Nike announced plans on Wednesday to focus its golf division on shoes and apparel and will exit the business of making equipment such as clubs, balls and bags.
Daric Ashford, president of Nike Golf, said the Flyknit Chukka and Air Zoom 90 golf shoes have “connected strongly with golfers,” along with the MM Fly Blade Polo.
“Athletes like Tiger, Rory and Michelle drive tremendous energy for the game and inspire consumers worldwide,” said Ashford. “We’ll continue to ignite excitement with our athletes and deliver the best of Nike for the game.”
Trevor Edwards, president of Nike Brand, said it is committed to being the leading brand in golf.
“We will achieve this by investing in performance innovation for athletes and delivering sustainable profitable growth for Nike Golf,” Edwards said.
Nike’s announcement comes following an 8 percent drop in revenue for its golf brand in fiscal 2016. The brand reported $706 million in revenue this year, compared with $769 million in 2015.
The announcement comes just months after Adidas announced plans to sell its TaylorMade, Adams and Ashworth golf brands. Mizuno responded to the announcement on Twitter, beckoning some of Nike’s top golf athletes to hop over to Mizuno.
Cobra Puma Golf President Bob Philion said in a statement that his brand believes in offering a “360 product portfolio” and that Cobra Puma has “the right strategies to continue playing offense while others are clearly playing defense.”
Woods, who hasn’t played since last year, will be in the market for a new company to provide his clubs, his agent Mark Steinberg told GolfChannel.com.
“He and I need to be thinking about a change on the hard-goods side,” said Steinberg. “We have discussed at length the plan for that and feel comfortable with what we’re going to do going forward. Clearly, there’s likely to be a change.”
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