Maybe Bubba Watson will shake his head that, indeed, the idea sounded too good to be true. Maybe the concept of a low-cost golf sportswear line with his name on the label will live to see a better day.
Either way, the immediate future for Bubbagolf apparel looks muddy and uncertain. That’s because the retailer, Steve & Barry’s, that licensed exclusive rights to his name to produce and sell a line of simply designed, low-cost golf sportswear, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday.
Steve & Barry’s was founded in 1985 when Steve Shore and Barry Prevor believed they could deliver clothes to college kids at rock-bottom prices. They opened stores in college and university towns and second-tier shopping centers. In recent years, however, the business model evolved and Steve & Barry’s went on a tear, opening stores at a rapid rate and licensing high-profile names including Sarah Jessica Parker, Stephon Marbury and Venus Williams in order to lure a more fashion-conscious customer. As of this week, the retailer had 276 stores.
Bubbagolf, with a slightly abstract logo in the form of a lightning bolt, was the name on the label of its golf sportswear. Watson’s shirts, shorts and sweater vests retailed for an almost unheard of price of $14.98. Though an educated customer could see and feel the difference in quality between them and premium products, the bold price play was refreshing in an era of $140 shirts. Beyond rock bottom, it was dirt cheap. Bubbagolf did not include double-mercerized Egyptian cottons but there was a proprietary performance offering under the name Dry Performance.
Immediate word is that the stores will continue to operate while a buyer or workout is pursued.The New York Timesreportedthat the Kmart division of Sears Holdings was said to be interested in some of its labels.Presumably the names of Parker, Marbury and Venus Williams, who won her fifth Wimbledon title last Sunday, would hold more value than Watson.
Still, it’s possible that a golf retailer could take Watson’s name, giving the retailer an exclusive label at an entry-level price, but probably not anywhere near that rock-bottom $14.98.
Watson told me last yearthat the deal was structured so that rather than being paid a large licensing fee upfront, he would be compensated as the business developed. He said he was enjoying providing design input and approving samples, colors and final product. He professed that growing up the child of working parents in the Florida panhandle he was proud to be associated with something so popularly priced. Even at double the prices, Bubbagolf apparel would have to be considered a bargain. — Robert Lohrer