|  In
the kingdom of golf, scoring product successes are more the exception
than the norm and in 2001 no other single golf manufacturer had
such a diversity of product success than TaylorMade.
A banner year was first signaled when TaylorMade-adidas
Golf reported first quarter revenues were up 21percent over the
previous year to $145 million. Now, as of the third quarter, revenues
had also increased by 19 percent over their 2000 results, making
this the tenth straight quarter of sales increases! This past
year's results were primarily driven by a 57percent increase in
metalwoods.
 Undoubtedly,
TaylorMade's 300 Series of woods and irons simply outpaced and
out drove the competition in terms of driver counts on the Tours
and sales at retail level. In fact, the 300 Series broke the record
for most titanium fairway woods ever put in play at a single PGA
Tour event at the 2001 AT&T Pebble Beach Pro Am.
Perhaps TaylorMade's biggest success of the year
was the US Open win by Retief Goosen with the 360 Ti Driver.
Taking a closer look at TaylorMade's success
it is apparent that the successes can be directly attributed to
the company's broad appeal and product mix for the majority of
the golfing public. Not to be overlooked were CEO Jim Stutts'
and president Mark King's tactical business decisions on key additions
to staff such as John Steinbach as Director of Public Relations,
the formidable Hill & Knowlton Sports organization for PR
and Steve Pelisek as vice president /general manager, North America.
 The
success attributed to the 300 Series with wins on all Tours almost
every week, drove sales to new heights.
The next series of successes came through the
introduction of the 300 Series irons that also increased the company's
market share and became one of the most popular irons available.
The styling and pricing of these irons had the intangible "universal
appeal" to golfers from the low-handicapper to the casual
high-handicapper. Here again, personnel such as senior director
of product marketing for irons, John Hoeflich was the catalyst
behind the remarkable sales acceptance the irons produced.
TaylorMade re-invented different models for different
styles of golfers and their swing techniques. Additionally, the
opportunity for the consumer to have three different iron options
of the same series to test immediately in the retailer's store
is an excellent marketing technique in itself.
In
between the introduction of the 300 Series, TaylorMade's adidas
Golf introduced probably what is arguably, the very best golf
shoe currently available in the Z Traxion. Both the Z Traxion
and 300 Series metalwoods and irons were each awarded Golf Industry
Online's and Fairways & Greens Magazine's "Top-10 Most
Innovative & Beneficial Golf Products for 2001" awards.
Gaining ever-increasing market share, TaylorMade
Golf produced an encore performance thereby further solidifying
their position as the premier metalwood by introducing the 200
Steel driver and fairway woods. In a nutshell, these clubs offer
a large 275 cc head and feature TaylorMade's highest USGA –
allowed COR in a steel driver. The results were outstanding and
the distance achieved by the 200 versus the 300 Series is just
a few yards less and wonderfully priced. More importantly, this
new introduction also included the company's new 200 cast irons
featuring the same state-of-the-art construction as the 300 titanium
series. The success by Mike Weir using the 200 Steel to capture
the 2001 TOUR Championship further solidifies TaylorMade's position
as an industry leader. Their philosophy of "for every player
there is a club" indeed resonates with authority.
The core golfer could feel the benefits of the
200 Steel immediately. The driver delivered the crisp, solid sound
and feel of steel while offering the best launch conditions, forgiveness
and playability in any steel product currently available.
In September, TaylorMade introduced their revamped
version of their most popular fairway woods ever, the Tour Preferred
® and aptly named them as the Retro line of fairway woods.
With all new technology both in club design and shaft composition
incorporated into these two new user- friendly golf products,
which include a 16- and 19-degree Raylor – and a 13-degree
Tour Spoon®, demand exceeded supply for these clubs.
Finally, in October, TaylorMade introduced two
new ball models that performed both on the course and at the retailers.
The TP Tour ball's three-piece multi-layer, solid construction
was specifically developed to give a blend of control and distance
primarily for the serious golfer. Gary McCord, a TaylorMade staff
player, has already used the ball in three events and recorded
three top-ten finishes. The other ball, the Distance Plus features
the "TCBC" design (Thin Cover, Big Core), which offers
a critical sense of soft and easy feedback at club impact. The
pricing of both the Distance ($27.99 per dozen) and Tour ($34.99
per dozen) models were set at an affordable price compared to
many other balls introduced in 2001.
In conclusion, TaylorMade had the best products,
the most popular products and the best success of any golf manufacturer
in the year 2001.
|
TaylorMade's King Reigns Supreme in 2001 
