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SGB Sports
Dave Shaw, HEAD
When you’ve become head of HEAD UK, you’ve got a career
to talk about and a wealth of valuable knowledge to share.
So let’s hear from Dave Shaw. He was appointed General
Manager of the UK division in January, in succession to
Jeremy Sherwood who has been promoted to the
international board in a new role as executive director global
sales and marketing. Another recent strategic change sees
the appointment of Helen McHugh who takes up the role of
Promotions Manager.
D
ave came into the sports business in 1994, joining Sportline also has a big heritage in sports bags and holdalls. To date HEAD has always
after five years in the Royal Navy and a variety of sales roles. been a technically driven brand, focusing its image on technological
Sportline were the UK distributors for HEAD and when the expertise and advances. In 2009 that is due to undergo a significant
brand set up its UK subsidiary in 2002, they brought him on board. strategic change. While maintaining the underpinnings of technical
Since then he has had a range of responsibilities on the sales and excellence the focus will be far more on consumer emotion, passion and
marketing side from field sales and promotion to players and personality, aiming to reach a younger market, especially teenagers. This will
coaches through product manager and then category manager for be reflected in far more dramatic advertising which will include computer
racket sports. Shaw says that he enjoys working in the industry generated imagery. Marketing spend will be massively behind the brand’s
because it offers such variety: ”You meet and deal with retailers endorsed personalities to recruit that younger generation of customers. It
sportsmen and consumers, you’re not chained behind a desk.” He comes as no surprise that Shaw sees 2009 as a “very testing year for many”,
also likes the fact that it’s a close-knit industry where you can build a year that will be about consolidation. His hope is that the present
long-term relationships with customers: “To me it feels like one big conditions will bring independent specialists to the fore, fighting off the
family”. stranglehold which multiples have applied. He is also confident that the
HEAD of course is noted for its racket sports products but it also has a HEAD proposition – “a fantastic product range endorsed by professional
large winter sports range covering all aspects of ski and snowboard sportsmen of the highest level, Andy Murray, Novak Djokovic and skiers
hardware – little wonder with an Austrian head office. In the UK the brand Didier Cuche & Bode Miller” – will make a significant contribution to
independent retailers’ efforts.
With HEAD’s technological history you would expect some new
developments and you won’t be disappointed. As a general market position
they are aiming to stress the user benefits derived from their superior
technology across the range of sporting skill levels, from novice to expert. A
brand new development only just announced is the use of d3O, a
compound which falls under the heading “smart materials”. The key benefit
is that it enables a product to change its characteristics depending on what
it is being used for. Thus a racket is firmer for a smash creating more power
than a gentle drop shot, when control is the key ingredient. This material
already exists in the football world and is a key material when it comes to
protective clothing.
Although Shaw is a big fan of the business as a whole, his greatest
frustration is the extent of focus on price, driven by the internet. An
obsession with discounting and price matching ignores all the other benefits
of a sports retailer: range, expertise, product trial and good old-fashioned
customer service. Shaw says that selling over the internet works most
effectively for “product in a box” and sports goods are far more finely
nuanced than that. “Customers aren’t just interested in price. We have far
more benefits to offer.”
HEAD are the official racket sponsors for the British Squash Open
championship in Manchester and will provide the official ball (HEAD ATP) for
the Barclays ATP Tour world finals at the 02 Arena in November. Shaw says
26 SGB SPORTS MARCH 2009
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