Jill Spiegel, President of PGA TOUR Superstore, is in a unique position to observe the seismic shifts happening across the golf world. Joining the company when it had just 11 stores and was struggling financially, Spiegel, who was originally brought on for her strong retail background, has helped lead the transformation of the brand and, by extension, reflect the changing face of the game itself.
I was keen to sit down with her and find out how a focus on modernity and diversity has fuelled such massive, profitable growth.
Since then, the growth has been nothing short of astonishing. Spiegel shares that when she started, the company was growing, but not profitably at the time. After a few years of the team putting the right structure and organisation in place, the trajectory changed and Spiegel cites this turnaround and seeing the company grow profit as one of her most rewarding achievements.
Store support centre staff has grown from 30-something people to about 200 today, a foundation that allowed PGA TOUR Superstore to capitalise fully on the pandemic-era boom. “Since COVID, we’ve more than doubled our business,” she says, a feat achieved through growth in existing stores, not just new ones.
(Image credit: PGA TOUR Superstore)
“The beautiful thing about it is not just our growth… is that the golf industry’s maintained that. It has not gone backwards. We’re seeing record numbers in golf participation.”
The question of challenges faced in the male-dominated industry is one Spiegel is asked a lot. She reveals that she was the only woman on the leadership team for a long time and when she first attended meetings, it was a little intimidating.
“I was the only woman in the room, but I always reminded myself, ‘I’m here because of my retail background and my experience,’ and then I made a big effort to start playing and to really, really learn the sport.”
(Image credit: PGA TOUR Superstore)
While golf is still male-dominated, that is changing within the organisation. The…
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