That's a truly frightening statistic, and one that will unfortunately compel a price hike across the Sunderland range, which will be effective from March. No wonder Mair's lexicon is dotted with words like ‘focus' and ‘stability'. "At the moment we have to be incredibly prudent," he insists, "and focus on the core business. Some of the more innovative ideas - some would say ‘risky' - have to be put to the side while we focus on our bread and butter."
And yet, against this rather gloomy backdrop, Sunderland recently announced a new range of UV-protective, long and short-sleeved shirts, with a magic ingredient woven into the fabric, Cocona, which comes from coconut shells. Sunderland has long had a reputation for innovation - they introduced Gore rain suits and the Weatherbeater - but given the economic climate, why has it chosen now to make such a bold move away from their core values of reliable wind and waterproofing?
"It sounds like a contradiction," Mair concedes, "but launching this new category of sun protective clothing has become very important to us.
"Commercially, we need to find ways to take the seasonality out of our business. Sunderland is renowned for being a rainwear company, which is great, but the problem is that focuses on a few months of the year; a huge percentage of our sales take place around autumn and winter. As a business it's hard to sustain that. What can Sunderland offer the trade and consumer for the rest of the year? [The UV range] helps us offer year-round product."
Sunderland's second incentive for pushing through the UV clothing is a desire to widen its markets by becoming a more international brand. To that end it has been looking outside the UK and Ireland, its traditional heartland, to build business overseas. To date, new distribution partners have been signed up in Spain, Portugal, Scandinavia and France.
"I think it's fair to say the product in the market place is becoming much more European in look and feel," says Mair. "We won't disregard our heritage, but I think it's good to get this influence coming in. Our partners are very vocal about what's needed in the market, and the UV range was a key discussion point to them taking the brand."
Underpinning Sunderland's interest in UV-protective clothing are some alarming skin cancer statistics.
Skin cancer is the second-most common form of the disease in the UK, with 9,500 cases and 1800 deaths each year. Long hours on the course put golfers especially at risk, with Padraig Harrington's treatment for a sunspot in April 2007 one of the higher-profile cases. In bringing out its new range, Sunderland has sought the advice both of Herriot-Watt University, experts in textile research, plus Screen4Life, who do screenings for the European Tour.
"I think there's a responsibility for us here," Mair avers. "We're happy to push the awareness and education message across. We understand skin health is a tricky message for retailers to send out; we're working on point-of-sale aids and swing tags to help, and looking at tying in incentives, such as our trade customers getting a screening day for members at their course. It's important people realise that detecting something is not a death sentence, it's treatable; it's not finding out about it that can cause the problems."
Yet while pressing forward with the UV range, Sunderland has, reluctantly, put on hold its creative liaison with famed designer Tony Q'aja - the man behind Darren Clarke's sartorial splendour.
"The original objective was for Tony to design a waterproof suit for Sunderland for Autumn Winter 09, and there's been no change with that," explains Mair. "But we were also looking at exciting new developments he had in mind; polo shirts and trousers, new colours and accessories like hats and belts. But in the climate today, it's fair to say we have to be cautious.
"We will continue to distribute his current product, but will delay bringing in new product while we see what happens over the next few months."
The UV range fits neatly into Sunderland's X4 Protection product line for 2009, covering rain, wind, cold and sun - which itself is encapsulated by Sunderland's current ‘Never Weatherbeaten' marketing strap, delivered to the trade last July. Elsewhere their 2009 range is essentially a continuation of the Autumn 08 catalogue. However, the familiar GT Pro, Player and Club ranges have been joined by two suits, launched last autumn in Munich.
Top of the range is the Tournament suit, a hi-tech offering currently retailing at £250, which aspires to achieve climate control thorough micron-sized aluminium particles within its polyurethane membrane. Independent testing shows these particles react differently at different temperatures: in the cold their glinting properties reflect body warmth and so reduce heat conduction away from the body; in warmer conditions the membrane becomes breathable, promoting cooling. Designed by a Swedish Company and aimed at the slightly younger, better player, this suit sticks with what some will see as a more contemporary look for Sunderland.
Joining the Tournament Collection is the WhisperDry, an impressively comfortable and soft-feeling suit of sealed seams and stretch fabrics originally developed by Sunderland's US partners. "We saw it in Orlando last year," says Mair. "It was getting very good feedback, so we put it out for a wear test and had a very positive reaction on waterpoof effectiveness, weight, noise and comfort. The only thing we changed was the design, for a European market."
Basically that means taking it down a size, removing some of the bulk in the arms and trouser and lifting the collar. This suit is more about feel than technology, but the feel is very soft."
Following Warren Sunderland's return to the company in 2007, you can sense a renewed zeal for the company to create and innovate - although for now it'll clearly have to be tempered with some realism. Moving the brand into sunwear appears to be a sufficient reach into the unknown for now, though the brand is not necessarily expecting the coconut-husk UV line to deliver a ... well, bounty.
"We have realistic expectations on sales," Mair concludes. "I have every sympathy for the club pro in the north of Scotland trying to sell a sun-protection message to his members. I can almost hear him groaning: ‘Sun-protective clothing? Give me a break!' But we are looking to change the perception of what our brand stands for to both the trade and consumer.
That's important to us. Sunderland wants to be seen as a brand that's moving on from simply a suit that will keep you dry in the rain."
The UV range: Why coconut husks?
Coconut shells are apparently a fantastic natural source of activated carbon, whose properties include moisture wicking and odour-control, as well as absorbing UV rays. Sunderland's UV range consists of cocona/polyester blend polo shirts, available in eight colours, with long-sleeved versions in four colours. Trousers are also on the way, while convertible windshirts and windvests, manufactured using Kolon's high density X20 fabric, with natural UV protection, complete the sun-shielding line-up.
