The Cincinnati Enquirer
July 16, 2006
Section: Business
Edition: Final
Page: 3J
John Eckberg
The national sales manager for Albert Ross golf apparel says he stalks golfers on the Nationwide and National Golf Association Hooters tours: mostly young, string-bean guys with fickle putters and goals of greatness who are happy to wear a free shirt today while mangling a round of golf at a tournament.
Why the interest in pro-wanna-bes? Because someday one of those guys might shake his putting yips and end up a tournament winner, wearing a brilliant coral Albert Ross shirt and posing with an oversized check with about six zeroes on it from the Professional Golfers' Association.
That's Harger's dream for this new upscale shirt and sweater line, which has local roots but is being sold in about 50 high-end pro shops in country clubs in Florida and Ohio: Get a decent golfer now into a Albert Ross shirt and someday he might be a golfing great in an Albert Ross shirt.
Albert Ross is a colorful collection of shirts and sweaters produced by this division of Lincoln Heights-based VESI Sportswear, which is known for producing licensed collegiate apparel for hundreds of universities.
The Albert Ross collection has already gained some fans at local elite public courses and at some country clubs. "We are trying to get brighter colors into our pro shop clothing and these are very appealing," said Bill Pushak, general manager at Shaker Run Golf Club, a Lebanon public golf course ranked in the top 100 courses in the nation."Two years ago when I came here it was all dark colors - blacks and blues. There's been a big change in what people want."
Ben Kuhn, head golf professional at Traditions Golf Club in Hebron, said the brilliant teals and corals of the Albert Ross collection have strong appeal."We've had sell-through already and had to reorder," Kuhn said.
The clothing line is named for the rarest of rare golfing feats: an albatross, which is when a golfer finishes a hole in three strokes under par.
Hole-in-one on a par three?
That's nice. About 20,000 happened last year and getting one means you have buy a round of drinks in the clubhouse.
Still, it's no albatross, which is holing out on the second shot of a par five or holing out a tee shot on a par four. It's extremely rare, and for VESI, the word mutates into Albert Ross.
The brand will officially launch later this month at Bond Hill's Maketewah Country Club, when a mascot golfer will be unveiled as a representative of the clothing line.
The polo-style shirts in mostly tropical hues retail for $65-$85.
Shirts have a baby pique weave and are made from 100 percent Peruvian pima cotton. Shirts have been mercerized twice - a burnishing process that removes stray wisps of fabric - to give them a deeper sheen and so the fabric can hold the sheen longer.
Albert Ross will be competing in a crowded space, said Neil Schwartz, director of business development for Sports- OneSource Group, a West Palm Beach, Fla., firm that tracks sports retailing. Brand names like Nike, Ashworth, Perry Ellis Int. and Under Armour can dominate smaller foes with giant marketing budgets and professional endorsements.
"There are big-name players out there," Schwartz said.
Harger plans to get the edge on those companies by offering better service: custom logos, event shirts and hands-on attention.
"The key to our growth will be finding manufacturers' reps," Harger said.
Sales challenges
Products such as Albert Ross shirts - sold in exclusive country club pro shops to people with plenty of disposable income - have a challenge that mass marketers do not face.
"The most obvious risk is that you have a much more limited target audience," said Russell Jones, directorof the New York City-based AlixPartners, a management consulting firm.
"Exclusivity has challenges, and we see lots of companies struggle with this: They want to be exclusive, but they want to sell more. When you broaden the reach, it usually is not exclusive anymore."
AlixPartners recently submitted a 63-question survey to 850 customers and found: The most important aspect of any product for luxury consumers is workmanship. "High-end shoppers are not as concerned about exclusivity as they are about quality," Jones said. Quality is followed in importance by the shopping experience, then access, price and service.
Celebrity endorsements mean very little to consumers, whether they have significant disposable income or not.
"An emerging trend among consumers, even wealthy consumers, is to choose products based on perceived value and style, not just a name," Jones said.
And finally - no mystery, here - price doesn't mean as much to high-net-worth individuals.
"Getting the lowest price available and prices remaining constant are much less important to the luxury consumer," Jones said.
Teeing up Albert Ross
What: Albert Ross line of golf apparel. Custom colors, designs and logos are possible.
Where marketed: Sold in private golf course pro shops and at country clubs including Maketewah, Shaker Run, Traditions and Clovernook in Ohio. In Florida, the Albert Ross collection is sold at Raptor Bay, Shadow Wood, Grey Oaks, Fiddlesticks and Trump International. Albert Ross is in approximately 20 country club pro shops in Naples, Fla.
Quote: "Albert Ross is going to take this market by storm." Lynn Poinsette, Raptor Bay Golf Club, Bonita Springs, Fla.
CAPTION: The Enquirer/Craig Ruttle
CAPTION: Bryon Harger, national sales manager for the Albert Ross golf collection of clothing, shows off a CAPTION: few samples of the product line at the company's showroom in Lincoln Heights.
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