The situation has prompted the creation of Ping Collection Europe Ltd, and while it might seem that the apparel brand has been belted around like the ball in a pin-ball machine over the years, there is in fact a strand of continuity that has kept Ping Collection Europe on a stable footing since its conception 10 years ago, which is the father-son partnership of Peter and Simon McGuigan.
Ping Collection was first brought to Europe my Peter McGuigan's company PMG in 1999, having obtained the license from global license holder Perry Ellis International. PMG was taken over by Umbro in 2000, and the Ping Collection license was transferred to the famous football company in 2002, with Ping Collection maintaining its own team for sales, marketing, product and customer service.
Simon McGuigan became Ping Collection's marketing manager under Umbro, and once Nike had come in, the opportunity to set-up Ping Collection Europe Ltd was born. While Umbro will continue to oversee Ping Collection's Spring Summer 2009 range until the end of June, the brand's Autumn Winter line comes under the auspices of the new company.
"With Umbro's Ping Collection license expiring we saw an opportunity to take Ping Collection forward in Europe," says Simon McGuigan, managing director of Ping Collection Europe Ltd. "Ping Collection Ltd now holds a three-year license for Ping Collection from Karsten Manufacturing, which owns Ping."
The global license held by Perry Ellis, incidentally, expires at the end of 2009, and it is understood the company is taking on responsibility for Callaway apparel as the merrygo- round continues to turn.
"We wanted to ensure continuity," states McGuigan, which is somewhat crucial considering Ping Collection Europe has taken on an Autumn Winter 2009 line that began development under Umbro last year. McGuigan has brought on board product manager Rebecca McElligott and designer Fiona Reilly, both from Umbro, while Paul Reed, formally of Glenmuir and Srixon, has been appointed national sales manager.
"In February we launched the Autumn Winter 2009 range and we are currently receiving orders for delivery from July 1," adds McGuigan. "The supplier base for Ping Collection was always been completely separate from Umbro, so we have been able to simply carry on those established relationships with suppliers. We are maintaining continuity in terms of staff, customer service and sales, to ensure the transition from Umbro is seamless. As far as the retailers and consumers are concerned it will be business as usual."
Not only does setting up Ping Collection Europe Ltd make sense due to Nike's take-over of Umbro, but McGuigan also believes the strength of the Ping brand in terms of golf equipment will give Ping Collection a significant boost in an apparel market that is both slow and crowded.
"There are a lot of brands competing for a finite market share," he says, "so one of the reasons we have taken on the brand at what could be considered a risky time, is that Ping is a very consistent performer at the top end of the hardware market - Ping is always in fashion. Golfers have confidence and trust in the Ping brand and that is very important. Ping Collection will continue to work very closely with Ping, and there are very few apparel brands that can draw from such heritage and authenticity.
"We have always taken pride in reflecting the core values of Ping, and we will continue to do so."
With Ping clubs still growing in popularity in mainland Europe, McGuigan hopes Ping Collection will be able to follow suit.
Ping Collection's new top-end rain suit for Autumn Winter, Absolute Zero, is a prime example of how Ping hardware is directly influencing Ping Collection's apparel, as the jacket has subtle, embossed detailing translated from Ping's renowned G10 driver (RRP for jacket £130; trousers £90). Accents from G10 can also be found some polo shirts, including the Force 9.
"Autumn Winter is heavily focused on the performance categories such as rain suits, and all rainwear for Autumn Winter is completely new," says McGuigan. "All our rainwear is incredibly lightweight. We want our product to look great, but it is also built for performance."
So Ping Collection enters a new era, but if all goes to plan, we might not even notice.
