Today's Highlights

• Building a culture, not a brand
• 2007 Fall Fashion Trend Report
• Sock it to me

NEWS

Keri Golf to exhibit at PGA Fall Expo

Keri Golf will exhibit its 2007 collection of fashion and performance specialty golf bags and accessories.

Lija goes bold in 2008

Lija launches five collections for spring 2008, featuring an expanded range of technical blends, Lija-designed prints and an entirely new group of comfortable leisure wear.

FEATURE

Building a culture, not a brand

By Lea Hart
GPA Correspondnet

When friends Andy Hydorn and Harry Conforti began Back 9 USA 10 years ago, they did not envision creating a certain product line as much as building a culture around their brand.

At the time, the two were looking to design a logo and a hat that fit a certain golf lifestyle. They developed plans based on a golfer who was cool, young and athletic, but at the same time, traditional. Together with some more friends, Hydorn and Conforti created the Back 9 logo that can be seen on products today.

What's more, rather than buy a factory-designed hat to put the logo on, they went through a trial and error process to find a hat that fit well and was durable. Operating under the premise that "a hat isn't just a hat," Hydorn said, Back 9 prides itself on the details of the product, including the sizing, embellishments, fabric, and stitching. The founders called their first hat the Standard -- "named for the new standards it set in terms of fit and quality fabrics used" -- and later added two more designs to the collection, the Throwback and Accent.

Back 9 was founded in 1997, but remained a hobby business for roughly the first five years while Hydorn continued to work full-time at Callaway Golf and Conforti continued to work full-time in the restaurant business.

"We noticed people kind of gravitated toward our logo," Hydorn said.

In fall 2002, the duo decided to focus all of their attention on the business, and by the end of 2003 the company was functioning full-time.

Hydorn compares the concept of Back 9 to that of the "Life is Good" brand products, where it is not as much about concentrating on a certain product, but about creating a culture through the products.

Hydorn believes Back 9 has found its niche. The golfer wearing its product knows and understands the game of golf and is interested in the athletic nature of the game.

Currently, its headwear collection includes baseball caps, visors and a fleece winter hat. In addition to logo t-shirts, two new polo shirt styles were introduced in late June and more are expected by the end of the year.

"We're getting ready to really gear up in that area," Hydorn said.

Finally, Back 9 also sells the TourRevolution headcover for golf clubs.

The company has also seized the opportunity to customize hats and used blank Back 9 hats to create custom looks for beer and liquor companies, such as Cruzan Rum, and golf manufacturers, such as Odyssey. Much of the success thus far has come from custom work. They are also selling in retail shops and on the web.

As Back 9 continues to expand, it is searching to find the right retailers to carry the line -- retailers whose clientele includes that golf lifestyle they developed their plan around.

Currently, no one on the PGA Tour wears the Back 9 line, but that's something the company is working toward. Back 9 does have amateurs wearing its line.

As a step in that effort to work toward eventual involvement with a pro tour, Back 9 recently became the newest sponsor for the Rice Planters Amateur Championship in Mt. Pleasant, S.C.