Shocking! The Secret to TaylorMade Success
Posted December 18, 2008 by GolfSpy X
Back in 1999
TaylorMade has dominated the golf industry for sometime. But it wasn’t that long ago when they struggled to just stay above water and survive. So…how did they get from there to where they are now? Here’s their little secret!
Just to take you back in time for a minute it was 1999. The #1 name in golf at the time had just come out with there biggest hit the Callaway Steelhead. Orlimar was a big player with the Orlimar Trimetal. Names like LiquidMetal Golf and McHenry Metals were even coming on strong. Nike had not even made a name for themselves at the time.
Oh yeah and by the way, TaylorMade was around too. But there biggest hits at the time were the TaylorMade Burner and the TaylorMade Firesole. And my memories of the Firesole were the nice paint job and the fact that people were lining up to trade them back in due to their extreme unhappiness for the new sticks.
They Were #3 And Falling…
At the time TaylorMade was #3 in the industry but they were falling…and falling fast!
But Adidas became the new owner in ‘99 and they would go undercover to try and find somebody…hell anybody that could turn this ship around. It is now apparent that they found their guy back in ‘99. Because since 1999 there was a distinct change in the style and success of their company (GolfSpy X got the info on their secret back in 2000). All of their drivers and irons started flying off the shelves. For years everyone thought that TaylorMade had all their engineers and design crew hard at work designing all of these innovative and ground-breaking clubs. That wasn’t the case, but the company wasn’t about to let the cat out of the bag.
The REAL Secret To Taylormade’s New Found Success
A firm by the name of Priority Designs had been hired to change the face of TaylorMade Golf and hopefully make them a powerhouse in the industry. It worked…they went from selling $300 Million a year to $1 Billion and that mark was set in a down year for the golf industry.
“Originally, we were hired to just help them design a few new clubs. Today, we help them design most of the new products and consumer touch points for their U.S. and Asian markets. Since we joined forces, TaylorMade has become one of the best-selling golf brands in the world.” Priority Designs.
TaylorMade basically doesn’t do much anymore in regards to designing their own clubs. I mean Priority Designs now designs everything from their graphics on their Tour Bus to their store fixtures. You can watch the newly released video by Priority Designs explaining the relationship they have with TaylorMade Golf here.
P.S
I doubt these are any of the 170 jobs TaylorMade just cut
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March 11th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Yo could tell that the R7 was done by someone other then some engineer that had never played golf. That was a interesting story. I hope there are more to come.
March 11th, 2008 at 12:27 pm
Basically if it was not for Priority Designs I don”t think TaylorMade would be nearly as successful as they are.
And it is not really the quality of the clubs that has made them successful, it is more the look of the sticks that has got them to where they are. Because in the testings of all the drivers during this period TaylorMade doesn’t always make the top of the list.
And we will have even better stories during the coming weeks and months we promise.
December 19th, 2008 at 7:34 am
Was watching the golf channel around 1999 or 2000 during the Equipment Show at Orlando and The Golf Channel interviewed the CEO of Taylor Made, the CEO was talking about how they had game improvment designs on the drawing board that they were going to release every year for the next seven years, I thought heck just sell me the stuff your going to release in seven years!
December 19th, 2008 at 12:07 pm
That is exactly what they have been doing as well. Almost like the PC industry. These things are becoming commodities with little to no value.
December 26th, 2008 at 3:21 pm
ALL THAT NEW CLUBS ARE IS COSMETIC CHANGES..YOU CAN HIT THE 15 YEAR OLD IRONS AS FAR AS THE 2009 IRONS…RIP OFF PRICES…COSMETIC = JOB SECURITY…..WE WORSHIP THE PRO GOLFERS AND THEY ARE THE REASON WE HAVE TO PAY SO MUCH FOR THE CLUBS IN THE FIRST PLACE…