Adidas Looking For A Buyer For Discount King TaylorMade

Adidas is looking for buyer for its TaylorMade Golf division.

Good luck with that.

According to a news report, Adidas’ golf division, which includes TaylorMade, Ashworth and Adams, is losing money and investors want Adidas to return to its apparel and shoe core business.

I can’t say that I’m surprised at the announcement. TaylorMade has, in my opinion, been badly managed over the last several years. The new-products-every-quarter model has undermined the company’s image. Regular golfers know that there is no need to buy a new TaylorMade product because a new one will be out in a couple of months, and the eclipsed model will go on discount. Golf shops are left with bins of discounted TaylorMade products that they have difficulty moving. Discount TaylorMade clubs have appeared in warehouse stores such as Costo and Sam’s.

TaylorMade now is golf’s equivalent of a Dollar Store brand. There’s no longer anything special about buying a TaylorMade club. When golfers buy a TaylorMade, they brag about how much money they saved, not how many yards they gained.

“Is that a new TaylorMade driver?”

“Yeah. It’s only a year old and I got it for $99.”

With its R&D and patents,  TaylorMade could be a valuable property for the right buyer. But that buyer will need to overcome the discount reputation /expectation that TaylorMade has established over the last several years.