Donald Ross Sportswear: Timeless Luxury in Golf Apparel

Renowned for its high-quality golf apparel, Donald Ross Sportswear has established itself as a trusted brand in the golf industry. With a commitment to timeless styling, innovative fabrics, and exceptional service, Donald Ross Sportswear offers a unique combination that appeals to golfers of all ages and skill levels. In this interview, Donald Ross Sportswear shares insights on their most popular product, future growth plans, industry trends, design philosophy, and merchandising strategies.

AGM: What’s your most popular product, and why do you think it’s been so successful?

DR: Our short sleeve polos are the largest segment of our business.  We use and have used a proprietary yarn paired with lyrca/spandex that delivers a luxurious hand feel, brilliant color and fastness, great drape on the body, terrific durability, unmatched quality, and the playability that our customer loves and now expects from our product.

AGM: What’s the next big thing for your brand?

DR: We strive for continuous improvement.  Marketing our authentic golf brand to our wholesale and directly to the golf consumer is a huge area of concentration for our future growth.  In addition to telling our brand story we are continuing to educate our wholesale buyers as well as the consumer on our two distinct fits, Classic and the newer SPORT fit.

AGM: What do you wish more golf retailers knew about your brand or products?

DR: 

• Our commitment to the green grass retailer
• Our exclusive distribution 
• Our exemplary service 
• Our two distinct fits – CLASSIC and SPORT
• The depth and diversity of our product offering.

AGM: How do you see the golf retail landscape evolving in the next 5 years?

DR: We are pretty fortunate in the golf industry to have a very consistent and stable base of customers to sell product to. Golf is a lifestyle.  I do see opportunities for on-course golf retailers to expand their selling season by offering a wider product offering venturing into more of the lifestyle channel of product in the shoulder seasons to their customer base.  With the addition of indoor amenities (fitness & simulators), club members are around and using the club more than ever throughout the year. 

AGM: How do you balance tradition and innovation in your golf apparel designs?

DR: The traditional side of the golf apparel comes very naturally to us since we are and have been a classically designed line, primarily using timeless styling techniques of stripes and prints.  Our innovation can be found in the high-end yarns and blends of yarns that we utilize to deliver high performance, comfort, durability, and enduring quality.

AGM: How do you see the golf industry evolving, and what role does your company play in this future?

DR: Donald Ross Sportswear is a timeless and enduring brand.  Just like our namesake, his course designs have withstood the test of time and will continue to do so for years to come.  We aim to be a standard for better golf shops and fine resorts to do business with year in and year out as the golf retail consumer that prefers to purchase their golf apparel on-course will continue to seek out the high-quality apparel product that we offer.

 

AGM: What strategies do you recommend for merchandising your products effectively?

DR:

• Utilize our color stories to create a unique collection of products for seasonal deliveries
• Take advantage of our two distinct fits to sell to and service your entire customer base, big and small.
• Cross merchandise within displays using all or some of our product categories (shirts, layers, bottoms) to create “the look”  for your customer.

AGM: What message would you like to leave with AGM members about your brand and products?

DR: Donald Ross Sportswear offers a unique combination of classic and timeless styling, modern fits, and innovative performance-based fabrics. We take quality very seriously, never compromising on craftsmanship or the materials we use. Our quality coupled with our exclusive distribution and exemplary service has allowed Donald Ross to build a recognized, trusted, and respected brand name that will not only stand the test of time but be a great partner and performer in your shop.

 

Conclusion

Donald Ross Sportswear’s commitment to customer satisfaction, coupled with their exclusive distribution and exceptional service, makes them a valuable partner for golf retailers. AGM members are encouraged to learn more about Donald Ross Sportswear by visiting their website at https://donaldross.com/ or contacting Adam Boland at adam@donaldross.com.

To join a merchandiser community and gain weekly educational opportunities and resources, sign up to become a member of the AGM.