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4 TACTICS YOGA WEAR RETAILER LULULEMON USES TO LEVERAGE WORD-OF-MOUTH FOR THEIR BRAND

Founded in 1998, Lululemon is a yoga and sports apparel company from Canada.

Although its first store was opened in 2000, the company sold $350 million worth of products in their 113 retail stores 8 years later.

In 2012, Lululemon was reported to have the third most productive retail stores in the US, only behind Apple and Tiffany & Co..

According to Nina Gardner, Lululemon’s community relations manager, the company achieved all this almost entirely via word-of-mouth, and with ads in only two publications:

We don’t do ads. All of our marketing is done word-of-mouth and grassroots Gardner said. The only place you’ll see ads is in ‘Yoga Journal’ and ‘Runner’s World,’ two national publications.

Let’s take a look at how a company that started off selling yoga pants managed to grow so big from leveraging on word-of-mouth:

1. Lululemon’s customers are eager to show off their inspirational-poster themed shopping bags, just as they might on Pinterest.

Lululemon is all about living an active life, evidenced by their goal to “sweat every day”, and other activities like breathing deeply, drinking plenty of water and going outdoors.

These values promote a very positive and healthy image, something that customers can relate to and aspire towards. And customers who shop at Lululemon are given tote bags that have the company’s manifesto emblazoned all over them:

Lululemon tote bags image by John Lucas, Postmedia News (Click Image To Enlarge)

The feel-good quotes on the bags serve as a form of “social snack“: something we look at to make ourselves feel better throughout the day.

By associating the brand with these values, customers would feel as if they’re “connecting with her best self” as they buy their yoga pants.

Word-of-mouth action tip: Make something about your product worth showing off to others.

2. Lululemon staff feel more like your yoga or gym buddies – they’ll happily talk to you more about yoga and goal-setting than their products.

Lululemon store staffers wear yoga pants so they feel more like yoga or gym buddies (Click Image To Enlarge)

Lululemon’s store employees “are encouraged to discuss exercise goals with customers and take into account their feedback written on chalkboards in the fitting rooms.” This ensures the staff are better equipped with more information to give personalized recommendations to every customer.

They are also instructed to dress like they were going for a workout, so customers would see them more as people you see in a gym or yoga class, rather than a store employee.

Plus, most people who work at Lululemon are athletic and fit individuals, so they have a lot in common with their customers. This relatibility and similarity makes them a lot more likeable, and customers are more comfortable trusting them.

And this building of relationships is exactly what Nina Gardner is trying to achieve:

"Making sure we’re really building those relationships (with customers) — that’s what really sets us apart from being just another retail store that’s opening up to sell clothes. Absolutely we sell clothes, but we are building relationships. We are supporting communities.”

Word-of-mouth action tip: Don’t rush into selling your products – connect with your customers like a friend, so they’ll like you more, and open up to you.

3. Retail stores transform into fitness and conversation hubs on weekends for free lessons, to give back and get people involved with the brand.

One of Lululemon's in-store yoga classes (Click Image To Enlarge)

For one of their stores in Burlingame, California hosts free yoga classes on Saturday mornings and Sundays, as well as a weekday run club. This practice originated from Lululemon founder Chip Wilson, who used his office space as a yoga studio at night to help pay for rent back in the day.

This, according to former CEO Christine Day, positions Lululemon stores as a “fitness and conversation hub”. It also increases customer engagement, encourages regular visits to the store, and keeps the brand constantly top-of-mind.

What having similar-minded individuals for store employees and free fitness classes in-store does is – it evolves customers’ perception of the brand from being an apparel company to an entity that embodies your ideals, and a community to find like-minded people.

Christian Buss, a Wall Street analyst described Lululemon’s brand identity to a fitness partner:

"They’re selling a brand identity…the model that Lululemon is trying to build is, you’re pretty cool, we’ll be your partner in being your best possible self. And that kind of turns retail on its head."

Word-of-mouth action tip: Leverage your existing assets to contribute to your community.

4. Lululemon engages fitness trainers and athletes as brand Ambassadors to inspire and engage with their customers, so they can feel motivated to keep fit.

Nicole Katz from Yoga 216 is one of the many brand ambassadors of Lululemon (Click Image To Enlarge)

So if Lululemon organizes free yoga and fitness classes regularly all throughout the world, who exactly leads all those classes?

They are Lululemon’s brand ambassadors; yoga teachers and fitness trainers that have chosen embody the brand’s values and lifestyle.

These 1,500+ ambassadors host classes in Lululemon stores within their communities, and according to a yoga teacher from Australian fitness group OzSquad, get support from the brand to pursue any events and initiatives they desire.

Of course, they’re also outfitted with the Lululemon products, so they get to wear free gear while promoting their own yoga schools and the Lululemon brand.

Apart from local yogis and fitness trainers, world-class Olympic athletes are also part of the ambassador program, such as Olympic cross-country skier Sara Renner and Jaime Komer.

Word-of-mouth action tip: Celebrate and promote individuals who embody your brand values, so customers will think of you when they look at them.

Lululemon has always been a brand that connects their products with values that inspire their customers. People buy Lululemon pants because they agree with the values that Lululemon embodies and expresses.

And that can be a powerful thing, as branding expert and author Karen Post explains,

"They’re selling emotion and happiness and joy and feeling good about yourself, … and when companies keep their eye on that in a more focused way, and less on the features of the product, their chances of being a successful brand just go through the roof."

Questions to ponder:

1. What are some values that your target customers live by?
2. Does your company embody and communicate those same values in your marketing?
3. How can you create a positive and engaging community, where your customers can interact with your brand?

COMMENTARY:   Based in Vancouver BC, lululemon is known for their athletic apparel, including clothing for yoga, running and any other “sweaty pursuits.” Customers can not only buy clothing and merchandise but they can also sign up for in-store events ranging from workshops, runs and yoga classes, offered on a weekly basis and tailored to the local surroundings. To personalize the in-store experience, lululemon educators and community ambassadors can be found in every store to talk to customers about healthy living, yoga, exercise etc. The ambassadors program is composed of individuals who adhere to the same lifestyle and cultural ideals oflululemon, and can share their expertise with the local community.

Lululemon Athletica retail stores have taken the store and shopping experience to a new level.    Julia Brunzell, Manager of Store Design at lululemon atheletica discusses the unique in-store experience that the brand provides.

“We are constantly listening to feedback about how guests experience our stores and how they function for our educators. Every store designer works in the stores to experience firsthand how the space is used, what works best for flow, product visibility and efficiency.  In addition, we want every store to feel like a part of its community from the first day it opens; we invite our guests to hang out, chat with our educators and learn about local yoga/fitness studios. Every week, our stores push aside their product fixtures and open the store up to the community for a complimentary yoga class.

Our stores are designed to be conversation starters, while also being fundamentally warm, inviting, eclectic and accessible to everyone. Over the years our fixtures have become more streamlined, modern and modular which allows for flexibility and creativity with visual displays. We are known for our unique, creative and locally relevant storefront designs which range from making a big design statement to a fun reflection of the community we are joining.  For example, our Burlington, VT location is a strong ski community so we used two gondolas as benches outside to create an eye-catching and locally relevant storefront.  At our Houston Galleria mall location, we designed our storefront using glass windows that look like those from a space shuttle, a nod to the nearby Houston Space Centre.”

There have also been many changes within the lululemon brand. Recently, the brand has launched a new fast fashion clothing line, &Go. With apparel ranging from dresses to pants and tank tops, the line is set to be offered online and storewide. With this change comes another in the men’s clothing division. Lululemon is set to open a standalone men’s store by 2016. The brand offers a range of men’s clothing on its website, including jackets, hoodies, pants, socks and underwear. Finally, with lululemon’s latest expansion into the European market, it will be interesting to see how these developments continue to affect the stores and brands initiatives worldwide.

When Julie Brunzell was asked how these changes and expansions affect the store design concepts and whether consumers will begin to see larger stores, pop up shops etc. to showcase the new clothing lines, she said.

“As a company focused on innovation, we are always evaluating how we design our stores and with that comes continuous examination of layout principles, space planning, size and location. We aim to create community and shopping experiences that speak to our guests and settings which vary from city to city. Entrepreneurship is one of our core business values and as a business that is grounded in community, we enable and support store managers to have a hand in creating spaces that resonate with their guests and their community.”

Lululemon Store Of The Future

Lululemon just opened a new flagship store in New York City's Flatiron District. At 11,500 square feet, it's the brand's largest flagship location. Its Union Square location closed its doors.

The Flatiron District is home to many other stores that specialize in athleisure — Sweaty Betty and Athleta, to name a few. But that makes sense: The area has many of the most popular boutique fitness studios — Flywheel Sports, Exhale, SLT, Pure Barre, and two SoulCycle studios that are mere blocks apart.

And Lululemon is capitalizing on that. One of the new store's features, The Concierge, will dedicate floor space to helping shoppers beyond the sales floor.

The Concierge at Lululemon's Flatiron District store in Manhattan (Click Image To Enlarge)

The Concierge will recommend nearby classes and locations, so that the exercise-obsessed shoppers can don their new pants in class. To top that off, shoppers can book classes while they're shopping.

The Concierge will be a hangout spot — there will be a "community board" to help shoppers discover new places to run, new classes, and even new places to eat.

The Community Center located inside Lululemon's flagship store in the Flatiron District of Manhattan (Click Image To Enlarge)

Lululemon will make shopping a luxurious experience, with a coat check, water, a coffee bar, snacks, and a phone-charging station. You can also have your purchases delivered to your home, office, or hotel, so no need for lugging big Lululemon bags around during the day.

The company is focusing on expanding its already-strong community with a new space called Hub Seventeen. Hub Seventeen will be above the store's retail floor.

Carla Anderson, Lululemon's general manager of US retail, said in emailed comments.

"Our stores are inspired by community, from the design aesthetic and in-store guest experiences and classes to our ambassador and studio partnerships."

Chairs hang from the ceiling inside the Community Events Center of Lululemon's flagship store in the Flatiron District of Manhattan (Click Image To Enlarge)

The 5,000-square-foot space will be used for fitness classes, monthly dinners, concerts, art shows, and more.

Lululemon's stores already have yoga classes, but Hub 17 will take it up a notch.

Anderson said.  

"While all of our stores offer in-store yoga and fitness class and events, Hub Seventeen is the first time we created a dedicated community space separate from the retail experience."

The Community Events Center inside Lululemon's flagship Flatiron District store includes an area for yoga exercise demonstrations (Click Image To Enlarge)

Don't worry, Lululemon acolytes — there's a vast retail floor.

The retail floor located inside Lululemon's flagship Flatiron District store (Click Image To Enlarge)

There's a great chance that many other forthcoming Lululemon stores will follow suit.

Anderson said.

"Our flagship stores in particular are designed to elevate the community in new and unique ways, often serving as a testing ground for new guest experiences and retail innovations."

Courtesy of an article written by Samuel Hum appearing in Referral Candy and an article dated April 14, 2015 appearing in Mind and an article dated November 18, 2015 appearing in Business Insider

FORD REPEATS 1966 VICTORY AT LE MANS WITH HISTORIC VICTORY AT LE MANS 2016 WITH ITS NEW GT '66 HERITAGE EDITION

The new model comes in both gloss and matte finishes (Click Image To Enlarge)

Just over a week after its LM GTE Pro category win at Le Mans 2016, Ford is taking a trip back in time to an even bigger win. The all-new 2017 Ford GT '66 Heritage Edition pays homage to Ford's historic 1966 Le Mans victory. This special edition Ford GT brings a race-inspired look to the streets.

 

Ford made its historic come-back to the most mythical endurance race in the world, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. After more than 50 years, and its last victory in 1966 with the Ford GT40, they came back, and snatched 1st place, 3rd & 4th. That's a pretty awesome come-back.

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Inspired by the GT40 Mark II driven to victory by Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon in 1966, the 'No. 2' 2017 Ford GT wears "shadow black" paint (in a choice of gloss or matte finish) with silver stripes, "frozen white" #2 graphics on the hood and sides, and an exposed carbon fiber package. The car rides on 20-in one-piece forged aluminum wheels in a gold satin clear coat.

  

The Heritage interior has ebony leather around its carbon fiber seats, instrument panel, pillars and headliner; debossed Ford GT logos on the headrests and leather-wrapped steering wheel; exposed matte carbon fiber on the center console, door sills and air register pods; gold appliqués; and blue-webbed seat belts. The "2" appears inside the door, as well as outside, and an identification plate lends authenticity to the unique limited edition.

Garen Nicoghosian, the exterior design manager says.  

"While the looks are distinctly based on the GT40 Mark II race car, we've accentuated new styling cues to provide a modern interpretation." 

Ford will offer a limited number of Heritage packages exclusively for the GT's 2017 model year.

COMMENTARY:  On the outside, the Ford GT has been painted to resemble the No. 2 GT40 MkII race car that won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966. If you’re not a big fan of vintage racing, the car driven by Bruce McLaren and Chris Among was painted black with a pair of silver stripes running from the nose toward the deck lid. Ford used the same livery for the modern GT, but offers its familiar Shadow Black in either gloss or matte, so customers can choose between something similar to the original car or a more modern matte finish that goes well with the exposed carbon-fiber package that comes with this limited-edition model. The black paint is complemented by silver stripes and Frozen White No. 2 graphics on the hood and the doors. Rounding off the exterior is a set of 20-inch, one-piece forged aluminum wheel in gold satin clearcoat and with black lug nuts. Although the twin-five-spoke design has nothing in common with the racing rims of the original GT40, the gold color is true to the car that won the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans race.

Click Image To Enlarge

The interior of the ’66 Heritage Edition also received special features, starting with the carbon-fiber seats wrapped in Ebony leather and equipped with pillowed inserts and plow-through stitching. It would have been nice for Ford to replicate the GT40’s famous brass eyelets into the upholstery – as it did with the previous GT – but the pillowed inserts are enough to give the interior a vintage-style appearance. The instrument panel, pillars, and headliner also features an Ebony-leather wrap, while the trim on the instrument panel, the seat’s X-brace and shift paddles are finished in gold. The seats’ head and restraints and steering wheel are debossed with the "GT" logo. Like the 1966 race car, the steering wheel and the seat belts have a unique blue webbing. Rounding off the cockpit is a serialized identification plate, "#2" door panel graphics, and exposed matte carbon fiber door sills and center console.

Click Image To Enlarge

Not surprisingly, the ’66 Heritage Edition is a standard GT under the hood, meaning it uses Ford’s race-derived 3.5-liter EcoBoost (twin turbo) V-6, which generates in excess of 600 horsepower. All that power travels to the rear wheels through a seven-speed, dual-clutch transaxle, making it the first GT ever to not use a manual gearbox.

No word on pricing yet, but with the standard GT said to fetch around $400,000 before options, the ’66 Heritage Edition could cost in excess of $450,000. Ford said it will be built in "limited quantities," but gave no actual figures. I expect a production run of 66 unit in order to match the company’s most important year in motorsport.

Nine years after it discontinued the first-gen GT, the spiritual successor of the iconic GT40 race car, Ford introduced the second-generation GT at the 2015 Detroit Auto Show. Initially just a non-running prototype, the GT began hitting public roads months later, as Ford began testing the production car. Although the first GTs won’t reach their customers until late 2016, the supercar has already spawned a full-fledged race car that has been battling for glory in GT classes in North America in Europe. Its most important achievement as of 2016 is a class win at the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans, where just like in 1966, it crossed the finished line ahead of arch-rival Ferrari.

NOTE:  The entire production of 250 vehicles have been sold and Ford Motor Company is no longer taking orders

Courtesy of an article dated June 28, 2016 appearing in Gizmag and an article dated June 25, 2016 appearing in TopSpeed and Ford Motor Company official press release dated June 27, 2016

47 SOLAR-POWERED CAR TEAMS GEAR UP FOR THE GRUELING 1,864 MILE WORLD SOLAR CHALLENGE IN AUSTRALIA

The University of Michigan's Aurum solar car features an asymmetrical catamaran body (Click Image To Enlarge)

If you're looking to bring together the world's brightest budding engineers to push solar technology to its very limits, then there may be no better backdrop than the dusty, sun-drenched expanses of central Australia. The biennial World Solar Challenge will kick off this Sunday, with competitors set to cover a monster 3,000 km (1,864 mi) journey from Darwin, Northern Territory to Adelaide, South Australia in cars powered purely by the sun. As hopefuls from all over the globe ready their rides for the ultimate in solar-powered endurance racing, here's a quick look at some of the interesting vehicle designs, who's new to the party and a few that have been around the block before.

This year's event marks the 13th World Solar Challenge and features 47 teams from 25 different countries, which is more than ever before. The vehicles taking part have traditionally resembled spaceships more than cars you might see on the street, but at the last World Solar Challenge in 2013 organizers introduced the Cruiser Challenge, a second class catering to solar cars that can carry passengers and are designed more with practicality in mind.

The Challenger Class is the mainstay of the competition and sees a fleet of sleek, aerodynamic cars covered in solar panels battle it out to be the first across the finish line. This year's event features 29 teams who have had to tailor their designs to result in vehicles no longer than 4.5 m (14.7 ft) and no wider than 1.8 m (5.9 ft), which is a downsizing from the previous event. The field includes a number of teams who have been regular place-getters, if not winners, of the World Solar Challenge, along with a few making their debut appearances.

Nuon Solar Team: Nuna

The Nuon Solar Team is the reigning champ and has been one of the first three across the finish line in every World Solar Challenge since 2001, claiming the first prize a total of five times. Hailing from Holland, this year the team rides in the Nuna8, the eighth rendition of its Nuna solar car and, perhaps in a warning to its competitors, claims to have learnt some design lessons from its successful run in 2013.

The Nuon Solar Team is the reigning champ and has been one of the first three across the finish line in every World Solar Challenge since 2001 (Click Image To Enlarge)

Tokai University: Tokai Challenger

Japan's Tokai University has taken the fight right up to the Nuon Solar Team in recent years, winning both the 2009 and 2011 events, then coming in second place in 2013. It says the new and improved Tokai Challenger is lighter, features improved power generation and also better aerodynamics.

Tokai University is back and looking for another title at the World Solar Challenge with its Tokai Challenger solar car (Click Image To Enlarge)

University of Michigan: Aurum

The University of Michigan has been in the game since 1990, when it placed third in the second ever World Solar Challenge, and it takes solar car design seriously. Consecutive third place finishes in 2009 and 2011 were followed by a crash in 2013, which crippled the team's chances of success despite the team's best efforts to repair the vehicle. Aurum is its 2015 ride, featuring an asymmetrical catamaran body that is said to be more aerodynamic that any vehicle the team has ever produced.

The University of Michigan team says its focus in building Aurum was speed, reliability, and safety (Click Image To Enlarge)

Stanford University: Arctan

A product of Stanford University's Solar Car Project program, Arctan is claimed to feature some of the most advanced photovoltaic and encapsulation technologies. Will it be enough to yield Stanford's first ever triumph at the World Solar Challenge?

Stanford University's Arctan solar car during a test run (Click Image To Enlarge)

Eindhoven University of Technology: Stella Lux

The (comparatively) spacious Stella Lux is a second take on solar car design from the team at Eindhoven University of Technology. Running in the Cruiser Challenge, the vehicle seats up to four people, features a range of more than 1,100 km (684 mi) and has a top speed of 125 km/h (78 mph). It has a tunnel running through its center to maximize aerodynamics.

Stella Lux will take part in the Cruiser Class of the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge (Click Image To Enlarge)

New entries

Three new teams are looking to make their mark on the World Solar Challenge this year. Thailand's Siam Technology College claims it has designed its STC-1 solar vehicle to the same standards as a typical racing car, while the GAMF Hungary team says its goal with its Megalux car was to build a vehicle where all the components are in harmony with one another. Meanwhile, South Africa's University of KwaZulu-Natal will debut a solar car called Hulamin, which features an asymmetrical design with a small frontal area to reduce drag

Thailand's Siam Technology College is entering the World Solar Challenge for the first time with its STC-1 solar car (Click Image To Enlarge)

While these vehicles are the result of years of research, refinement and careful consideration, there's no way to completely prepare for the harsh Australian outback where daytime temperatures are expected to reach 100° F (37.8° Celsius) in the coming days. There's certain to be a few twists and turns down the road, so stay tuned to Gizmag to see which team comes out on top. The awards ceremony is due to start in Adelaide on Wednesday as the teams start rolling in, but in the meantime you can click through to our gallery to see these vehicles from all angles.

The GAMF Hungary team says its goal with its Megalux car was to build a vehicle where all the components are in harmony with one another (Click Image To Enlarge)

COMMENTARY:   I've been covering green technology and solar energy for quite some time now.  I especially enjoy these long distance, solar-powered car races.  The World Solar Challenge is without any doubt the most grueling, covering a distance of 1,864 across Australia north-to-south.  

The Nuon Solar Team from the Netherlands cross the finish line in southern Australia to win the 2013 Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, in which vehicles use only solar power. The car race from Darwin to Adelaide is 1,877 miles long and attracts teams from around the world. Nuon finished in a time of 33.05 hours and jumped into inflatable paddling pools to celebrate their win.

 

Courtesy of an article dated October 15, 2015 appearing in Gizmag

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MVRDV COMPLETES 'THE COUCH', A CLUBHOUSE WITH A ROOFTOP GRANDSTAND FOR AMSTERDAM’S IJBURG TENNIS CLUB

THE ROTTERDAM-BASED ARCHITECTURE FIRM HAS TURNED THE ROOF OF A TENNIS CLUB INTO SPECTATOR SEATING

MVRDV, the Rotterdam-based architecture firm known for its bold, futuristic designs including everything from small town community centers to South Korean Skygardens to dazzling skyscrapers that look like Twizzlers, is now jumping into the sporting arena. Its latest design is just as much furniture as it architecture though: a comfy red tennis clubhouse that doubles as a seating area for over 200 spectators.

Click Image To Enlarge

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The new building is simply called the Couch, because of course it is. Located in IJburg, near Amsterdam, and built for the appropriately named Tennisclub IJburg, first founded in 2008. The tennis club already has a number of facilities, including 10 clay courts and a tennis school. But with the addition of the Couch, Tennisclub IJburg finally has not just a place to relax between games, but a place to watch them.

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MVRDV co-founder and architect Winy Maas says.

"With the Couch, we have integrated sport into society By turning the roof of the club-house into a tribune, a Centre Court is created. Here we celebrate the talent of the amateur players who are challenged to excel in front of the public. By covering the entire building in red polyurethane the club gains visibility: an advert for sports and movement. The essence of the building is the stimulation of fitness and the fight against obesity and inactivity."

Click Image To Enlarge

MVRDV developed the clubhouse together with a co-architect, Studio Bouwkunde. In execution, the building is reminiscent of Bjarke Ingels's work on Copenhagen's Gammel Hellerup School. For that project, Ingels used the roof of an undulating rec center and the school's new arts building as common spaces for lounging around, eating meals, and watching sports. MVRDV's take, though, looks warm and accommodating, like a pillow a giant sat on after deciding to sit and watch a tennis match for a spell.

Click Image To Enlarge

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COMMENTARY:   I am a huge architectural design buff, and just love architecture that is on the leading edge of architectural design and is both multi-functional and energy efficient.  MVRDV has really blown me away with The Couch.  

The Tennis Club IJburg club house is a 36-metre long open volume with services on either end such as dressing rooms, a kitchen, storage and toilets. The main space is multifunctional, so it can be used for the club’s many events. The roof dips down towards the south side and is raised towards the north up to a height of seven metres, creating an informal tribune for the club with terraced seating. This ‘Couch’ can seat up to 200 spectators comfortably. The wide glass front to the north side allows extensive natural lighting and provides a view out over the waters of the IJ-lake.

Inside the club house, the in-situ concrete structure is clad with FSC-certified wood, while the outside is fully sealed with an EDSM polymer hotspray in the same colour and texture as the clay tennis courts. The reduced glass surface to the south helps to cool the building. The thermal mass of the building, characteristic of its materialisation in concrete and wood, are used to reach a high degree of energy efficiency. It clubhouse will be heated by a district heating system made efficient by a heat exchanger. In summer there will be natural ventilation, adding to the ambitious sustainability profile of the structure.     

Tennis club IJburg is located on a manmade island in the East of Amsterdam and opened in 2008. The tennis club, currently with 2000 members, has 10 clay courts and a tennis school. The new club house is not the centre of the club's activities.

MVRDV developed the clubhouse together with co-architect Studio Bouwkunde and structural engineer ABT. Contractor Romijn Bouw realised the building, which is MVRDV's eighth project to be built in Amsterdam.

Courtesy of an article dated October 16, 2015 appearing in Fast Company Design and an article dated October 14, 2015 appearing in MVRDV

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THE DEATH OF GOLF: TIGER WOODS HAS LOST HIS MOJO, MILLENNIALS ARE NOT GOLFING, BABY BOOMERS NOT FILLING THE VOID

It's expensive, difficult, and demands the kind of time most people get only when they go on vacation — or retire. From the dried up fairways of Southern California to the vacant course-side condos on the Carolina coast, we survey the sport's demise — and the entrepreneurs hoping to reinvent it for a new, less patient generation. 

One night last September, my 15-year-old daughter, Esmee, told me her plan to try out for the girls golf team here in Pacific Palisades, California. While I was pleased with her interest in golf — which I'd played semiseriously, along with seemingly every other man under 40 in the Tiger-dominated late '90s — I felt I had to prepare her for the inevitable letdown. She lacked the requisite power and the repeating, compact swing I assumed were required of a varsity golfer. Do your best, I told her, but be prepared for the possibility that you might not make the team.

When she texted me a week later to say she'd made the cut, I was stunned. In the years I'd gone to the school, the golf team was a bunch of country club regulars whose swings were nice right-path whips, golfers who'd been playing for a half-decade by the time they got to high school. I asked the coach, James Paleno, what had changed.

Paleno says.  

"There just isn't the interest we used to have 14, 15 years ago.  Now I have kids showing up who have never hit a golf ball before. Kids are just less aware of golf. They have too many other options. And then when they find out it takes five and a half hours to play 18 holes, they're just not interested."

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By any measure, participation in the game is way off, from a high of 30.6 million golfers in 2003 to 24.7 million in 2014, according to the National Golf Foundation (NGF). The long-term trends are also troubling, with the number of golfers ages 18 to 34 showing a 30 percent decline over the last 20 years. Nearly every metric — TV ratings, rounds played, golf-equipment sales, golf courses constructed — shows a drop-off.  Oliver "Chip" Brewer, president and CEO of Callaway. says.  

"I look forward to a time when we've got the wind at our back, but that's not what we're expecting.  This is a demographic challenge."

During the boom, most of those 20-somethings who were out hacking every weekend were out there because of one man: Tiger Woods. Golf's heyday coincided neatly with Tiger's run of 14 major golf championships between 1997 and 2008. If you listen to golf insiders, he's the individual most to blame for those thousands of Craigs­list ads for used clubs. When Tiger triple-bogeyed his marriage, dallied with porn stars, and seemingly misplaced his swing all at once, the game not only lost its best player; it also lost its leading salesman. The most common answer given by golf industry types when asked what would return the game to its former popularity is "Find another Tiger."

         Golf's fortunes seem to rise and fall with Tiger Woods' play. He hasn't won a major since 2008.  Photograph by Robyn Beck-AFP-Getty Images (Click Image To Enlarge)

But you can't blame one man's wandering libido for the demise of an entire sport. The challenges golf faces are myriad, from millennials lacking the requisite attention span for a five-hour round, to an increasingly environmentally conscious public that's reluctant to take up a resource-intensive game played on nonnative grass requiring an almond farm's worth of water, to the recent economic crisis that curtailed discretionary spending. Brewer says.  

"Golf is an expensive, aspirational game, and a lot of millennials are struggling with debt and jobs. If you don't have a job, golf doesn't really fit you very well."

Combine the game's cost with the fact that golf is perceived as stubbornly alienating to everyone but white males — Augusta National, home of the Masters and perhaps the most famous golf club in the world, didn't accept black members until 1990 and women until 2012 — and it's no wonder young people aren't flocking to it.  Greg Nathan, senior vice president of the NGF, says.

"One of the major reasons golf hasn't been growing is because historically, it has not been welcoming enough.  We need to make people feel more comfortable."

Not long ago, the game could count on young fathers to hide out on the links, and weekend tee slots are still filled with plenty of off-duty dads. But it takes two to properly helicopter-parent a family these days, and that means parents are spending more of their weekends at the playground than at the country club.

During the Tiger boom, everything about the game seemed to expand, from the length of the putters to the size of driver heads to the scale of the courses themselves.  Gary Player, the only non-American to win a career Grand Slam, notes.  

"When I won the U.S. Open at Bellerive in 1965, the course measured 7,191 yards. It was a monster. Now, 7,500-yard courses are everywhere."

And those courses have raised their greens fees. Pebble Beach may be able to charge $495 for a round, but when your local public course wants $150, it gets steep. And many of those golf courses weren't designed merely for golf; they were the lure for tens of thousands of homes that aimed to deliver one version of the American dream: golf course frontage.

COMMENTARY:     

The symptoms of golfings decline are evident everywhere and can be found in many forms.

Decline in Golf Equipment Sales

Slow golf equipment sales over the past two years have created a glut of inventory at wholesale and retail outlets, forcing them to slash prices. Dick’s Sporting Goods(DKS) was selling some drivers, priced at $299 just a few months earlier, for $99, Chief Executive Officer Ed Stack said on an investor call on May 20, 2014.  That day, Dick’s reported it missed its golf gear sales target by about $34 million in the first quarter of 2014.  The news helped send the retail chain’s stock down 18 percent, its worst one-day tumble since the company went public in 2002.  Stack said.  

“We don’t feel we’ve found the bottom yet in the golf sales number.”

TaylorMade, a golf equipment maker owned by Adidas (ADS:GR), reported a 34 percent drop in sales in the first quarter 2014. And Callaway Golf (ELY), maker of the Big Bertha driver, delivered its own dim forecast in April 2014, warning that full-year profit could come in at the low end of its previous estimate.  CEO Chip Brewer told investors. 

“We anticipate a heavy promotional environment while the industry works through excess inventory.”

Callaway hasn’t reported an annual profit since 2008.

Industry insiders point to last year’s double bogey by sports retail giant Dick’s that crimped revenue and margins industry-wide. Dick’s, which is reportedly in talks to go private, last summer fired more than 400 PGA professionals at its namesake stores (the sporting goods retailer also owns the Golf Galaxy chain) and slashed prices on golf equipment as there wasn’t enough demand to meet the supply stuffed into the market; lower prices obviously mean less overall revenue.

TaylorMade’s Sharpe is mindful of that oversupply as the company has released new equipment and he prepares for his first spring on the job. Sharpe says the company will be “more deliberate” in its distribution to avoid an inventory glut, “which causes deflation and compromises the launch of the next generation.”

This deflation is training consumers to hold off on new purchases and weighing on equipment sales, says Tom Stine, co-founder of Golf Datatech. Stine says.  

“Overall golf sales are down, but that doesn’t mean they’re down because golf is going out of business.  Golfers are not going away, they’re more cautious in spending money and trying to get a better deal.”

Click Image To Enlarge

Economic Impact of Golf

The U.S. golf industry has an estimated direct economic impact of around 70 million U.S. dollars annually. This figure is based on several segments such as golf course capital investment, golf facility operations, golfer supplies, charities and tournaments and associations. 

It includes for example around 20 billion U.S. dollars from green fees and consumer purchases of golf equipment to the value of 3.4 billion U.S. dollars. These equipment purchases include items such as golf clubs (woods, irons, hybrids and putters), golf bags and balls. The average price for a set of golf clubs was at 40 U.S. dollars in 2011, golf shoes sold for an average of 66 U.S. dollars at the retail level. The wholesale sales of golf equipment had a value of around 2.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2011. 

Among the leading golf equipment companies in the world is Callaway Golf with revenues of 834 million U.S. dollars in 2012. Its drivers, fairway woods and hybrid segment contributed 24 percent to the total revenue. Irons (20%), putters (11%), golf balls (17%) and accessories (28%) are the other reported segments of Callaway Golf. Callaway’s main market is the U.S. where the company generated almost 50 percent of its revenue. 

Around 26 million people play golf in the U.S., at least occasionally, at approximately 15,600 golf facilities. Among the leading golf club operating businesses is ClubCorp. The company operates 102 golf and country clubs and 49 business, sports and alumni clubs mostly in the U.S. Overall the company has approximately 145,000 memberships and 350,000 individual members with total revenues of almost 755 million U.S. dollars in 2012. 

Consumer spending on golf equipment in the U.S. from 2007 to 2015 (in million U.S. dollars)

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The Generational Shift 

Although an especially cold winter and the sluggish economy are no doubt part of golf’s problem, a generational shift is a bigger cause for concern.  Jim Koppenhaver, president of Pellucid, says.

"The baby boomers were supposed to be the salvation of golf.  We’ve got to find a way to stem the decline in the golfer base.”

Millennials have left golf in droves, but the baby boomers have yet to take up the slack.  His company’s research shows the number of golfers today is lower than in 1990, even though the U.S. population is 27 percent greater.  

Changing Lifestyles

Koppenhaver calls the traditional 18-hole round “an anachronism,” requiring about six hours “door-to-door,” including more than four on the course.  Nor does the pastime have the social currency it once held. Explains Gerald Celente, publisher of marketing magazine Trends Journal:

“Everybody’s hooked up to their handhelds, so [today] it’s social networking instead of sports.”

Golf Courses Closing And Golfers Playing Fewer Rounds

Overbuilding in the 1990s led to a surfeit of courses as the growth that operators anticipated never materialized. Only 14 new courses were built in the U.S. in 2013, while almost 160 shut down, the National Golf Foundation reports. Last year marked the eighth straight year that more courses closed than opened.

Those sticking with the sport are playing fewer rounds. U.S. golfers played a total of 462 million rounds last year, according to researcher Golf Datatech. That was the fewest since 1995. Says Morelli:

“All the people under 35 are leaving the game.”

Marketing of Golf Changing

To attract more casual players and expand revenue, particularly among younger people, clubs are rethinking some of the sport’s tenets. The U.S. Golf Association, the PGA of America, and Golf Digest have launched a “Time for Nine” campaign to counter complaints that the traditional 18-hole game takes too much time. And some clubs are adding attractions such as yoga and hovercraft rides.

Then there’s Hack Golf, a movement to identify the parts of golf that aren’t fun and fix them. A standard cup is 4.25 inches in diameter, often making even short putts difficult to sink. Some courses have added wider holes to make the sport faster and easier, with a Golf.com story in April asking, “Could a 15-inch hole be the answer to golf’s growth problem?” TaylorMade in April sponsored a 15-inch cup tournament. The brand also co-sponsors a website with the PGA, hackgolf.org, with the goal of “crowdsourcing the future of golf.” The site has elicited 1,471 ideas. A recent suggestion: smartphone apps to reserve tee times, pay for services, and communicate with the pro shop.

Clubs in more than 30 states, including the PGA Country Club in Port St. Lucie, Fla., are even trying FootGolf, a combination of golf and soccer designed to capitalize on the growing popularity of the latter. The game is played with a regulation No. 5 soccer ball on a course with shortened holes and 21-inch cups. Wearing knee-high argyle socks is recommended.

The professional and marital decline of Tiger Woods, once the public face of golf, hasn’t helped. With neither Woods nor Phil Mickelson playing at the 2014 Masters, only 7.8 percent of U.S. television households tuned in—the tournament’s lowest TV rating since 2004, according to Nielsen. That was a 24 percent decline from the 2013 finale, when Woods and Mickelson played and 10.2 percent watched.

Courtesy of an article in the August 2015 issue of Men's Journal, an article dated June 19, 2014 appearing in Bloomberg Business, an article dated January 22, 2015 appearing in Fox Business, and an article titled, "The Economic Impact of Golf" appearing Statista

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TURN YOUR COMMUTE INTO A ROLLER DISCO: $90 WALK WINGS GADGET CONVERTS ANY SHOES INTO SKATES USING RETRACTABLE RUBBER WHEELS

A new type of shoe, called Walk Wings, could make your daily commute a lot more interesting. 

The shoes are similar to retro strap-on roller skates, but are designed for adults with retractable wheels.

Each Walk Wing attaches to the user’s existing footwear using a heel strap, toe cover, and an ankle strap to transform an ordinary stroll into a roller disco. 

The shoes are similar to the retro strap-on roller skates, but are designed for adults, with retractable wheels. Each Walk Wing attaches to the user’s existing footwear using a heel strap, toe cover, and a ankle strap (Click Image To Enlarge)

The four rubber wheels fall into place by sliding a lever at the back of the shoe.

A heel brake, found below the lever to release the wheels, allows the user to stop in a similar way to braking while wearing roller blades.

When you get to stairs or uneven surfaces, users pull the wheels back up by moving the lever into its starting position.

For those who don't fancy walking with the brackets on, Walk Wings also come with a custom backpack for carrying them between commutes.

 

The sole is made from the same material as sports shows and the four wheels are designed with low centers of gravity for easy balance. 

The Walk Wing's California-based inventor YJ Lee said. 

"Five years ago, I had a dream that I was walking, running and skating around in the city with only one pair of shoes.  I felt so light and free, and that was the start of Walk Wings." 

Walk Wing animation (Click Image To Enlarge)

Lee is currently raising funds to commercialise the system and has so far raised $3,464 towards his $50,000 goal with 46 days left on the Indiegogo campaign. 

A pledge of $90 (£57) will get you a pair if they reach production, with the skates having an eventual retail price of around $200 (£128).

If the campaign takes off, shipping will begin in February 2016.

The sole is made from the same material as sports shows and the four wheels are designed with low centers of gravity for easy balance (Click Image To Enlarge)

'Five years ago, I had a dream that I was walking, running and skating around in the city with only one pair of shoes,' said the shoes' inventor YJ Lee. 'I felt so light and free, and that was the start of Walk Wings' (Click Image To Enlarge)

COMMENTARY:  I just checked Indiegogo and the creators of the Walk Wing have only raised $6,269 of the $50,000 they need to fund production.  There are only 30 days left to go.   I hope this posts helps get them over the hump. 

Courtesy of an article dated August 18, 2015 appearing in the Daily Mail

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JAPAN'S KURATAS GIANT ROBOT TO FIGHT AMERICA'S MARK II GIANT ROBOT IN 2016, COULD FUEL NEW SPORTS INDUSTRY

U.S. Robotics firm MegaBots' Mark II robot to fight Japan's Kuratas robot in 2016 (Click Image To Enlarge)    

Japanese mega-robot creator Suidobashi Heavy Industry, headed by Kogoro Kurata, accepted a challenge this week from US robotics firm MegaBots for a winner-take-all robot brawl to take place next summer in a giant stadium at a yet undetermined location.

 

Giant Robot Fights - Image Courtesy of jalopnik.com (Click Image To Enlarge)

The event is expected to kick off a new global industry, perhaps worth billions, in which giant robots battle for supremacy. Like all emerging sports over the past several decades, mainstream sponsors are lining up: Autodesk, Engadget, Business Insider, Rolling Stone, The Huffington Post, VICE, and the Discovery Channel. The following video from the DARPA Robotics Challenge shows what looks to be the ground floor of a new sports industry in the making.

 

U.S. vs Japan To Kickoff Global Robot Fighting Industry

Kurata, pictured in the bandana in the image below, is the creator of Kuratas, a 13.2 foot (4 meters) tall, four-legged, 4-ton robot that can reach speeds up to 6 miles per hour (10 km/h).  Kuratas also has twin Gatling guns, an electronic targeting system and a full heads up display.

The US opponent will be Megapots Mark 2 which is 15.1 feet (4.6 meters) tall and is designed to hurt Canon-sized paintballs at over 100 mph (160 km/h).  MegaBots is led by Andreas Hoffmann's MIT Ph.D thesis "Robust Execution of Bipedal Walking Tasks from Biomechanical Principles".

Giant Robot Fights U.S. vs Japan Robot Challenge - Image Courtesy of Japantimes.com (Click Image To Enlarge)

Following is a video on the US vs. Japan Giant Robot Duel Challenge:

 

COMMENTARY:   I can hardly wait to see this "Battle of the Titans" when Japan takes on the U.S. in a robotic no-holds-barred fight.  You are talking about a lot of firepower and tonnage.  They already have robot battles, but nothing like this.  These are truly beyond belief, gigantic robots.  It should be quite a sight.

Courtesy of an article dated July 12, 2015 appearing in Industry Tap

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SOCIAL MEDIA TRAFFIC DURING THE FIFA WORLD CUP 2014 IN BRAZIL SET RECORDS, SO WHICH SOCIAL NETWORK WON THE WORLD CUP?

Facebook was being used by around 80% of the social audience in the US, the UK, and Brazil during the final stages of the World Cup—the most engagement with any social network in all three countries—according to recent data from GlobalWebIndex.

The report was based on data from a panel of people age 16-64 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Brazil who watched the World Cup and are active on social media.

Respondents were asked at the beginning of the World Cup which networks/messaging services they planned to use during the matches; they were then surveyed at the end of the tournament to find out which platforms they actually used.

Overall, the use of the social networks and messaging services examined increased significantly as the World Cup reached its final stages, GlobalWebIndex found.

Some key findings of the research: 

• Twitter was the second most popular social network after Facebook during the tournament, though it was used only half as much.
• WhatsApp rose from the fifth most popular platform at the start of the World Cup to third by the end, overtaking both Google+ and Instagram. Most of that jump was due to high engagement in Brazil, showcasing the messaging platform's increasing importance in fast-growth markets.

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About the research: The report was based on data from a panel of people age 16-64 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Brazil who watched the World Cup and are active on social media. 

COMMENTARY:    Adobe forecasted that the FIFA Brazil World Cup would break records for social media traffic, and this appears to be the case judging from the following infographics:

Click Image To Enlarge

Click Image To Enlarge

Courtesy of an article dated July 17, 2014 appearing in MarketingProfs

ADOBE PREDICTION: WORLD CUP WILL BE THE MOST SOCIAL SPORTING EVENT EVER

The global social chatter about the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil is likely to surpass both the Super Bowl and the Olympics. So how can marketers capitalize on this to reach consumers?

Social buzz about the FIFA World Cup looks to surpass both the Super Bowl and the Olympics, according to analysis from Adobe Social Index, now also known as ADI. But Brazilian sentiment is divided, with close to half of World Cup mentions reflecting sadness, anger, or disgust.

Click Image To Enlarge

ADI reports that 90 percent of the world has already contributed to the World Cup conversation ahead of the first game, compared to 84 percent for the Olympics and 78 percent for the Super Bowl.

That's based on an analysis of geo-tagged social mentions across 14 social networks. While there are 255 recognized countries or territories, 230 of them generated at least one mention on social media.

Is this uptick in social mentions because of greater global interest in the event or does it show a continuing upward trend in social media usage? It's a bit of both, according to Joe Martin, senior analyst at Adobe Digital Index. "By its nature, sports is a very social event," he says. In addition, the World Cup is a global event, but interest in soccer is stronger in some regions than others. Social media is a good way for people living in a country that's not futbol crazy to connect with others elsewhere who are, he says.

ADI has bulked up its social media inputs available to the Adobe Social listening tool and now accesses 15 global networks, including Dailymotion, VK, Metacafe, and Wordpress.

The majority of World Cup buzz (48 percent) is coming from the Asia-Pacific region (APAC), ADI found. Japan alone is producing 78 percent of the APAC World Cup buzz. Martin attributes the high social media participation among the Japanese partly to its very active Twitter user base, second only to the United States. They also have a couple of star players, Keisuke Honda and Shinji Kagawa, and the Japanese team itself is expected to compete well.

Europe, the Middle East, and Africa came in second, contributing 32 percent of all social media mentions, and the Americas came in third, with 20 percent.

Click Image To Enlarge

Nevertheless, a different slice of ADI's social media data found that Germany has the highest social buzz as a percent of total Twitter users in its country, with 17 percent of Twitter users in Germany talking about the World Cup. That compares to 11 percent of Twitter users in Japan, 8 percent in Nigeria, and 5 percent each in France and the U.K. In other words, says Martin,

"More of the active Twitter base in Germany is talking about the World Cup, as opposed to a smaller percentage of people in Japan - who are using social media more frequently."

That 42 percent of negative social mentions from Brazilians coalesced around anger at the billions that the government has spent on the event, money that some say should have gone to public works. Says Martin, "That sentiment may flip on July 13 if they're in the finals. While a vocal minority is saying negative things so far, I can't imagine a more passionate country of that size. They will probably have short-term memory on what led to the World Cup if they do make that final."

Networked Insights analyzed more than 5 billion tweets to find ways for marketers to reach soccer fans in the United States. It found 575,000 World Cup fans on Twitter. The top U.S. cities expressing anticipation via social media were Washington, D.C., Seattle, Norfolk, Las Vegas, and Salt Lake City.

Networked Insights also found that World Cup fans are 3.3 times more likely than the average consumer to be interested in documentary movies and 2.1 times more likely to watch talk-format TV programs.

COMMENTARY:    The USA beats Ghana 2 -1 in major upset.    

The United States' Clint Dempsey reacts after scoring his team's first goal past goalkeeper Ghana's Adam Kwarasey during the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil. USA won 2-1 in major upset (Click Image To Enlarge)

Courtesy of an article dated June 12, 2014 appearing in ClickZ

VIDEO OF THE THREE BASE JUMPERS WHO JUMPED OFF OF 1 WORLD TRADE CENTER, SURRENDER TO N.Y. POLICE

Last September three daredevils (or crazy people, depending who you ask) jumped off 1 World Trade Center, 1,368 feet up in the air. All three turned themselves into authorities Monday, and this incredible footage of the long leap, shot from a helmet cam, was released for the first time. For those of you with a fear of heights, you might want to skip this one.

 

COMMENTARY:    Wow, that's one hell of a jump, and at night too.  That makes it even more dangerous than jumping during the day.  Makes you wonder how they were able to get into the construction area of the new building, then get up to the room of the building. 

• The trio have been identified as Marco Markovich, Andrew Rossig and James Brady - and their look-out was allegedly Kyle Hartwell
  
• Police believe the thrill-seekers climbed through the same hole in a fence to get to the top of the skyscrapper that a New Jersey teen, Justin Casquej, did last week

Courtesy of an article dated March 24, 2014 appearing in Digg