Word: golfed
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...time when consumers are cutting back on discretionary purchases, you'd think that new footwear would be sacrificed for savings. You'd also reason that expensive forms of recreation might also see a downturn. Golf, for example, is a game that more Americans are learning to live without...
Given these dynamics, wouldn't this be the absolute worst time for a company to enter a business that combines two ailing industries: namely, the golf shoe business? Not so, says GEOX, the fast-growing Italian shoe company whose breathable, casual footwear have developed a loyal following around the globe. On Wednesday April 1st, GEOX announced that it's entering the golf game; the company is launching its first line of shoes for the weekend duffers. GEOX is betting that its "NET System Technology," which utilizes an actual net inside the shoe's sole to help keep a golfer...
...shoes, has suffered in the recession, athletic shoes have not taken as hard a hit. In fact, after the $17.5 billion U.S. athletic footwear market saw flat sales in '08, sneakers are actually up 6% so far this year, according to SportsOneSource, a research firm. Further, while the overall golf business is stuck in the rough - U.S. equipment sales, for example, have dropped 9% this year - spikes have sold relatively well. In the United States, the $500 million golf shoe market was actually up 3% in 2008, and it has risen 1% this year...
...have golf shoes proven recession resistant? For one, all that walking around in the grass (and for many, the sand) really wears down your spikes. "Golf is very hard on shoes," says Matt Powell, an analyst at SportsOneSource. "Grass creeps in them, they get wet, and they can even get moldy. It's easier to play in an old golf shirt than play in old, rotten shoes." While you can send weary brown shoes to the repair shop, it's harder to fix up a pair of sneakers. Plus, consumers might be trading down from expensive golf equipment to shoes...
...league has modest expectations - Antonucci is shooting for an average attendance between 4,000 and 6,000 fans per game. But WPS is also launching within a crowded sports calendar: March Madness, the NBA stretch run, NHL playoffs, the start of baseball, and the upcoming Masters golf tournament are grabbing fans attention. Soccer is busy, too with MLS in full swing and the U.S. men's team in World Cup qualifying. Somehow, the WPS has to break through. "The league really has to catch fire early," says David Carter, executive director of the Sports Business Institute at the University...