The future of Taylor Made brands is uncertain.
BY JACOB PALMER | DIGITAL NEWS EDITOR
The future of the Taylor Made brand is uncertain after Adidas announced Thursday it was negotiating with an investment bank to unload the struggling business.
Sales decreased 26 percent in the last quarter due to a weak reception for the company’s latest equipment.
The $425 R15 and $300 AeroBurner drivers are, in fact, losing the battle to the competition, Hainer said, in announcing that Adidas will seek buyers for some or all of the company’s TaylorMade business. Now he must determine what the money-losing asset is worth and who’d want it at a time when golf’s popularity has ebbed.
“The problem which we have is the R15 and the AeroBurner are not selling,” Hainer said on a call with reporters. “It’s also fair to say our competitors are getting better.”
(SOURCE: Bloomberg)
The company made a significant investment in the golf industry shortly before it collapsed from the recession (and Tiger Woods’ descent to irrelevance).
Golf remains the biggest drag on the company’s balance sheet as the global slump in the sport continues. Sales declined 26 percent in the quarter, in constant currency, to $261 million.
The investment bank will analyze numerous options as part of a “major” turnaround plan for Adidas’s golf business, which is based in Southern California.
(SOURCE: Portland Business Journal)
According to several media reports, Adidas wants to start divesting from the golf industry by selling Taylor Made’s lower-cost brands Adams and Ashworth.
