p18,19 Brand Profile 9/19/08 11:06 AM Page 18
PROFILE - Sports Retail SGB
www.sgb-sports.com
Sports and Outdoor
Badminton
Wilson, masters of the tennis racquet, are pushing into badminton where they hope to emulate their other
successes. Steve Yates, Badminton Marketing Manager for Wilson, explained to SGB – Sports and Outdoor how
they're going to make this happen…
M
aking inroads into a relatively new field can be you can enjoy a
difficult for any company, no matter what the rally.
size. Wilson has a history in the field of The numbers
badminton, but they want more. The man are incredible –
charged with making that happen is Steve Yates, a former something like
county player and Wales international. There's more to 2- 3million
him than a sporting background (though his triathlon regular players
record is pretty impressive), as he has also spent several in the UK, and
years working in sales and marketing in our industry. You it's apparently
could say, quite simply, he knows the sport inside out. the only sport
Steve explains to SGB how Wilson are going to achieve that is played in
great things in badminton… equal numbers
between men and
SGB: You've been with Wilson for about six months – what women. The spread of
have you focused on in that time? ages is anywhere between
Steve Yates: The primary objective so far has been to five and 85. It's not really
ensure that Wilson badminton is featured in key specialist stressful on the joints, it's a very social
retailers. That's been the priority, to impart some extra sport – there’s a lot going for it.
knowledge into the Wilson sales force and to make sure The research into the demographics isn't exhaustive,
the key accounts are listing Wilson as a major brand for partly because typically it's a recreational sport. Out of
the new badminton season (which starts September, those millions of players, perhaps 50,000 are affiliated to
ending May). Badminton England. So the huge majority are
We've had a great response. The last four months has recreational players. Badminton is also part of the school
seen a lot of time spent on the road with our guys, curriculum now and played all over the country in sports
ensuring the new range is out there and stocked so that and leisure centres.
when demand picks up – which it has done – Wilson will
be there competing more frequently for the badminton SGB: What's Wilson's history in the sport?
business. The response has been hugely positive, and I'm SY: Wilson has been in the badminton market for several
delighted so far. years. It's one of the three main racket sports it covers.
Wilson is the major tennis brand in the UK and globally,
SGB: Sports participation in the UK is changing, and people and is probably number one in terms of volume in
are – regardless of what the popular press says – becoming squash. In badminton, it would certainly be in the top
more active. Have things changed for badminton? Who five brands in the UK.
plays the game in the UK? The history is long and established, but recently we've
SY: Over the last five to ten years, there's been quite a turned our focus on becoming a much more serious
dramatic increase in the number of people playing player in badminton in the UK. Our objective is to
badminton all year round as opposed to just in season, become, in time, the number one badminton brand.
which means a flattening out of the traditional big spike
of demand which used to happen in early September. SGB: Why the shift in focus?
That might be a result of the poor summers we've been SY: The opportunity for growth exists in badminton. The
having… It's also a reflection of the fact that the game has participation numbers are extremely high, while our
a huge amount of appeal because of its accessibility. The market share is relatively low compared to tennis and
barriers to play are so low, it's a relatively inexpensive squash in the key markets around Europe. So we took the
sport, it's easy to learn and two relative beginners can have decision as a business – and the whole Wilson brand is
a good thrash around on court. With sports like tennis supporting this – to increase our share of the badminton
and squash, you have to be reasonably proficient before business. In order to do that, we need to be selling more of
18 SEPTEMBER 2008
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