Ashworth Falling
It wasn’t long ago that Ashworth Inc. (NASDAQ: ASHW) was on top of the golf apparel world. But slow sales in its core golf division have spelled tough times for the company the past few years. Those tough times have led to the resignation of Ashworth Chairman Randy Herrel, effective Oct. 17. Sources tell Spike on Golf that Herrel’s resignation came about from pressure by a high-power group of investors unhappy with the financial performance of Ashworth, whose stock has traded between $6-7 for most of the past year.
Ashworth reported fiscal third quarter sales of $52.8 million - up 9.3 percent over the same period last year, with nine-month sales up 6.7 percent to $159.4 million. Third quarter sales in the company’s golf division, however, fell 18.5 percent to $17.3 million versus the same period a year ago. Ashworth management attributed the decline to “overall softness’’ in the golf industry.
What the company doesn’t mention is that rival companies, particularly Fairway & Greene on the green grass side, have cut into Ashworth sales, and that sales of high-tech performance apparel from the likes of Nike Golf, adidas Golf and FootJoy also have taken their toll.