Press and guests of Tiger Woods previewed the pro golfer’s new apparel line Monday night in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Calif., ending growing speculation about what the pro golfer would do next with his Nike Inc. contract now over.
The brand, named Sun Day Red in reference to Woods wearing red at competitions throughout his career, launches in partnership with TaylorMade Golf Co. And, although positioned as a premium golf lifestyle apparel brand, it’s pulling in some heavy hitters from the action sports industry to get it off the ground and grow.
That starts with Brad Blankinship, most recently global general manager of Quiksilver and before that RVCA global GM, to serve as Sun Day Red brand president.
Blankinship left Quiksilver in August to join TaylorMade as division president and moved quickly to open a San Clemente office and hire a mix of the right expertise.
“San Clemente gives us the ability to recruit golf talent from the San Diego area, particularly Carlsbad where all the big golf brands are based. And then the action sports industry is in the Costa Mesa area and so we can also pull from Orange County and L.A. So opening the office there was strategic,” he said.
So far, there’s a team of 15 Sun Day Red employees. Blankinship estimates that will grow to around 35 by June as positions in everything from e-commerce and design to sales are filled.
Brad Blankinship. Photo by SES.
The industry talent on the team is robust out of the gate and includes Design Director Boyd Terry, the former design director of lifestyle at Quiksilver; Kathryn Ortwein, Sun Day Red’s director of product development, and former RVCA director of product development; Taylor Ingram, who held several financial positions at Boardriders in the past, to handle finance; and Cáje Moye, the former head of accessories at TaylorMade and a former senior director of global product & merchandising at Oakley, to oversee apparel.
“We’re leaning in heavy through the lens of golf first and foremost,” Blankinship said of how the brand is positioned. “It’s a very curated mix of things you’d wear on the golf course, lifestyle product you’d wear every day, along with some training product.”
Mapping Out Sun Day Red’s Growth
Sun Day Red will initially launch as a men’s line with north of 100 SKUs. That includes everything from cashmere sweaters and outerwear to pants, socks, and T-shirts.
Pricing includes a range also: $115 polo shirts, $75 T-shirts, cashmere for $400, and outerwear for $600.
The idea is to be premium, but still accessible in pricing, Blankinship explained.
Next year will see Sun Day Red expand into footwear and women’s.
Distribution in this first year of business will be direct-to-consumer, with the site launching in May, before expanding into wholesale next year. Retail partners will range from core green grass golf accounts to what Blankinship described as “better and best” boutiques.
“I think over time our vision is to make it truly a lifestyle brand,” Blankinship said of how the mix of wholesale partners will be approached over time. “Obviously, because of TaylorMade and Tiger Woods’ involvement, we’re going to lean in and look at it through the lens of golf. But, long-term, we want to build a lifestyle brand. We want to rival the coolest and best lifestyle brands in the world.”
Photo courtesy of Sun Day Red.
Standing Out in Golf Apparel Market
While TaylorMade has an existing apparel business, Sun Day Red is being built to have its own identity and business strategy.
It launches at a time when golf lifestyle carries plenty of potential.
Competitor TravisMathew, owned by Topgolf Callway Brands Corp., has notched successes as it’s evolved its apparel line well beyond the green, with an ever-expanding assortment for wear off the course. In May 2022, the business launched into women’s, with demand that exceeded inventory on hand, forcing the company to relaunch in October with a refreshed assortment.
TravisMathew was also on a tear last year, building out its executive team with individuals previously hailing from companies such as Vans, Adidas, Nike, Athleta, and Stance. The company ended 2022 with net sales of $300 million and a longer-term aspiration to eventually grow to $1 billion.
Even outside of legacy golf names, there’s a crop of boutique golf lifestyle brands looking for market share. That includes Birds of Condor, which is sold in industry shops such as Sun Diego. There’s also Malbon Golf, which has made inroads in fashion and counts stores on Melrose Place in Los Angeles, Carmel By The Sea, the Miami neighborhood of Coconut Grove, and Soho in New York.
Blankinship sees Woods’ perspective as being key to the brand standing out in an increasingly competitive market.
“What’s special to us is we have an athlete that has an interesting point of view in what works and how to think about product,” Blankinship said. “Everything we do is premium and there’s no compromises whatsoever on distribution, quality, or just how we think about things.”
Woods, who is a partner in Sun Day Red, has been involved in every aspect of the brand since the start of its development. Blankinship said that’s encompassed everything from voicing his opinion on the depth of pockets, to the size of belt loops. The perspective is seen as a major unlock in what can be delivered to the market.
“He’s got all this knowledge and he’s been a little bit guarded historically where, now, he’s ready to share those insights and the things that work for him,” Blankinship said of why the time was right to launch Sun Day Red now. “It’s been interesting to hear how he thinks about the toe cap of a shoe or how he thinks about seams or a collar or zipper.”
