FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
October 20, 2022
2022 Off-Course Retail Report Shows Retail Market Trends as the Golf Industry Stabilizes
Portland, OR – Longitudes Group today announced the release of its 2022 Market Trend Report on USA Off-Course Golf retail. The channel continues to be cut-throat as the major retail chains along with the club-fitting specialists, have expanded the number of locations since the golf surge during the Covid-19 pandemic. The retailers who were opening new locations were led by Club Champion and PGA Tour Superstores. The specialty golf channel is now dominated by the national chains. 62% of all square footage and 18% of the door counts are owned by multi-door retailers with store footprints over 10,000 square feet.
First released in 2004, Longitudes Group tracks the growth and contraction of the Off-Course retail market with this bi-annual report. In the overall Off-course retail segment, 2022 brings good news for golfers and channel growth both in terms of square foot expansion and technology-driven retail experiences. Big Box chains were the lion’s share of the square footage growth with PGA Tour Superstores aggressively opening gigantic stores in key markets.
Key findings of the current research include:
Between 2019 and 2022:
Off-course golf retail door count is up 16%
Off-course retail square footage up 19%
The total off-course market value is $1.7 Billion
Since 2019, total market value is up 28% in the off-course channel
“The market has been in a significant state of flux making both retailers and manufacturers bullish as significant amounts of market share have been up for grabs in these last three golf seasons of big growth,” states Sara Killeen, President of Longitudes Group. “The coming year will be a horse race with varying strategies between the largest retail chains. Some will seek to win market share at all costs while others pursue financial stability via careful investing.”
The Research
Calls to retailers were conducted via Longitudes Group outbound research and call center, based in Portland, Oregon. These annual online and phone surveys establish a baseline count of stores, store size, and product categories carried. Retailers that have gone out of business, moved locations, are removed from the off-course specialty database or updated. The definition of the off-course golf retail store model is a brick and mortar store with its primary business being the sale of branded and pro-line golf equipment, accessories and soft goods at a location not adjacent to a golf course.
For further information on the preparation of a custom analysis please contact Longitudes Group at (503) 477-6284.
Longitudes Group, a Buffalo Groupe company, is headquartered in Portland, Oregon. Over the last twenty years since its founding, it has provided unique analysis on the spending and travel behaviors of avid golfers in the US and Canada. Armed with a database containing information on the behavior of 5 million avid golfers mapped by county and zip code, Longitudes Group uses a geo-demographic approach to probe both the location and purchase behavior of the avid golfer population. On the supply side, Longitudes Group has built the most up-to-date database of golf retailers including 14,700 golf facilities, 1,169 off-course retail stores and 1,435 chain sporting goods stores. For more information, visit the company online at www.longitudesgroup.com.
Contact Info:
Sara Killeen, Managing Director
sara@longitudesgroup.com
(503) 477-6284