Korean golf club, apparel markets face decline in post-pandemic era

South Korea’s golf equipment and apparel markets enjoyed a boom during COVID-19. But they are facing a downturn this year amid the growing popularity of tennis and overheated competition with many newcomers in the industry.    

Some top golf club and clothing brands’ revenue from January to the first week of May declined from a year ago, according to data from Korea’s five biggest department stores by sales, such as Shinsegae Department Store Gangnam, Lotte Department Store Jamsil and Hyundai Department Store Pangyo.

G/Fore and Malbon Golf, respectively the top and the second-largest players in the Korean golfwear and equipment market, saw their revenue during the first 18 weeks of this year fall by 4% and 7.8%, compared with the same period in 2022. 

Other popular equipment brands, Parsons Xtreme Golf (PXG) and Titleist, respectively posted 28.1% and 17.8% falls in revenue during the same period. Apparel brands Mark & Lona and J.Lindberg respectively logged 19.8% and 25.9% revenue drops.

The golfwear and equipment market slowdown is seen across the board. At Shinsegae Department Store Gangnam, 77.3% of golf clothing and equipment brands saw their revenue decline. Some 75% of the golf brands at Lotte Department Store's main branch saw their sales fall.  

GEN MZ TURNS TO TENNIS

Golf club and apparel makers saw surging demand during the pandemic era as many embraced the luxury sport amid restrictions on travel. With eased regulations since the second half of the last year, golfers resumed traveling and began to spend less on the sport.

The golf business has further shrunk as the younger generations moved to tennis, which is less costly than golf. Inflation and the economic downturn also hit the expensive sport sector.

At Hyundai Department Store, tennis clothing brands’ revenue between January and May grew 14.5% on-year thanks to consumption by Millennials and Generation Z. The fashion industry is eyeing new products and marketing strategies aimed at young tennis players, an official from the luxury shopping mall said.

Many fashion companies launched golf clothing brands in the pandemic era, overheating competition in the market. There are about 160 golfwear brands in Korea, and 40% of them debuted in 2021, according to industry data. Some newcomers, including Maison Kitsune Golf and Boss Golf, entered the local market this year.

Meanwhile, Nike Golf was the only golfwear brand that achieved sales growth at the top five department stores with 16.1%. It attracted consumers who seek quality at reasonable prices rather than premium brands, industry sources said.

Write to Ji-Yoon Yang at yang@hankyung.com

Jihyun Kim edited this article.