Edwin Watts Golf Shops

Edwin Watts Golf Shops, which sells golf equipment and apparel online and through 90 U.S. retail stores, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company, owned by an affiliate of private-equity firm Sun Capital Partners Inc., listed assets and liabilities between $100 million and $500 million. Callaway Golf Co. is the largest unsecured creditor, with a claim of $4.6 million, according to papers filed today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware. 

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla., Nov. 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- With Black Friday reserved as the most popular holiday shopping day for consumer products, the sporting goods industry now has a day for one of its leading holiday shopping categories: golf equipment. Today, Edwin Watts Golf Shops, LLC, one of the world's largest specialty golf retailers, announced that Friday, November 18th, will become Golf's "Green Friday," creating an unmatched shopping experience at more than 90 retail locations, and online at www.edwinwattsgolf.com. ( Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20111115/NY07269LOGO ) Sponsored by: To kick-off the golf holiday buying season, Golf's "Green Friday," will begin on

While golf is primarily an individual sport, that doesn't mean retailers that sell golf products can't partner up to drive more sales — and acquire new buyers at the same time.

Some family-owned businesses have trouble adapting to change. At times, that’s been the case with cataloger-retailer Edwin Watts Golf. But as it nears its 40th anniversary, Edwin Watts has rolled with the frequent punches in the discount- and brand-driven golf equipment industry. Founder Edwin Watts opened his first retail store in 1968 and launched a catalog eight years later. The company debuted its Web site (www.edwinwattsgolf.com) in 1998, one of the first online golf equipment shopping sites in the industry. Through the years, the company has managed and prospered from change. Yet, no change may prove to be as worthwhile as an investment it’s

COMPANY NAME TOTAL BUYERS 12-MONTH BUYERS BASE PRICE/M Abercrombie & Fitch 29,977 12,367 $125 Acorn Direct 3,290 3,136 $135 Bass Pro Shops 8,074 4,495 $90 Brookstone 7,931 6,210 $110 Casual Living 448,385 448,385 $114 Coldwater Creek 60,432 24,773 $130 Eddie Bauer 25,648 8,948 Exch. Only Edwin Watts Golf Shops 2,024 2,024 $125 Hammacher Schlemmer 47,945 11,922 $135 Metropolitan Museum of Art 17,125 17,125 $175 National Wildlife 3,842 3,842 $125

Positioning itself as “Golf’s most trusted retailers since 1968,” Edwin Watts Golf obviously is an established player in its industry, selling golf equipment through catalog, Internet and retail stores. Click here to read Christine Carrington’s creative review of Edwin Watts Golf catalog (PDF).