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Why TaylorMade Should Not Release A New Driver

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JB

JB

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I agree, wait on coming out with another one. Cars change every 4-5yrs, Taylormade drivers? 3-6 months. Its crazy!
 
Nice article Josh. And it makes perfect sense.....focus on what is working at the moment and take the opportunity to learn from recent lessons learned.
 
Great editorial Josh. It hits on the most important thing that I think many over look when it comes to TaylorMade and that is inventory management. Until they TRULY figure that out I think their recovery will be limited no matter how good the product is.

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It's not a perfect analogy, but it seems along the lines of what Apple does. Look back to a few years ago when they released the "low cost" iPhone - the 5c, and it was a flop. They've since moved to just keeping the previous year's model around, selling it at a discount to cover that price point. No R&D money needs to be spent, the price point is covered, and retailers can unload their old inventory. Everyone seems to win in that scenario.

You could argue the lower price point is usually covered by the more forgiving driver in a lot of lines (Vapor Speed, XR, etc.), but it seemed TaylorMade weren't interested in really going that route with the JetSpeed and Aeroburner. Those were still low/forward designs.
 
I enjoyed the article.
A healthy TMAG would be nothing but a positive for the industry.
 
They've appeared to hit a HR with this driver. So, not only should they not introduce another one but this one should've been priced at $399 to help them regain the #1 spot before they start doing introducing more clubs.
 
Good article, and I agree 100%. Always been a TM fan, but have moved away from them recently. Got annoyed at getting the Speedblade irons and SLDR on release day, then within a few months the new lines were out. I understand that you pay the premium for the new line, and that of course 6 months after it starts selling the price will have dropped a bit. That's fine. But the price shouldn't half because they've released the new line as well.

TM turned into Apple - if you didn't get it on release day, you may as well wait a couple of months and they'll be a new model available that's bigger and shinier. All the manufacturers tell us they've pushed the limits of technology - so in theory, as long as there's no rule changes for the next few years, why release a new driver? SPend the R&D money on marketing and build some respect for the brand again.
 
Love that you hit on this. The issue here goes way beyond the fact of having a quality product. Its having too much inventory. Any manufacturer who does well will tell you that inventory is waste and thats lost profit. Basic Lean Manufacturing philosophies
 
That's well written and a smart take, JB. Here's hoping TaylorMade makes a smart move for once and continues its recent success.
 
Well said Josh! In the case of TMAG it seems like they've been scrambling to find themselves for a number of years now. With this effort they've gotten further away from the thing that put them at the top. Just like when a top team in sports fall from greatness. People start to wonder what happened. Perhaps the M1 is the star that can they can build a team around.
 
Great, well thought out article JB. I think the inventory control point was definitely the key driver behind the article, with so much new inventory on the shelves TM should really focus on what they have out there and continue to market it at the current price point. Given the state of the company and the rumoured sale, I think they'd be smart to keep riding on the success of the M1, and not have to risk inventory buybacks on slightly older models if a new driver comes out and retailers need to clear space for it.
 
tgtt said:
They've appeared to hit a HR with this driver. So, not only should they not introduce another one but this one should've been priced at $399 to help them regain the #1 spot before they start doing introducing more clubs.
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They already regained #1 spot.

russtopher said:
Great, well thought out article JB. I think the inventory control point was definitely the key driver behind the article, with so much new inventory on the shelves TM should really focus on what they have out there and continue to market it at the current price point. Given the state of the company and the rumoured sale, I think they'd be smart to keep riding on the success of the M1, and not have to risk inventory buybacks on slightly older models if a new driver comes out and retailers need to clear space for it.
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That was the nature of it. Its certainly not a bash TaylorMade article, as I think is clear, but more to open up the conversation about why things are happening and if they should.
 
Enjoyed reading the article JB. We've heard for a couple years that the inventory management aspect is very important. Don't release until your current product is nearly gone. That doesn't mean they need to make a release to bump sales a bit. The outlet store in Myrtle Beach I thought was a solid move at addressing some issues. A strong Taylormade is great for the industry and gets the needle moving. Golf companies need to return to profitability in order to stay around.
 
When I say this I have no idea how big of a financial impact it would be, but I've wondered for a while if TaylorMade needs to do a one time buy back from the retailers to clean up at least a large portion of the old inventory so that new products don't have the same brand competition on the shelves. I understand the need to be releasing new lines at least annually to keep the product fresh and provide new marketing opportunities, but even if they get the production volumes of the new lines right-sized to prevent the continuity of the problem, they still have this old glut not moving. I guess I'm not convinced that keeping the M1 as the solo line for another 6 months or year would "fix" the lingering inventory issue alone.
 
adwillingham said:
When I say this I have no idea how big of a financial impact it would be, but I've wondered for a while if TaylorMade needs to do a one time buy back from the retailers to clean up at least a large portion of the old inventory so that new products don't have the same brand competition on the shelves. I understand the need to be releasing new lines at least annually to keep the product fresh and provide new marketing opportunities, but even if they get the production volumes of the new lines right-sized to prevent the continuity of the problem, they still have this old glut not moving. I guess I'm not convinced that keeping the M1 as the solo line for another 6 months or year would "fix" the lingering inventory issue alone.
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I actually think some buybacks did happen not on a grand scale though and not sure of the terms either.

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I'm going to say that they should release a new one to hit that other price point. Reason being that there was limited(generally) excitement for the drivers they have put out there in recent years. Get another price point driver out there for those who like M1 but can't or don't want to spend that kind of $. Carry some of the excitement that the product has garnered and see if it helps generate sales elsewhere. Their other options on the floor are just not attractive enough. Blow the old inventory out(which they have been) and keep something fresh.
 
ddec said:
I'm going to say that they should release a new one to hit that other price point. Reason being that there was limited(generally) excitement for the drivers they have put out there in recent years. Get another price point driver out there for those who like M1 but can't or don't want to spend that kind of $. Carry some of the excitement that the product has garnered and see if it helps generate sales elsewhere. Their other options on the floor are just not attractive enough. Blow the old inventory out(which they have been) and keep something fresh.
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I think this is another well thought approach. It does bring excitement to the consumer, but do you run the risk of having another product banished at discount, further hurting the retail side of it?

As you know, I am 1000000% behind more releases and love shiny new things. In this instance for me it is less about another release (which I like) and more about inventory as well as the company knowing they already have a hit on their hands with the flagship model.
 
It's tough to argue with the points made here. Taylormade needs to realize the effect of having too many models on the floor at any given time frame, especially when for many golfers there won't be a huge performance gap between the 2013, 2014, and 2015 model. The M1 is rock solid and that wave needs to be ridden and milked for all it's worth; part of that is giving the M1 line every chance to succeed by not starting a new ad campaign or cluttering the shelves with yet another name.
 
This may just be locally around me, but it seems like they are doing a better job so far at inventory control. At my local DSG they've never had more than one or two M1's on the shelf and probably just one 3W and hybrid anytime I've been in the store. That being said, it is still a pretty new release and I'm in a pretty rural area. On the other hand, the GBB rack is full of drivers, 3W's, and they even keep the Heavenwood in stock.
 
ddec said:
I'm going to say that they should release a new one to hit that other price point. Reason being that there was limited(generally) excitement for the drivers they have put out there in recent years. Get another price point driver out there for those who like M1 but can't or don't want to spend that kind of $. Carry some of the excitement that the product has garnered and see if it helps generate sales elsewhere. Their other options on the floor are just not attractive enough. Blow the old inventory out(which they have been) and keep something fresh.
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Exactly right Dean. Agree on all accounts.

The problem right now, at least from what I've seen, is this scenario. They release a new driver at full, premium price, and discount their previous premium driver. Another driver is eventually introduced at their lower price point (discount previous driver), so you effectively have 2 at the same price point. Problem is when there's a plethora of the old driver left that's not hailed as the latest and greatest (but there IS a market for that, just not at the volume they need). Then a 3rd, lowest price point from the discounted "budget" driver. Accumulate this over the course of 3 or so releases and there's trouble.
 
JB said:
I think this is another well thought approach. It does bring excitement to the consumer, but do you run the risk of having another product banished at discount, further hurting the retail side of it?

As you know, I am 1000000% behind more releases and love shiny new things. In this instance for me it is less about another release (which I like) and more about inventory as well as the company knowing they already have a hit on their hands with the flagship model.
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It could. Its certainly a slippery slope. Was talking to a friend about something similar last night. Mostly about the inventory side of things. I told them let's go to our Golf Galaxy or Local shop. We can count how many TM drivers of old stock are there. Then we can look for something like an X Hot, Big Bertha or BB Alpha. I told him that he would see a difference if we did that. Although not turning this in to a TM V Cally thing.

The discussion is a good one. They have hurt retailers badly. SLDR S release was a big slap in the face to them. However I think that if they have 1 really good new product, and a bunch of old stock, a person who can't bite the bullet on the top product will filter down to a more comfortable price. If they are a golf fan, there is a chance they grew tired of the previous years message and will move to try another brand.


All this said, I know my uncle went and bought a new driver last summer. He plays 3-5 times a year. Went in a store hit a few options and walked out with Jetspeed(hits it well too). Price was a factor for him as I think it was 129 at the time.
 
BTW, this is a really good discussion.
 
I agree JB.

TMag should hold off and not release something else for a little bit. Not because releases are bad but because it would allow the M1 to be top dog for a little bit but also clear out old crap. Nothing like seeing 4 to 5 drivers and 3 are all at the same price point. Consumers start to wonder what's going on
 
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