Deb Bacon is the Pro Shop Manager at Alpine Country Club in Demarest, New Jersey.
When I joined the team at Alpine Country Club last year, I decided to bring in some athleisure wear and implement a more casual element into the shop. To test the water, I started with a one-day trunk show with Levelwear Verve, a collection of women’s hoodies, sweatshirts, athletic jackets and other athleisure items. The trunk show was very successful, so we decided to bring a sprinkling of it into the shop.
For men, we brought in joggers from G/Fore and Redvanly, which are doing super well too. We’ve always had hoodies, but recently added even more to our selection! In addition, Greyson has gone more into athleisure wear than most companies, and now offers an impressive women’s line. We’ve carried their golf pieces in the past, and look forward to bringing in their leisure wear next season. These are more of a lifestyle line that I still don’t see in a lot of other golf shops.
As this has been the trend industry-wide, I definitely think there’s an opportunity for success in our golf shop with this type of apparel, especially as a private club. In fact, I took women’s apparel out of the back corner of the golf shop and moved it up front, merchandising it with our men’s apparel. We did this because women will often buy four or five pieces at once, while the men will buy one. As a result, who am I going to cater to?
With the reputation we’ve developed in our shop, our women members bring their friends from other clubs because very few other shops are carrying these items. So, I have a lot more Verve out on the floor now, and will carry even more next year. I’m carrying their sweats and hoodies for the colder weather to cater to those members and customers who buy at this time of year.
Men’s joggers have done extremely well, so I ensure the ones from G/Fore are out front. I also decided to bring in a small amount of Redvanly in 2021. They did really well, so I brought in more this year. They’re very unique – they look like golf pants, but when you look closely, you see a banded bottom. Despite being all pull-on, our men, who are used to button pants, love them once they try them. And in an interesting sidenote, the founder, Andrew Redvanly, used to be a caddie here at Alpine Country Club.
Finally, for our women members, brands like Chervo and J. Lindeberg are producing skorts with leggings attached that are great for cooler spring and fall days. A lot of these pieces are more like items you wear to the store, or out and about. In fact, a couple of the guys are wearing the joggers on the course, but the women really haven’t. So, I ordered Verve knit jogging outfits for women for 2023. The day the rep was here, a couple of members came in and saw them and said, “You’re going to order them, right?” That’s great feedback. They’re going to buy them somewhere, so why not here? We want to be their shopping destination.
You must be logged in to post a comment.