King of the links

Mark King, CEO of TaylorMade-adidas Golf, says the company will launch products that will only be sold in Asian countries. Provided to China Daily

CEO of the world's leading golf equipment company has his eyes set on the long game

When Mark King began immersing himself in the golf industry many years ago, a youngster named Tiger Woods was beginning to make his mark on the game - at the ripe old age of five.

For more than 30 years as Woods rose, rose and fell, King has watched the TaylorMade brand become a leader in the golf equipment industry despite market conditions that seem to have frequently had more than their fair share of bunkers and water hazards.

This month, King, 52, on his first visit to Beijing, made a speech titled "On Top of the Golf World" at the Grand Hyatt hotel. The title refers to the spot that TaylorMade-adidas Golf Co, of which King is CEO, occupies on the leader board of golf equipment suppliers.

But King is showing no signs of taking for granted the lead his company enjoys over its competitors and seems to be keenly aware that it needs to keep working hard to stay in front.

Apart from always looking for that extra edge in remaining competitive in developed markets, TaylorMade has its eyes fixed in new and undeveloped markets.

"China has become our No 1 choice, although it is still very small," King says. "When we look at the growth in the next five to 15 years, we believe that it is one of the countries that needs to start growing if we are going to grow."

Just how small the Chinese market is clear when you consider that worldwide TaylorMade's turnover was $1.2 billion (907 million euros) in 2010, while in China the figure for the full year was $35 million. That rose 10 percent last year, King says.

For King, small figures relating to China can mean only one thing: big prospects. And if you mention that, relatively, the United States has 10 times more golfers than China, he will point to the growth potential offered by a population of 1.3 billion.

But for all the prospects that China may offer, in recent years TaylorMade has had a tough time in countries where golf has long been part of the sports and cultural landscape, including the US, parts of Europe, Japan and South Korea.

"In 2000, 65 percent of our golf equipment sales were in the US, 35 percent in the rest of the world. But today we are only 35 percent in the US," King says.

"One of the things we have been focusing on (since) 2000 is the growth of golf outside the US. We (have been paying) attention to (places) such as China, where there are lots of people but not many golfers."

Most US golf companies use distributors in countries where revenue is relatively low. TaylorMade has set up four offices in China in about as many years, and its products are sold in more than 100 retail stores across the country.

"In this way we can touch the golfers to know more about the market," King says. "That has really paid off for us."

Unlike in the US, Europe and Australasia, where, by and large, golf is a sport affordable to most people, in China it is a luxury that only the well-off can afford.

China's burgeoning middle class and the inclusion of golf as an event at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 offer scope for broadening the sport's appeal, and King says that while growth of the game in China is largely outside his control, he would at least like the public to gain an appreciation of what it is about.

King, who started with TaylorMade in 1980 when it was a three-employee startup in an abandoned TV factory in Illinois, says of the game: "You learn about ethics, morals, honesty, integrity, and those are really important to bring to any society."

He plays golf once a week, he says, not just as recreation, but because he believes it helps him stay in touch with the game.

TaylorMade's R11 club, a driver, is its most popular product in China and accounts for about 20 percent of its total business here, the rest taken up by sales of other clubs, balls and accoutrements.

"After adidas bought the company in 1998 it gave us the ability to make footwear and apparel," King says. That resulted in the company becoming second in golf footwear sales after having been nowhere in the running.

The Chinese market has offered its own set of challenges regarding apparel and adjustments are being made in colors, styles and sizes appropriate for Chinese people.

"We are launching a product (series) called Glory (including golf clubs and balls) in China this month, and this is a new product only for some Asian countries," King says.

As golf gear companies look for a piece of the action in a market like China, King says they have one important asset up their sleeves: The cachet that golf enjoys.

"Other products have the same technology as Apple, but Apple is cool. Consumers feel good about themselves when they use the product. I think that's a big part of what we are trying to create."

At the moment King's focus is not on the next few shots or the next few holes. Rather he is looking at where he wants the company to be over the next 10 years. How well it performs will depend greatly on continuing growth in China.

Although the global golf market is showing signs of shrinking, he believes that as the population ages and people retire, more people will take up the game, particularly in developed markets.

"We are anticipating that China would become the second or third biggest market in the future."