Golf shopping in Asia

By Janice Ferguson
GPA Style Editor

Shopping in Asia, specifically in Taipei and Tokyo, as discovered during a recent visit, is a mind-boggling experience. What in the United States is considered a leisure activity is considered more of a national pastime in that region.

Forget browsing and window-shopping, step into a boutique and customers are greeted with tea and the assumption that they will make a purchase.

The number of malls and shops may fit per capita, but per square area of land mass it is a concentrated dose of multi-level Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Chanel, Ferragamo, Bottega Veneta, Gucci and other high-end luxury brands. Think Fifth Avenue in New York City on serious steroids.

Another pleasant surprise is the location of golf shops. There are not the typical brick-and-mortar big box stores smattered along the interstate. Instead, neatly merchandised boutiques take up retail storefronts in the best shopping areas such as the Ginza district in Tokyo.

Travel up the escalator in the Ginza Velvia building and awaits is an entire floor dedicated to golf apparel and equipment. A familiar named shop like TaylorMade-Adidas is flanked by British heritage brand Fred Perry on one side and a popular Japanese label called Zoy on the other.

As I quickly punched in numbers of Yen into the currency conversion app, I learned the price tags are a bit higher. But let's face it, you're simply not going to find adorable Zoy linen shorts for women with a fabric bow belt in the United States, so it's worth a few extra American dollars. (At least I haven't found Zoy in the U.S.)

Another golf shop I found was located in an upscale hotel and office building directly outside the busy Shinagawa train station in Tokyo. The shop was surrounded by a mix of modern restaurants, traditional sushi joints, assorted other shops and the ever-present Starbucks.

The shop is Honma, another made-in-Japan manufacturer founded in 1959. Though known for its clubs, Honma also offers nice apparel selections and coordinating head-to-toe accessories. A rack of the more familiar American apparel brand, Oakley, was also featured in the shop.

The Asian golf apparel market does not lack color or variety in styling. The yarns used and the construction of the pieces have very noticeable attention to detail.

What shopper does not love a cup of tea while sitting on a plush sofa as chocolates are served and their purchases are impeccably wrapped? Afterward, the sales person carries your bag to the door and announces his appreciation - arigatou gozaimasu (thank you very much).

I say the same for a wonderful golf shopping experience in Asia. Arigatou.