 sibley brings
specialty background to gm’s role
profile: john sibley
nike golf canada, general manager
John Sibley sees many similarities between his
appointment as General Manager of Nike Golf Canada and his former position
heading up Nike Bauer Hockey.
As a Canadian who grew up playing hockey, he finds
parallels between the development of the SasQuatch SUMO² 5900 driver and the
move from wood to composite sticks in hockey.
“What’s initially characterized as a fad becomes the new
reality,” says the married father of an 11-year-old daughter.
To learn more
about the native of Oakville, Ontario, we recently sat down with John Sibley.
Does your former
role as GM of Nike Bauer Hockey provide you with an advantage in your new job
with Nike Golf Canada?
There’s a strong
specialty component to the way business is done in golf and hockey that makes
them very similar. Golf is a specialized business that you must thoroughly
understand so that you can cater to the unique needs of retailers and
consumers. In golf, that’s the green grass professional, while in hockey it’s
the pro shop and rink shop. Many of our rep agencies also came from hockey;
they understand the business in both worlds.
There also seems
to be parallels between innovation in golf and hockey.
What’s happening
with Nike’s use of geometry in club design is similar to the transition from
wood to composite sticks in hockey. At one stage this season, only 17 of 650
NHL players still used wood.
A lot of people
said that composites were a fad. The same was said about the SasQuatch SUMO²
square driver. But what was initially characterized as a fad becomes the new
reality. The geometry of the SUMO line is the new frontier of golf design.
Geometry and physics don’t lie.
With the
expansion of the SUMO square technology into fairway woods and hybrids, Nike
appears to be leading a new era in golf design.
It’s a very
exciting time to be working with Nike Golf right now because the innovation
that Nike brings to golf is incredible. I’m astounded by the new and unique
products that we are introducing to consumers. We’re helping people enjoy
this game a lot more through products that make golf more fun to play.
Your new role
jives with your history with Nike,
which has largely been with specialty markets.
It’s been a
great ride since I joined Nike in 1998 in retail marketing. I also worked as
Director of Marketing and Strategic Planning for Team Sports, managing Nike’s
business with major sports leagues such as the NHL, NFL and Major League
Baseball. In addition, I was Retail Resources Manager for Nike Canada, and my
last job before moving into golf was Apparel Business Director for Nike
Canada Inc.
So I’ve had
varied experience with Nike in close interaction with the retail base, and I
have product, marketing and general manager experience that suit me well.
Mike Francis got
Nike Golf Canada started as business in Canada, and Mike Kelly built on that
foundation with his marketing experience. How do you see your role in the
succession as the new general manager?
Like Mike
Francis, I’m a Canadian national, which I think is important. I understand
the cycles of business here and the unique needs of this market. I’m
continuing to build on Mike Kelly’s foundation in bringing in talented people
to build our business and to maintain strong share position in footwear and
apparel.
We’re still in a
high-growth mode in a no-growth category. We have aggressive growth targets.
We have great opportunities for growth in both clubs and balls. Our objective
is to be No. 1 in every field that we’re in.
What are your
priorities?
There’s an
opportunity to improve ourselves operationally and externally to enhance our
service to our retail partners. I want us to be the easiest company to do
business with.
We’ve already
made great strides in a number of areas. We’ve reorganized our customer
service team to work with specific regions and large national retailers. Our
new online ordering tool allows our sales reps to shorten the time for order
fulfillment and it has eliminated the capacity for human error. Nike.net.
also makes it easy for our customers do business with us when they want.
Are there other
key changes underway?
We’re trying to
create a separation between apparel and hard goods during the sell-in period.
We are getting the reps out earlier to get the apparel business done earlier.
We’re providing more advanced timelines for apparel.
In working with
accounts, we are conducting our apparel and hard goods business distinct from
each other. This separation helps our retail partners and sales reps to focus
on the strengths of each category and it enhances their planning.
How does Nike
Golf Canada help retailers and green-grass professionals with their business?
As a meaningful
and credible brand, Nike brings great stories to the consumer that pre-sells
the business. In addition, increasingly, Nike Golf offers wide ranging and
deeper lines that are rich in innovation that helps retailers drive turns and
profitability.
What kinds of
stories does Nike Golf bring to the consumer?
As the largest
sport brand on the planet, we already touch consumers in many different ways,
but our tour presence helps build our authenticity in golf. Tiger doesn’t
have to play any of our products if he doesn’t want to, but he does. Twenty-five
per cent of the field in the Presidents Cup were Nike Golf athletes. Twelve
of the Top 50 players near the end of the season were Nike Golf athletes.
That’s because they play better with our equipment.
This season,
Nike Golf athletes captured 13 official PGA Tour wins, seven international
wins and seven Nationwide Tour wins. We led the PGA Tour in driver and iron
wins with 13 in 2007.
Those results
and that extensive usage validates our innovation and performance agenda.
Consumers see the world’s best winning with our equipment, footwear, and
apparel. That has an impact.
Even though Nike
has been in the golf business for
only about eight years, is it connecting with traditionalists?
It’s taken some
time, but Nike Golf is now serving the needs of players who have
traditionally been committed to more established brands. It’s all about
hitting it longer and straighter and we have technology that will help you do
that.
Through our tour
presence and our huge growth in sales in Canada, Nike Golf Canada has proven
that we’ve connected with a wide variety of consumers. We’ve earned our place
among our more traditional competitors by delivering tangible benefits to the
consumer.
|
