TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company Restructures Product Division

TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company Restructures Product Division As Part of Implementation of Company’s “Playbook 3.0”

Adams and TaylorMade product teams strategically aligning to provide equipment solutions for golfers of all skill levels

Carlsbad, Calif. (November 11, 2014) – TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company (TMaG) CEO Ben Sharpe announced the restructuring of product teams across the TaylorMade and Adams brands as part of the company’s ongoing rollout of its “Playbook 3.0.” The move follows the company’s decision to move the Adams business from Plano, TX to Carlsbad, CA to optimize efficiency and ensure product alignment. Long-standing TMaG veteran Sean Toulon will oversee all aspects of product design for TaylorMade and Adams with Josh Talge managing all strategy and product lines.

Sharpe, appointed CEO earlier this year, conducted an initial 100-Day Assessment that included a thorough review of the four brands through meetings with staff, retailers, consumers, Tour Professionals, and the media. TMaG’s executive team used the assessment to develop the “Playbook 3.0,” which is based on three pillars: understanding golfers’ needs, developing innovative products to address those needs and redefining product distribution.

“History has proven innovative product drives the market; so we realigned resources to ensure innovation was at the core of all new products,” said Sharpe. “The recently launched RSi Irons have produced a strong response because of the innovative Face Slot technology and later this week we will unveil a second product that has our Tour players feeling invincible.”

The new structure is designed to ensure innovation remains the cornerstone of product development, producing bold new products that address golfers’ needs. Sean Toulon, EVP, Product Creation, understands what three decades of innovation looks like, as he began his TaylorMade career out of founder Gary Adams’ garage. He has been intimately involved in the brand’s greatest success stories including the Burner series, R-Series, the first white driver; Rocketballz and SLDR.

Josh Talge, VP of Global Product Strategy will leverage his packaged goods experience at Procter & Gamble to ensure TaylorMade and Adams equipment are clearly differentiated and address specific consumer needs. Talge assumes leadership for full product line management for all product categories across both TaylorMade and Adams brands. His team is responsible for global product strategy including: product line management, revenue and profitability, category and product positioning.

TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company (TMaG) is a global-leading manufacturer of golf equipment, apparel and footwear. TMaG features four leading brands: TaylorMade, the #1 Driver and Irons in Golf,* Adams, the #1 hybrid on Tour, adidas Golf, a leading provider of athletic apparel and footwear for golf, and Ashworth, a brand synonymous with the game.

*#1 Driver in Golf claim based on combined 2014 wins and usage on the PGA, European, Japan Golf, Web.com, Champions and LPGA Tours, as reported by the Darrell Survey Co. and Sports Marketing Surveys, Inc. # 1 Irons in Golf claim based on 2013 Golf Datatech On & Off Course Retail Market Report. #1 Hybrid on Tour claim based on 2014 Adams hybrid usage on the PGA, Champions, LPGA, European, and Web.com Tours, as reported by the Darrell Survey Co. and Sports Marketing Surveys, Inc.

Looks like Talge has some great supply chain experience. Perfect fit for helping Tmag turn things around

Interesting statement here:

will leverage his packaged goods experience at Procter & Gamble to ensure TaylorMade and Adams equipment are clearly differentiated and address specific consumer needs.

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Hawk said:

Interesting statement here:

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Agree..... It seems like they can't figure out if they want to differentiate or combine IMO. To me it as though they wanted to use the Adams tech and throw them to the side at first but now they realize a value in the brand

flog2424 said:

Agree..... It seems like they can't figure out if they want to differentiate or combine IMO. To me it as though they wanted to use the Adams tech and throw them to the side at first but now they realize a value in the brand

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To me it almost indicates that they are going to keep TM as an innovation/performance brand and give Adams a completely separate identity. IF that's the case, it's pretty much the kiss of death for Adams as we know it. Bummer.

Hawk said:

Interesting statement here:

will leverage his packaged goods experience at Procter & Gamble to ensure TaylorMade and Adams equipment are clearly differentiated and address specific consumer needs.

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Yes, very interesting. That screams to me that while Adams will not go away, they will be releasing what they are known for. I don't think that's a good thing. But maybe my interpretation is wrong.

Sounds like Adams Driver's could be a thing of the past. It will be interesting to see!!!

Not a fan of how this is sounding. I wish they would both keep full lines but release in opposite years Adams is drivers and woods one year and tm is irons and hybrids that year then they swap the following year. This doesn't really change what they are doing just running it as TM however it changes customer perception that clubs are being pumped out to fast by a certain manufacture. To do this they would have to build the Adams name up a bit more though.

I don't blame them for the moves. I know how much everyone loves Adams equipment, but besides hybrids and starter sets, are they even a factor in metal woods and irons anymore?

Nostalgia doesn't pay the bills.

fupresti said:

I don't blame them for the moves. I know how much everyone loves Adams equipment, but besides hybrids and starter sets, are they even a factor in metal woods and irons anymore?

Nostalgia doesn't pay the bills.

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The xtd driver is an awesome driver and extremely underrated blows anything tm has released recently out of the water in my opinion they just were not marketed much

I don't think they had said anything in there that we hadn't probably already connected the dots about in regards to Adams. Unfortunate, but that is how it goes sometimes.

tpluff said:

Yes, very interesting. That screams to me that while Adams will not go away, they will be releasing what they are known for. I don't think that's a good thing. But maybe my interpretation is wrong.

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IMO, keeping the Adams brand alive allows them to reach a broader customer base andI think it would be a big mistake to get rid of Adams. Callaway and Ping have certainly raised their game and hurt Taylormade, especially with their driver lines, but it seems to me that there may be a little bit of panic at Taylormade headquarters.

Hawk said:

To me it almost indicates that they are going to keep TM as an innovation/performance brand and give Adams a completely separate identity. IF that's the case, it's pretty much the kiss of death for Adams as we know it. Bummer.

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Sounds that way to me also. Ok if Adams becomes the game improvement brand I suppose, but not if it becomes the discount store brand. Sounds like they're going the latter route. That would be a shame.

Sounds like a good structure for moving forward, I'll be curious to see how the different product lines actually show differences versus seeming quite similar.

Hawk said:

To me it almost indicates that they are going to keep TM as an innovation/performance brand and give Adams a completely separate identity. IF that's the case, it's pretty much the kiss of death for Adams as we know it. Bummer.

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I don't have much marketing or business experience, but I wouldn't be so sure about that. Proctor & Gamble has so many brands, that marketing them (especially the ones that could pose as direct competition against each other) to keep them all profitable has to be a bit of a chore. However, if you look through the brands they're all recognizable and none would be said to "dying on the vine". Perhaps his expertise will be enough to revitalize Adams and carve itself a solid niche in the golf industry and remain a "go to brand" for that particular segment.

Hawk said:

To me it almost indicates that they are going to keep TM as an innovation/performance brand and give Adams a completely separate identity. IF that's the case, it's pretty much the kiss of death for Adams as we know it. Bummer.

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I won't get into too many specifics but I tend to agree with this.

deuce said:

I don't have much marketing or business experience, but I wouldn't be so sure about that. Proctor & Gamble has so many brands, that marketing them (especially the ones that could pose as direct competition against each other) to keep them all profitable has to be a bit of a chore. However, if you look through the brands they're all recognizable and none would be said to "dying on the vine". Perhaps his expertise will be enough to revitalize Adams and carve itself a solid niche in the golf industry and remain a "go to brand" for that particular segment.

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There is a problem with that analogy. People are not looking at P&G and saying "if I don't get them, I am missing out on performance". golfers don't settle or want something that's not considered a top performers

Hawk said:

To me it almost indicates that they are going to keep TM as an innovation/performance brand and give Adams a completely separate identity. IF that's the case, it's pretty much the kiss of death for Adams as we know it. Bummer.

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Yeah, if true it will be interesting to see if its stretched out for a little while longer or if its just killed all at once time in the near future.

Yea the bummer to me isn't that I love Adams or will miss them on a personal level, but rather that if it happens there will be one less innovator on the market and a very good one at that.

Hawk said:

Yea the bummer to me isn't that I love Adams or will miss them on a personal level, but rather that if it happens there will be one less innovator on the market and a very good one at that.

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I would hope that Tmag would keep those innovative people within Adams and simply have them design certain things and just role it out under the Tmag name

jlukes said:

I would hope that Tmag would keep those innovative people within Adams and simply have them design certain things and just role it out under the Tmag name

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Oh I'm sure plenty of great minds will stay in the industry, but company philosophies can also change the framework they work within.

JB said:

There is a problem with that analogy. People are not looking at P&G and saying "if I don't get them, I am missing out on performance". golfers don't settle or want something that's not considered a top performers

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Well it will certainly be a challenge, but wouldn't being a part of TM give the Adams brand a leg up in regards to more marketing?

It seems to me, though I reserve the right to be horribly wrong on this, that companies are really starting to split the market up between the run-of-the-mill golfer, the dedicated but not necessarily good golfer, and the hard core and low handicap golfers. It seems that's how XXIO/Srixon/Cleveland is planning on moving, and perhaps this is the TaylorMade/Adams model too? No one would accuse Cleveland of being a brand people will "settle for", but not everyone is going to throw thousands at XXIO gear either.

Think it is going to be just a matter of time before the Adams brand is slowly done away with. Just the harsh realities for big business.

I guess I don't read this as quite as gloom and doom as some others do. Yes, it does sound like we will lose Adams drivers and irons/wedges, which sucks purely because they've put out some excellent under the radar gear in the past (I've played two of their iron sets and loved both in their own ways), but judging by this statement towards the end:

TMaG features four leading brands: TaylorMade, the #1 Driver and Irons in Golf,* Adams, the #1 hybrid on Tour, adidas Golf, a leading provider of athletic apparel and footwear for golf, and Ashworth, a brand synonymous with the game.

TMaG has not lost sight of the fact that Adams is a powerful name in the hybrid world. And it sounds to me like they will seek to preserve all of these quote "leading brands". So my somewhat hopeful guess is we will see Adams as a sort of boutique corner of TMaG that makes hybrids and fairway woods (Tight Lies is a name with some solid recognition as well) - and while that is kind of disappointing, it would be way better than seeing the venerable Adams name on a bunch of box-set, department store crap.

All my opinions of course though, will be interesting to see what actually pans out. Hoping for the best for Adams' great people.

Man the first thing that came to my mind was this is a knee jerk reaction to a declining fan base and diminished brand integrity. We've seen it happen to many lines in the past years and I think Adams needs its own identity in order not to dilute the Tmag brand anymore than it has.

I hope Tmag gets sorted out because I truly feel they have some of the best products out there and watching the slide isn't fun to watch, I'm alson not convinced that a guy with an exceptional history of marketing to households is the right guy to bring this to the top where it belongs, time will tell though.