Golfsmith and Canada-based Golf Town have officially combined operations, creating the largest golf specialty retail business in the world. The combined business will operate under the name Golfsmith International, which will operate 151 golf retail stores in North America – 56 in Canada and 95 in the U.S. Stores located in Canada will remain branded as Golf Town and all stores in the U.S. will be branded as Golfsmith.
Golfsmith teams with Golf Town
So what’s it mean for consumers? Likely not very much.
Golfsmith was founded in 1967 as a golf catalog business and started developing retail locations outside of Austin, Texas in the 1990s. Golf Town, founded in 1999.
“We look forward to working with a very strong management team to serve both brands’ loyal customers. We believe there is excellent potential for future growth,” said Don Morrison, Senior Managing Director and Canadian Country Head of OMERS Private Equity, which merged the two companies. “This is a unique and strategic opportunity to build on a proven business model.”
The most interesting phrase there is “potential for future growth.” The golf industry, in terms of equipment sales and participation, remains stagnate. Golf retail stores are bulging with product. Do golf consumers really need more stores?
