of whose corporations make gobs of money without their namesakes being competitive golfers? Is Woods following the lead of other elite athletes like Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and LeBron James, who have become or are on the verge of becoming business icons beyond any sneaker deals they ever signed?" (GOLFDIGEST.com, 10/17). Golf Channel's Matt Adams said this is the "next stage for Tiger, but it doesn't mean that the playing, active stage is going to be left behind right now." Adams: "He still desperately ... wants to be out there." Golf Channel's Tripp Isenhour: "You're not going to play forever, and that business part of it -- Tiger Woods is going to be very successful. It's just a conglomeration of all his different stuff. ... This was going to happen, regardless” (“Golf Central,” Golf Channel, 10/18).
