Female golf fashion has grown considerably over recent years, not just in terms of choice including styles, colors and fabrics, but the increase in the number of new brands entering the market, many of which are female-led businesses.
We caught up with Erica Sellers, merchant for women’s golf apparel at PGA TOUR Superstore to understand the company’s buying-in process, where she believes the direction of women’s golf fashion is heading, and what we can expect to see in the future across the chain of 72 stores, which will increase to 74 by the end of 2024.
How much does apparel contribute to the total PGA TOUR Superstore volume, and what is the demographic split?
Men’s and women’s apparel represents about 22% of total company sales per year. Within that figure, men’s is around 16% and women's is 6%. We have 14 stores that we refer to as resort stores, located in Florida, Arizona and Palm Desert, and these stores are extremely important, accounting for 40% of our total women’s apparel business.
What is the process for deciding which brands to offer?
My planning partner and I consider a couple of things when we decide where to test a new brand, but it usually ends up being in the resort stores as they are high volume. The thought process is that if a brand doesn’t do well in those stores, then it probably wouldn’t do well in a smaller footprint store.
We take into consideration the outlook of the brand as it might not always resonate with a store’s target customer. For instance, Lily Pulitzer is resort driven, it’s very coastal, bright colors and prints, so that’s a brand we probably wouldn’t put in all stores.
In what ways do you believe the women’s golf fashion landscape has changed, and how is PGA TOUR Superstore adapting to those changes?
I’ve been a women’s merchant my entire career, but my background is not in golf apparel. When I joined PGA TOUR Superstore just over a year ago, it was evident that the apparel space was changing, especially in women’s with the introduction of so many new golfers and their personal style over the past few years. I felt there was a need to shake things up a bit and offer consumers more variety and selection.
When I came on board I wanted to go out and find some new brands, breathe some life into our assortment, and also speak to a younger consumer, since there are so many more young people playing golf now. At the 2023 PGA Golf Show, that was the biggest turnout of women’s golf apparel ever. There are all these micro brands popping up, there’s a lot of options out there. It’s important that we stay on top, offering the biggest and best assortment.
From what you’ve observed, do you believe there is greater interest in women’s golf?
Pre-Covid a lot of people, especially women, would say things like, “I’m not good enough to play,” but that's changed, and they’re now out to have fun and use golf as a social aspect, A lot of the younger generation are playing off-course golf at TopGolf, and simulator venues like Five Iron Golf, but stats show that more are making the transition to green grass in the US.
We see women come into our store with their husbands or boyfriends, they’re maybe not necessarily looking for something for themselves as a golfer, but we still want to offer that versatile piece that she can wear to the golf course with him.
Have you noticed a change in female buying habits?
The older customer is very loyal to the brands that she’s always worn and she comes in looking for them, but as the average age of the golfer is now mid-40s, I think they have definitely changed the landscape, especially in apparel. Things are getting more casual, you’re seeing a lot more joggers, hoodies, meet and greet tops, and the fit is getting slimmer. There are still a lot of bright, multi-color bold prints and patterns, but the younger consumer is changing that as well, opting for muted colors, solids and micro prints.
Women’s golf fashion is more versatile than ever before. What brands are leading the way?
It’s really important that women can buy personal pieces that she they can wear to golf, to have dinner or drinks, or to run errands, and not have to change clothes multiple times throughout the day. The brands that we’re doing well with are those that have a versatile and lifestyle element to them, like Viouri and TravisMathew. You see a lot of brands like Lululemon, Athleta and Spanx getting into golf. Even Abercrombie & Fitch and Tory Burch have golf, tennis and pickleball apparel too.
TravisMathew is in select stores right now, but we’re rolling it out to all of our stores in 2025. We don’t carry Lululemon and Spanx at the moment, but they are worth exploring and I’m constantly having conversations with new brands.
What are the most popular items of women’s golf clothing?
Skorts remain our number one in the women’s apparel category, followed by sleeveless polo shirts and short sleeve polo shirts. When you compare year on year, sales in those categories are down. Women are still buying a lot of those items, but not as much as they have done in the past.
Our dress business has been increasing, way up on last year. It’s still not a big volume driver for us, but we do see an uptick and I do feel like it’s a trend. When I meet with vendors, I’m seeing a lot more dresses included in collections.
The other thing I’m seeing a lot of is fine-gauge sweaters. When I started with PGA TOUR Superstore I reached out to a sweater resource from my previous job and he created some sweaters for us. It’s probably not a sweater that a woman always wears for golf, again, it’s a versatile piece and it’s a really compelling price point. I’ve brought it in in different colorways, different sleeve lengths and it continues to be the best thing we have in women’s apparel.
Have you noticed any changes in consumer spending?
We know the brands that customers like, but it’s evident when we look at analytics that they are waiting for it to be marked down before buying it - we can see that in the margins and the sell-throughs. We carry PGA Tour apparel and Pebble Beach, they are our opening price point brands and we’ve definitely seen their performance pick up. We’re seeing price resistance from the customers, I think everybody is just being a little more tight with their wallets right now.
I follow a lot of influencers, the younger consumer, and they’re posting these cute outfits every day. Everything they buy is from Amazon and they’re buying skorts for $30, polos for $20, and they look exactly like the $100, so it’s tough. I do think the younger consumer, who might be a casual golfer or just getting into golf, doesn’t want to invest a huge amount of money in their golf apparel. So I do feel that there is a huge white space out there for golf apparel that’s trendy, stylish, functional and also affordable. I think that we’re missing that.
