#720: Game On: How Golf, Fashion & Retail Are Colliding

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Business can be a lonely game, but it doesn't have to be. Welcome to Boutique Chat, where we explore community over competition and how to scale your company with the balance and the happiness that we all seek. We'll hear from product based businesses of all types, retailers, e commerce and wholesale brands, along with industry experts shaping the future of our industry. I'm your host, Ashley Alderson from the Boutique Hub and I can't wait to chat. Hey guys, welcome back to the podcast. This week this is going to be a fun topic. Lisa, I'm so glad that you're here because we're going to mix like business with personal, I feel like, and talk about the journey of golf. So if you guys are listening and you're curious about golf and you love golf or you're just like, what, what? Golf seems to be taking over a lot of things right now. This is going to be such a fun conversation. Lisa, welcome to the podcast.

Thank you, Ashley. I'm so excited to be here. We're very excited about our partnership with the Boutique Hub and having a chance to chat with you today.

Yeah, this is new for us. So we've had a partnership for not quite a year, maybe a year, ish. So far. And I got to go to the PGA show for the first time here. Oh, gosh, several months ago now. But I loved it. I mean, I love to come and speak, but I also walked around with like my chin open, like, oh, this is so much fun. I want to go to the driving range right now. What an incredible show the PGA show is.

It is an amazing show. If you've never been. We have about 30,000 attendees. It's held every January in Orlando, Florida at the Orange County Convention center. And we have excellent education. Ashley, we really appreciate you speaking for us. Last year your seminar was so well received and the fact that you got to walk the show floor and yeah, you can, you can hit golf balls at simulators. You can meet with all the big golf equipment companies as well as find everything from companies that sell cooling pearl necklaces to coolers to, you know, all your apparel products. And it's really, we cast a very wide net with it and it's, it's a lot of fun.

Yeah, let's talk. We've got to like paint a picture in detail for everybody. Let's talk a little bit more about the show and how it's broken up because I mean, every new section I walked into, I was like, ah, snap. And picture pictures of everything and sending it to my ladies Night Golf Group and my kids and everybody else. So to first start like apparel, I mean, the golf apparel part of your show has that grown.

It has grown significantly. In fact, it's our largest growing section in the show, is our apparel section driven primarily by women's products and accessories, junior products and accessories and luxury. And so a lot of offerings. We have a lot of wonderful men's product there. And when you come to the show, it's segmented in different pavilions, so you can easily target the area that you want to shop in terms of product categories, price points and look and feel and fashion. So we try to make it as easy as possible moving from equipment on one haul through our accessories over to our apparel pavilions. And literally you can. I mean, we have jeans, which is shocking blue, Delta Jeans company, which is an amazing custom jean brand that they do. Amazing. And you know, our up and coming women's. We have a brand called A Putnam, which has been at our show for going on three years now. And she's, you know, from corporate to coarse kind of idea. So, you know, we can. We can help you find pretty much anything that you want to add to your product offering at the show. And it's easy to navigate.

Yeah, specifically, I mean, I loved specifically the women's apparel. And there's all the big brands, you know, all. You've got your Travis Matthews, you've got all of your Nike and Adidas and all of those things. But then, you know, one of my favorite women's brands is For All.

Oh, Love For All.

I love For All. And the. I mean, the booth was beautiful. There was like a basketball hoop and all kinds of stuff going on there. But I mean, the boutique, I would say, like boutique golf apparel.

Yes.

It's just blowing up. It seems like.

Yes, it's very well represented. And like I said, it's our largest growing category at the show over the last probably four to five years because women are looking for product and they're not finding it, you know, in most of their local golf shops, you know, they tend to stay a little safe and so that real fashion forward. And so those types of companies for all women owned and they have amazing stories behind the brands. The green jacket of for all, because she's married to a Masters winner, and all of those kinds of stories. And every company we find that's coming in has a reason why they're doing what they're doing to fit a niche, to fit a market that they couldn't find as a customer. So it's really fun to See the entrepreneurship and it's really fun to see the design vision and the stories and to your point, the activations. I really think one of the things that makes the PGA show so special is that we allow you to show up as your authentic self, as your authentic brand and you can do those kinds of things and you can really have experiences to create the story so that when you buy your products from them, you can share that with your customers and the marketing materials and you know how you want to promote it and introduce it, you can lean into that brand story. It's really nice to see.

Well, we're going to come back to that topic and the brand story and I want to talk about golf influencers and so many things just to keep walking through your show. I mean there was then the golf cart section, there was a pickleball section, there was all the golf equipment and the simulators and the indoor driving range. I mean, I'm going to bring my husband and my son next time I go.

We literally have it all. And in fact we have our whole racket and paddle. So beyond just golf, we have a whole racket and paddle area. So any of you that are looking at pickleball products and apparel, we have that area. In fact, we're going to have two pickleball courts this year, not one. We run tournaments on it. And we have amazing pickleball products and exhibitors there in that court under our club amenities. We also will have a Padel court this year, which we haven't had before. So we're introducing Padel because that's growing so much. And we work with the United States Tennis association in partnership. We have a whole fitness stage, we have a whole fitness area, health and well being and spa products. We really try to encapsulate everything around a golf lifestyle which does include these other areas that customers participate in. And we are actually also something I haven't even had a chance to tell you about. We're also bringing in our Functional Fabric Fair, a winter edition. And so Functional Fabric Fair is a show that is where you can source fabrics and technology and learn about upcoming trends. And so we will actually have a pavilion for Functional Fabric Fair at the show this year. So if you do any of your private labeling or you want to learn about fabrics and sustainability and those kinds of things, that's also going to be at the show.

Awesome. Well, growing like crazy. And specifically the pickleball area, I bet that continue to really grow. Every show that I go to, there is just pickleball merch everywhere. So that is awesome as well. Something that we got that was really unique, Lisa, about the show was all the different types of education. So I felt like I was more in, I don't know, like the business education area. But help me understand. There was education for all the pros, like the golf pros, and there was education for like course owners, course managers. Like that type of education?

Yeah, yeah. So we really, I like to say, want to feed our customers to grow their skill sets and grow personally, personally and professionally. And so in partnership with PGA of America, we do offer a very robust education program for PGA of America professionals that follows their education learning tracks. Alongside that, we have our education program as the PGA show, which really leans into leadership, retail panels and discussions and development, marketing. So Ashley, you were part of that content, which is in a. It's, it's a very business like setting for that. And it is a paid conference program which we have over 1500 attendees in our paid conference. And we try to nurture and offer information for all of our attendees, whether you're a buyer, whether you're a PGA professional, whether you're exhibitor, or whether you're a golf course owner. And we actually partner with national golf course owners. They have their golf business conference at our show also and they bring in about 400 golf course owners for that content. And then we also have education on our show floor, so you'll see many different stages. So in the clubhouse we have content there for club amenities. So if you're doing a pro shop redesign, there'll be a topic about that. If you're adding food and beverage or you're adding simulators. So we try to look at those types of offerings there. On the fitness stage, we have tpi, which is the Titleist Performance Institute. And they have all of your physical training and well being. And so we have that fitness stage. And then we also have some influencer opportunity also on a stage floor. We're going to be launching that this year for our influencer community, which will be really fun. And yeah, you can, you can look at our education offerings and there's something for everybody there.

Yeah, truly there is. All right, speaking of influencers, we've got to go down this road and have this conversation. You've got all the stats about the number of women in golf and how fast this is on the rise. And I would put myself in that category until we move to the home that we're in now. I mean, in 2020. Before that I really was not a golfer, but now I've been On this golf journey, I've got a group of friends, we love to go out on Tuesdays and I'm big on. I mean, if you can't play good, you at least got to look good. So we have a lot of fun with that. But tell me about the numbers and the demographics and just how fast golf is changing right now.

It is continuing to grow exponentially beyond anything that we ever thought was possible. It continues to have record play year over year, both on course and off course. So we look at both of those segments. Any, any somebody is considered a golfer or a golf consumer if they have a golf ball and they hit it with a club. So topgolf your simulator, your ranges, it doesn't and that's considered off course. And then you have your on course play, which is as it implies, actually playing at a golf course. And so the largest growing demographics are women and juniors. And we have seen an over 40% increase in women's play in the last three years, which is phenomenal. And we've seen a 38% increase in junior golfers. So it's now a family event. It's now everybody can come and participate. And there's so many clinics and lessons and opportunities to be able to learn and just have fun. I think the stigmatism, you know, that the boundaries that have been in place with traditional golf are being eliminated. And it's more about getting your girlfriends together. This is crazy. Ashley. I just started really playing also myself in the last two years. I've been in the industry for a very, very long time, but never had the time to pick it up. I'm like, I don't have five hours and plus I don't know what I'm doing. So there's easy clinics, there's easy bring your girlfriends out, and it's just a matter of just getting out and enjoying. And to your point, women want to look good. And so the fashion evolution of golf is really upon us. And you know, taking your kiddos out with you, you know, having a fun Sunday afternoon round, it's all about the family and the experience. And leaning into those demographics that are growing is really important and impactful to the sport. Yeah.

And you see it in, you know, I think about like the golf world and then I see a lot in the women's apparel world. And you and I were kind of chatting before we started to record today, but the amount of product that is in just the general women's apparel world right now, pickleball product, golf, you know, golf skirts, tennis skirts, just that Athleisure has moved more to the golf and tennis side of things that just the leggings and Lululemon side of things. And so that crossover is unbelievable. So when I'm thinking about everyone who's listening to the show today, the brands that are listening that we work with, I mean, have an opportunity, I think, to be a part of your show. Retailers, I think, have an opportunity to be a part and experience both shows. There's just more crossover than ever in all of these categories.

It really is. It's like melted in this big melting pot, if you will. And this looking good, but comfortable and being able to be, you know, you can take a score and it can be very basic, but then you can just change your shoes and accessories and add a jacket and all of a sudden, you know, you're more corporate or you go a pre golf and you know, at 9 to 5 and after 5, you can take these pieces and they can really be highly functional pieces in your wardrobe. So if you look at investment and your, you know, your cost per wear and all those kinds of things, this is a really great target market for those kinds of items. And the accessory market is really going crazy too, in terms of, you know, making those outfits transition from sport to corporate or cocktail happy hour. So it's just really fun to see.

Okay, you've got to know about this if you have thought about being a member of the Boutique Hub or if you're already a member of the Boutique Hub. This year we added something that I just can't wait to get into your hands. Okay, so if you're a monthly member of the Hub, Awesome. Glad to have you. It's a great experience. But we were like people who are really serious about their business and growing it into the future. They don't just join the Hub monthly. They join for the whole year because it takes more than a month to impact and make real, lasting change in your business. So this year, we have updated our annual offer. For those of you who are our members are thinking about becoming a member and joining for the entire year. You want to hear about it? All right. If you're an annual member of the Hub, not only do you get access to everything the Hub has to offer from all of the education, live training, every single week, all of our exclusive discounts, resources, wholesale brands, all the things. But now, as an annual member of the Hub, you also have access to some of our very best selling masterclasses and handbooks. That's right. I'm throwing all of these crazy things in for free. If you are an annual member of the Boutique Hub, this includes our Best selling Small Business Marketing Handbook, which is over 100 pages of content, calendars, live sale ideas, TikTok ideas, real ideas, social media ideas for literally every day of the month, engagement questions for literally every month of the year, collections, event ideas to run in your brick and mortar, and so much more. The Small Business Marketing Handbook is a must have for every type of retailer, no matter what you sell. I guarantee it. We're also throwing in our Small Business Hiring Handbook which is all the things you know to help to hire, train, onboard job descriptions, everything you need to know to grow a team, plus our Holiday Marketing Masterclass, our Content Sanity masterclass, Best of Our Boutique Summit videos, and so much more. There's over $1,300 added in courses, masterclasses and handbooks just for you. Plus, when you're an annual member of the Boutique Hub, you get access to join one on one coaching calls with myself and several members of our team. We don't give out an opportunity to do one on one coaching anywhere other than for our VIP students in Retail Bootcamp or those who are members of Boutique Hub Black. So this is a real opportunity for those of you who are a member of the Hub and you're like, hey, I just need to pick Ashley's brain for an hour. I need to pick Sarah's brain for an hour. What does that look like? You can book an annual coaching call if you are an annual member of the Hub. Did I say annual coaching call? I meant anytime you can book a coaching call only if you're an annual member of the Hub. So that's it. I'm excited. I'm rambling. I just want you to know if you're going to join the Hub, this is the best opportunity to get the most out of your membership. If you're already a member, reach out to our team@happypeopleboutiquehub.com we can get you upgraded to annual. If you're not yet a member, scroll all the way down to the Join page at the boutiquehub.com and click annual to join us. Now. I can't wait to see you inside and get you all of these extras. We're going to do a lot together to grow, scale, optimize and secure your business together in the next year. Let's get started. When you look across some of the pro shops that you work with and just golf retailers that you work with that you feel like have done a good job leaning into this New opportunity for crossover. And for women in golf specifically, what do you think are some of the most successful strategies that they've had that you've seen?

I think first is understanding that that customer exists and acknowledges that that customer exists. So I think it's taking the blinders off in it and saying, okay, this is an opportun. We have this and understanding those demographics and doing surveys. So you know, in the private club industry there's a lot of surveys and even in the resort business you're always doing surveys. So it's first acknowledging that this is an opportunity and this is someone we want to garner loyalty from and provide products from. And then it's a matter of okay, how much fashion, how much basics and how do I layer it together. Just like any with a product launch, you want to make sure you're having a little bit of diversity but not too much and really honing in and having those pop pieces that allow like a visual display and you buy a few of those units to pop the rest of it in your marketing. And you're using either an influencer, a brand loyalist. Lean into that customer base who can carry the water for you to their friends and their community that you're now carrying these types of products. And I think that, you know, women, women like to share, they like to be proudful of product that they're wearing where they got it. So you want to just lean into that customer. And then you also want to make sure that you plan a marketing campaign that you're very have a strategy in place about how to announce it and you know, maybe it's an invitation only event and come in for a pre golf happy hour and tie into the golf theme. And you know, and don't forget the men because they're looking for gifts for their wives. They're looking for gifts or, you know, things for their children. And so you want to make sure that you include them in the initial marketing campaign too. But I think it starts with just acknowledging that that customer exists and you want to speak to them.

I think that is so true and so smart. I actually, in my education session at the show, I talked a little bit about what you just touched on of marketing to that person. I mean, the number of like pro shops and golf courses and the content that I follow from them, very seldom do I see them posting, you know, what's the new merch, what's the new outfits? You know, show me a member trying these different things on. Like it's all just about tee times and the course play. But that's really not going to help anything in the retail side of the business. There's a big miss there.

There's a big miss. And for our VIP buyer community, like Foca west does a phenomenal job. Congressional Pinehurst. They do that. They have their staff wearing the products. They post on social. Here's the outfits that came in. They have outfits of the day and, you know, even creating curated looks for customers as suggested, and just having them ready when they're coming, you know, invite them in and say, hey, we've just got all this new product. I put a few items together that I think, knowing what you like and let's, you know, come them in and let's try them on and have some fun and use them to experience it and really make it like a little shopping event and. And you can have three or four or five ladies and it will spread like wildfire.

Truly. Do you think there's a big opportunity in just educating the staff in a retail environment, like, you know, in a general retail store, in a boutique store? Right. There's always product education. There's always incentives around sales. Do you think in the pro shop world, in that golf retail experience, like, there's maybe a mission we could double down on the education of the staff?

For sure, yes. And I think that's a really good point. And I think that's something that we have an opportunity to do in this industry. And you can partner with your vendors that you're buying from, and they will come in to do product knowledge. They will come in and talk about color palette and fit and fabrication, and you just have to ask. And so if you do that, you can have a resource to train your staff, and you can do that whether you're a pro shop or a retailer, because those vendors want to make sure that that product comes in and sells. If they come back and it's sitting on the shelf, they know they're not going to get a reorder. So what's the point of that? So there's definitely a lot of opportunity, and there's several facilities that I know of that do a big kickoff for the year, for this season. So I know you guys have been talking about summer sales, and this might be something that would be a good opportunity to lean into, is to do some of those kickoffs with some product categories and have some training and tie some incentives to it, sell how many of this item or that item, and people win a coupon or whatever, whatever you all want to offer as an incentive. But it gets people Excited. And then all of a sudden they're either calling their customers and telling them to come in. It creates that engagement, but the resources are there. And I'm always amazed at what our vendors have available for training. And people don't take advantage of it. And you just have to ask. And they're more than happy to do it. They're happy to do trunk shows as an introduction also. And then you can actually see that expert working with the product and your customers. I think that visual is a really great training opportunity also.

I think that's so smart. That's a huge opportunity. I love the trunk show piece of this. So our local course did something with. It was like a women's only event here last summer and we invited Purdy Golf to come in. And it's a, you know, two women own this company. They kind of were new to golf, felt like there wasn't anything in the fashion that they wanted. So they created this brand and they came in and did this awesome trunk show. And so I think there's opportunity, whether you're into golf or not, maybe you're the local boutique, to even team up, you know, for a women's golf event and to do those trunk shows and pop ups and you're serving the same customer. Why not compliment each other in that way 100%.

And I think there's this fear that there's not enough customers to go around or if I have it, they can't have it and things like that. And that's not the case at all. And it's about really understanding a shared customer base and how do you really support that customer base. And when you create a partnership, there's clubs that actually have boutiques that help them do their buying for their women in their stores. So there's some business partnership opportunities that are there also. And if you happen to have a connection and. Well, I'm just going to say the pro shops tend to be a little lean on women because they're a little fearful of not understanding who their customer is and buying appropriately. Whereas in a boutique, you know, you guys really are the experts and you know those customers. And so if you're sharing a demographic and you know, they're members reaching out and creating a partnership and saying, hey, this might be something that could benefit both of us. I've seen it done many times over the years in the golf industry and it's, it's very successful.

I think it's all about just the conversation. To your point, like this is community over competition. This is our Motto at the hub, a rising tide will lift all ships. How can we serve that customer locally with a small business, whether it's the pro shop or the local boutique, versus we don't want our customer just to rely on going to Dick's or to Target or whatever. We want to bring them in. So let's work together to serve that customer and the conversation piece of it. A good friend of mine who golfs in my Tuesday night group started a golf influencer account and started working with all these different brands. And so our pro shop was really receptive to her saying, hey, how about you come in. You know, obviously you're working with a lot of companies that we don't carry, but let's have the conversation. How can we make the pro shop better? So how. Let's talk about the rise of the golf influencer because that has to be just massive across the country. What are some of the successful partnerships that you're seeing with golf influencers right now?

You know what, it is so fun and playful and it again is tearing barriers down of entry to make it fun. Fun, I think that's the new word that goes right alongside with golf is fun and engaging and seeing normal people every day playing golf, whether you're male or female or a junior. We actually have a company that was started by a 14 year old called Feathery because she couldn't find product that she liked and she's just the sweetest girl and so she has some of her friends who are influencers for her in that junior, you know, community and she's killing it. So it is brand reach, it's authenticity and it shows that I can do that also. So leaning into it and you know, so you've got all the big brands have their influencers, but what we really like are the organic influencers that are coming out and really finding the products and services and companies and it's growing. And to see even PGA pros becoming influencers, I never thought I would see that in a million years. To see a PJ pro with a social account and you know, just really having fun with it and showing themselves because it can be a little intimidating. And so I think the influencers has really pulled that down. And you know, Barstool Sports has done a great job. They're actually, you know, we're doing a deal with Barstool Sports, we're very excited about it. And Cody Frank, who's a PGA professional, it's called Beef and he's really a great guy, but he's going to be At. They're going to be at our show, our summer show in Frisco. So we're going to have some really fun activations there. But I think influencers just lightened it up and made it real and made it, you know, just easy to relate to. And it doesn't feel like such a big burden to try and go and be and participate in golf. It's an invitation to join them.

There's so many great educational influencers, I mean, that have tips where you actually can learn. And then you have your entitled housewife account, which is absolutely one of my favorites. Who is.

She's hilarious. Oh, she's so good.

A group of my friends went to see her recently, and they're like, oh, my gosh. Because it is just such a spoof on, like, what you think golf is.

Absolutely.

And it's not so definitely opportunity to get involved there. Lisa, I know your background is in retail, so you feel very strongly about just the business of all of this, the open to buy plans, and just how to make retail successful. When you look across the industry, you know, for any type of golf, you know, pro, shop or retailer, what do you think the secrets to success are?

I think, again, knowing your customer, looking at what your opportunities are, and then really shopping, like, you really have to shop. There's so much out there. And, you know, find. Find that product. It's no longer okay. There's a few options. There's a lot of options. So you can really curate a great product representation for your customer base, as well as then lean into using that to draw new customers. So I think, you know, when you have the handful of very boring golf vendors who did just the same, you know, it's a men's polo cut down, has no fashion sense, and you're like, I wouldn't be caught dead in that thing. I wouldn't even clean my house in that product. You know, we're really very, very far away from that. So I think it's super important to do your research, attend shows, network, find mentors, you know, that you can create a community with and just, you know, learn everything that you can about it and then make it fun in your shot. Make sure your displays show that, you know, this is. This is golf, but it's also can take me. I can actually wear this to work if I wanted to. What does that look like? How does it look like on the golf course? What does it look like on vacation? So I think really showing the versatility of these types of products will go a long way and Even though people might not think they're a golfer, they might want to become a golfer or look like a golfer and just wear that lifestyle product.

If you can't golf good, at least.

Look good doing it, at least look good. I'm terrible, but I have fun and I look good.

Yeah, me too. I'll bring the heat in my outfit and nothing else, I promise. Well, Lisa, as we're wrapping up, are there any golf accounts that you think we should all follow for some inspiration?

Well, I would definitely follow for all for sure. They're really, really fun. I would follow a Putnam. So Alison Putnam. The brand is called A Putnam. P U T N M A N. And she interviews different women. She's all about lifting up women and female leadership. And, you know, that's her whole. And she's phenomenal with that. She has a really great job. And then, oh, my gosh, my head's spinning because I'm just, like, trying to think of everybody, you know, from I mentioned Blue Delta Jeans, which is a custom jean company, but they're all about the experience and, you know, doing specialty items and things like that. And they have a great social. And really, I would just, you know, look at the product categories, do some Google searches and try to find those that resonate with you. Because really, there's just so many.

There is so many and more popping up all the time. And major companies doing crossover, I saw. So I come from the Western world is my background. And so the brand Hui Hui is a big Western.

Yeah.

Now they have a whole golf division. I was like, I had to do a double take, like, oh, my gosh, like, who we golf?

Yeah. There's so many crossovers. And particularly also in the headwear space, there's amazing headwear companies that are coming in. There's a lot of great manufacturing coming out of Canada. Devereaux is a beautiful line which has really modernized its look, and they're doing a great job. Bad Birdie has some really fun things, too. Kenny Flowers. Oh, my gosh. And those are all. Those are companies like Bad Birdie and Kenny Flowers that are both male, female, and junior. So the opportunity to be able to work with one company that can create some synergies amongst that product and your demographic is really fun. Another great way for people to look at what we have to offer at golf is you can go to our show websites, pgashow.com and pgabuyingsummit.com and you can go to our exhibitor directories, and you can start to do some researches right there. We have over 1,000 companies at the PGA show. We just hit 170 companies at the Buying Summit. So, you know, if you're rather than just saying golf apparel and doing a general search, you can go to our websites and, you know, those are our participating brands.

So helpful. Well, we appreciate the partnership. Loved being at the PGA Show. Look forward to that again as well as the Buying Summit in Frisco. Lisa, we'll get up all of your information in the show notes today for the audience, but thanks for being here. We appreciate it.

Yeah, thank you. Thanks for having us and having me and representing the show team. And we're just excited to be working with your community.

Awesome. Likewise. Thanks again, Lisa.

All right, thanks.

Thanks for listening, guys. I hope you took away all kinds of nuggets and new ideas from this week's episode. Don't forget to subscribe and leave a rating and review. We love to hear your feedback and give you a chance to be featured on the show each and every week. For more information on our spirit of community over competition and to access guest downloads and bonuses and all the resources we talked about on the show, head on over to the boutiquehub.com and join the community. We'll see you next week.