Antigua ready for a new era

Even as they celebrate three decades in business, Antigua could be seen as a "30-year overnight success story." And now they're ready to make a statement.
By Marty Henwood (May 2009)

Should you be fortunate enough to pop the cork celebrating 30 years in business, you know you’ve done something right. Those types of milestones don’t happen by accident.

Then again, for Arizona-based apparel designer and marketer Antigua, there won’t be many backslaps and high-fives in the way of a celebration.

In the midst of marking their 30th anniversary, Antigua knows there is no time for complacency. Even after three decades, Antigua isn’t dwelling on yesterday. There is too much work to be done for tomorrow.

"The focus for Antigua going forward in 2009 and beyond is twofold,” says Sean Gregg, Antigua’s Director of Product Development. “The first is to focus on always remaining important to the incredible breadth of clientele that we've established over the past 30 years. We will continue to develop current golf specific fashion collections that people continue to enjoy wearing, whether it's because of the comfortable fit of the garment or its dynamic performance attributes. Add to that the ability to service those customers with the best service experience that the golf industry has to offer.

“We are looking for every opportunity to satisfy the business that we've previously established by being a deliberately forward thinking entity in the golf apparel industry by staying in touch with new and ever evolving technology as it surfaces and not allowing ourselves to only reflect on the unprecedented 30 year success that we've obtained.”

One of North America’s leading golf and sports apparel designers and marketers launched its newest performance and moisture-wicking collection - Desert Dry™- this season. A moisture wicking technology created exclusively for Antigua allowing for quicker, more efficient evaporation, the collection, routinely tested in the heat of the Arizona desert, has quickly become a consumer favourite under the Antigua umbrella.

Designers are also working on the Desert Dry Xtra Lite fabric for a spring launch, which will feature an even lighter moisture-wicking fabric.

Antigua works hand-in-hand with Waterloo, Ont.-based Tournament Sports, its official Canadian distributor, and Gregg is quick to stress the importance of the company’s clientele north of the border.

“We have been very well received in Canada,” says Gregg. “Canadians make up a significant percentage of our customer base, and we look forward to growing that relationship in Canada.”

Antigua recently inked a three-year license agreement with the PGA Tour, adding the world’s premier golf tour to a licensing stable that includes the National Hockey League, National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball along with several U.S. universities.

Gregg says Antigua has put exhaustive efforts into promoting its own brand and that approach is paying dividends. Known mostly for its history of outstanding service, the company is gaining a new level of popularity thanks to the Antigua label itself.

“When we sat down and addressed being more golf-specific, we brainstormed about what kind of statement we wanted to make and decided we wanted to change the perception people had of us. We put a lot into this brand and a lot of people don’t know who we are. That perception is changing. It’s almost like we’re a 30-year-old overnight success story.”

Like most apparel companies in business these days, Antigua appreciates the importance of eco-friendly products and has formed a ten-member Green Team that meets monthly to brainstorm about the importance of reusing, reducing and recycling.

Antigua practices what they preach, offering monthly and yearly incentives to employees who carpool and stressing energy conservation at their corporate headquarters. It is estimated the company has recycled close to 500,000 tons of cardboard, plastic and paper in the past four years alone.

“There are a couple of ways of looking at eco-friendly products,” adds Gregg. “There are people that go green for the sake of marketing and others doing it on principle. We’re not going green to impress anyone but quite simply because it is the right thing to do.”

And after three decades, Gregg says the company can be proud on what it has accomplished but it is now time for a new era at Antigua.

“To be around for 30 years in the golf industry is very significant to us. We are a legitimate brand and we are getting the rest of the golf world to recognize that brand. Now it’s time for us to make a statement. We don’t want to lose focus on what we’ve established, but we are focused on the future."