Today's Highlights

• Q-and-A: Barry Pry -- CEO, Nick Price Apparel
• Dashing through the season
• Haley honored for body of work

NEWS

Innoventions Enterprises to bust out at PGA Show

Innoventions Enterprises, makers of the GustBuster umbrella and SunBuster Sport Enhancement Eyewear, will exhibit at the PGA Merchandise Show, Jan. 17-19 in Orlando, Fla.

Hangers Direct headed to PGA Show

Hangers Direct announces it will participate in the PGA Merchandise Show, Jan. 17-19 in Orlando, Fla.

GTA to debut line in Orlando

Green Tee Apparel will premiere its first collection at the PGA Merchandise Show, Jan. 17-19 in Orlando, Fla.

New Keri Golf bag line features lighter-weight construction

Keri Golf introduces its 2008 collection of feminine golf bags, the MK Collection, that includes an expanded range of its vividly-patterned trademark cart and stand bags.

FEATURE

Q-and-A: Barry Pry -- CEO, Nick Price Apparel

Editor's note:Nick Price picked up his first golf club at age 5, and went from being a quiet kid from Southern Africa to the world's No. 1 golfer in 1993 and 1994. His golf career includes 42 PGA Tour and international wins, including three majors.

Using his family's history in the garment industry as motivation, Price's life came full circle when, in conjunction with Barry Pry, he founded Nick Price Apparel in 2003.

Recently, Pry, CEO of Nick Price Apparel, discussed some of the company's business acumens, and the upcoming 2008 line with GPA correspondent Janice Ferguson.

AW: Naturally everyone knows who Nick Price is, but who is Barry Pry?

Pry: I played professional golf on the South African Tour and the United States mini tour, and then began building a successful private label and corporate fulfillment company.I was fortunate enough to also know the nicest guy in golf, Nick Price, and we were able to combine passions for bringing quality and style to the golf industry by creating Nick Price Apparel.

AW: You just launched the spring 2008 line that will be featured at the PGA Merchandise Show in January -- what was some of the inspiration for this collection?

Pry: Our goal was to offer sophisticated yet soft pastels in a full array of traditional mercerized cotton shirts that blend black and silver in the Magnolia line, and vibrant, fun colors in the Newport and Castle Hill lines.

We wanted to build on the successes of the Cool-Lux luxury performance shirt, as well as the traditional cotton shirt.The 2008 collection will add to the unique sportswear line that had such great success in 2007 -- specifically, that line met the growing demand for an upscale version of the performance golf shirts, which, to that point, had not been addressed in the upscale luxury market.

The sportswear line includes American-made stretch jeans, nano-tech sport coats, woven sports shirts and the high v-neck silk/cotton sweater -- all of these elements help round out the collections in all of the three categories -- sports, luxury performance and classic.

AW: Will you expand on the definition of nano-tech?

Pry: Our Nano-tech sport coats are imported Italian linen with what's called a nano-tech bionic finish, which is water, oil and soil repellant. It also holds color, dries quickly, and is highly breathable, as well as resistant to washing and dry cleaning. In other words, easy care.We feature it in a three-button pickstitched linen sport coat that comes in navy, aqua, natural, pink and yellow. The detailing is second to none. It's a great country club classic piece that fits in every man's wardrobe.

AW: Describe the type of man who wears Nick Price Apparel.

Pry: He is today's modern man who understands what it means to dress in country club casual clothing.He's looking for clothes that can be worn to the office, on the golf course, and out to dinner.And, he wants that sporty, luxury look without the traditional high maintenance.

AW: What is the philosophy on quality at Nick Price Apparel?

Pry: If you look into the future of performance fabrics, one in which we feel is moving towards luxury performance that's stylish and classic yet functional, then quality has to be a priority, if not the most important priority.That's why we use 60's double mercerized Egyptian cotton, mother of pearl buttons, 18 gauge collar construction, and so on. Quality to us means using only the finest fabrics, the best-of-the-best stitching detail, with the finest fabric treatments.

AW: You mentioned the "country club casual look and feel." What is it?

Pry: We've witnessed something special going on in the pro shops. There's a movement towards high-octane merchandising, if you will, that's pushing the needle towards shops bringing in more complete lines and collections. Dressing men in more complete looks for on and off the course in a classic but sporty style - country club casual.

AW: You have product in more than 500 top resort and golf shops around the country. That doesn't happen by accident or by product alone. What makes an apparel company successful in the competitive, and rather small, golf industry?

Pry: At Nick Price Apparel we feel it is our job to help the pro capture more of the year-round market, and not just in knit shirts.We believe in the value of visual aids for all merchandising, again, not just with cotton shirts.I like to use the analogy of walking into a Mercedes dealership - you don't just bring out a steering wheel and sell it to the customer - you focus on selling the whole car, right? That's our goal - not just focusing on the shirt but the entire wardrobe. That's accomplished not only with highly motivated sales people, but a culture who believe that relationships, education, cutting edge merchandising, and a need to stay ahead of the curve with unique products, is the "E" ticket to success for everyone.

For information about Nick Price Apparel, go to www.nickpricecollection.com.