Callaway exclusive
New boss Howie speaks out
Golfmagic has been talking exclusively to Neil Howie, newly appointed managing director of Callaway Golf Europe, about its product successes, the moving on of Colin Montgomerie as an equipment ambassador and its plans for next year. Mr. Howie, who replaces Frenchman Patrice Hutin now executive vice president of global sales and advertising, "Neil is a very experienced and savvy sales leader who will provide excellent leadership," said Ron Drapeau, chairman and president of Callaway Golf. "Because of the many strong customer relationships he has built throughout Europe over the years, we believe he will be extremely effective in building on the successes that Callaway Golf has enjoyed." Prior to joining Callaway in 1998 as brand manager for the company’s Odyssey putter division, Mr. Howie was European product manager and UK sales manager for TaylorMade (GB), Ltd., From 1994 he was MD of Rogue Golf Company. | ||||
THE QUESTIONS | ||||
There has been much activity in the golf market in recent months. It seems you can hardly catch your breath before a new product is launched. Are we getting over-run with manufacturers trying to out-do each other? Product life-cycles have shrunk, no doubt. Yes, there are manufacturers out there who seem intent on launching new products at a rate that is really starting to confuse both the trade and consumer and must be confusing their own product messages. It would appear that this is done for short-term measures and satisfying price point opportunities, rather than offer any credible benefit to the golfing consumer. We can't control our competitors’ behaviour.
From our standpoint, we challenge ourselves to develop products that are demonstrably superior and pleasingly different and then almost let consumers decide on the life span of the product. We have demonstrated this quite successfully with the ERC II (‘old’ after two years) and more significantly the X-14 irons, our best selling iron range ever and now moving into its fourth year. We need to continue to do a good job first in creating great new products and then in our marketing and promotions, educating the golf consumer about the benefits of the Callaway Golf products. Golf consumers are quite smart. They want products that perform better, and that's what we believe we offer. On what products is Callaway particularly pinning its hopes in the next 12 months? We're very excited about our entire new product line-up for 2003, especially our new Great Big Bertha II and Great Big Bertha II+ driver, which has performed spectacularly in the first couple of months of its life. It will be followed early in 2003 by the GBB II fairway metals. There are the new X-16 irons, which will eventually be replacing the X-14 irons, which have been our No.1 selling irons of all time. The Big Bertha irons have done really well in their first year – they are just so easy to hit - and are still in the line-up. And, of course, there is the phenomenal Odyssey White Hot 2-ball putter story.
This putter has been a phenomenal success. Every other player on Tour, especially in Europe, seems to have one and now they’re so common at club-golfer level. My mates can't seem to miss! What’s next? The 2-ball's success has been unprecedented, and according to a recent Sports Marketing Surveys report, it accounts for one in every four putters sold (25.3% market share on its own for October 2002!). That means the product, which really performs both for pros and amateurs, still has legs. We'll have a few other things coming as well, but as you know we never announce what we have in development. Suffice to say there are some exciting things going on. Scotty Cameron has produced a new Futura putter for Titleist, which was rejected by the R&A. On reflection, how tough was it getting the White Hot 2-ball past the legislators? Our R&D people had to make a few alterations to some of the samples we originally sent to the USGA and the R&A, but the process was fairly smooth. The Great Big Bertha II+ seems to have made a big impression with club golfers in Europe. How important is their support as opposed to that of the pros on the Tour? While we have always believed that the validation of a club is enhanced by Tour pros using it, the most important validation comes from club golfers and average players. They, after all, are the ones for whom we design and build our products. Now that Colin Montgomerie has moved on, how important is Annika Sorenstam to Callaway’s profile in Europe? We had a great relationship with Colin - very productive and profitable for both sides - and we wish him only the best. Annika is by far the best woman player in the world. Some would argue she is the best player in the world, period. She has a very high profile around the world, and is a charming and wonderful person in addition to her obvious skills as a champion golfer. You are due a replacement signing to step into Monty’s shoes. He was a great ambassador for the company. Any news? No news, yet, but you will be among the first to know - after me, of course! |
