Alternative Strategies
Healthy competition within the industry is apparent. The major issues lie with regulations, loss of consumers/interest, the recession, and the counterfeiting wars. All companies have strategies that are effective, but should be changed to adjust to the current environmental issues. Callaway currently has an effective strategy focusing on research and development and remains the industry leader. TaylorMade is focusing on out sourcing production in order to increase operating margin and is second in the industry. Titleist is focusing on their strong golf ball market. This is dangerous because if they were to start losing market share, the heavy reliance could negatively impact the company and they could lose millions. Ping currently focuses on its drivers and irons which are selling well, but because of their limited amount of product lines it remains fourth in the industry. Nike relies heavily on endorsements and is the younger company in the golfing industry. The following are three alternative strategies that can help the companies and industry as a whole live up to their full potential at this point in time.
Blue Ocean Strategy All the golfing manufacturers could benefit from a blue ocean strategy. A blue ocean strategy is one in which “growth in profits or revenues is achieved by discovering or inventing new industry segments that create altogether new demand.” (Gamble, 2011) In the golfing industry competitors are constantly trying to beat each other out in the available and already prevalent markets. This puts limits on a companies’ ability to grow and expand. They are either trying to defend their position or react to other competitor’s moves. It’s a never ending battle with no one company winning. In a “blue ocean” market space there are countless opportunities for growth and increased profitability because of the lack of