Head: Fashion is playing an increasingly important role in tennis and skiing

Founded in 1947 as a ski manufacturer in the US, Head has built a strong international reputation as a ski and tennis brand over the years. Skis and tennis hardware remain a pillar for the company, and the apparel business has greatly expanded since 2016 when Roman Stepek took over the segment. The sporting goods company now generates tens of millions in sales with ski and tennis apparel. We asked Roman Stepek, Vice President of Global, how the tennis and ski business has developed, what impact the tenniscore trend is having, and how the company is responding to the difficult situation in winter sports.

SGI Europe: Tennis is one of the sports that has benefited from the pandemic. What is the current state of the sport? Is there a revival?

Roman Stepek: Yes, tennis experienced a revival during the pandemic because tennis courts were the first to be opened – even before soccer fields. In tennis, you play far apart, so you can keep your distance more than in other sports. In addition to tennis, other racquet sports have also benefited, such as pickleball and paddle tennis. Padel tennis is played mainly in southern Europe, and pickleball is one of the fastest-growing sports in the US.

In recent years, the big luxury brands have also discovered tennis, celebrating the traditional tennis look. Have you noticed this, and are you reacting in any way?

We don’t have to follow this trend because we already have these classic luxury materials in our Performance line. We started the Performance line eight years ago in white and navy, and we’ve never changed it. Of course, the luxury houses also focus on the traditional tennis look, and of course, we find that interesting. But we’re not just looking at the young target group, for example. The older target group often prefers longer cuts, so we offer longer skirts and T-shirts for women, for example.

We are very versatile with our different lines: Performance is classic and elegant, and Vision is young and eye-catching.

As a tennis outfitter, have you been able to take advantage of this fashion boom, or is it only the fashion companies that are rushing to add tennis looks to their collections that are making money?

No, we are benefiting from it, absolutely. Tennis apparel and retro tennis are experiencing a revival. Not on a broad scale yet, but in the top stores. For example, we are now selling our tennis apparel for the first time in Selfridges in London and Saks Fifth Avenue in New York. So, these retailers are already responding to the trend.

What about general sporting goods retailers?

Tennis apparel departments are usually small, but tennis apparel has taken off thanks to current fashions or the hype surrounding the Challengers movie. One thing that Head does extremely well is that the hardware sales department also sells apparel in the summer, which means that our sales department sells tennis racquets, tennis strings, tennis balls and tennis bags, as well as shoes and tennis apparel. This is a great advantage and has proven to be very successful.

Tennis clubs are another important part of our business. Head is incredibly strong in this area because we have developed very good relationships with the clubs and coaches through the hardware. We also sell to them in conjunction with specialty retailers.

How is your collection structured?

A large part of our collection is Club. This is a collection designed specifically for tennis clubs. The clubs around the world, especially in Europe, use it to dress their teams for the championships. When the championships start, usually on May 1, everyone wears the same outfit. We also have Vision, which is a young, fashionable collection, and we have the Performance line. One of the reasons for our success is that we naturally mix the Club collection with the Vision collection, which gives the Club collection a more fashionable look. This has allowed us to establish ourselves as a fashionable European club supplier over the past few years. Finally, Performance is the classic, elegant tennis look, highly functional, with body mapping fabrics, high breathability and so on.

Do you have collections for padel tennis and pickleball?

We started separate collections for padel and pickleball two years ago because we have different requirements regarding look, price and prints. To ensure that the individual apparel lines, racquet sports, and hardware can be presented together, we coordinate the color scheme across the board. That way, we ensure that racquets, footwear, bags and apparel always look good together.

How does the look differ between racquet sports and also between the different target groups in tennis? The young tennis target group has different requirements than the classic target group.

With the Performance line in tennis, we are very classic and only use white and navy with very fine materials. With Vision, we are younger and trying to reach the 16-year-old target. It is cool, young and new. We also have outfits made of terrycloth, for example. That’s brand new. You can wear it on the tennis court, in the city or even on the beach.

Padel is a bit simpler and monochrome because it works very well with team logos. We also have slightly different trendy cuts. Pickleball players are also different from traditional tennis players.

What about the athletes? Do you equip your athletes with apparel as well?

In terms of hardware, we work with all the top athletes in the world. Of course, we’d like to have them in the apparel department as well, but it’s not affordable. We leave that to Nike and Adidas. Instead, we invest in very young athletes, U14s around the world, in Canada, the US, Asia, and Europe, and provide them with apparel, footwear, hardware and bags. We try to find the next Novak Djokovic or the next Serena Williams. We put a lot of money into this group.

Top athletes have become very popular with luxury brands. Does that raise the price even more?

Of course, apparel sponsorship is very interesting because of its high visibility and, therefore, very competitive nature.

Do you develop your collection only for the court or also for leisure in general?

Absolutely. Of course, we have specific pieces for the court, but we also have off-court pieces, which are sweatshirts, hoodies, sweatshorts, sweatpants, and they’re really cool and young. You can wear them for traveling, on the beach or in your free time. Off the court, we’re really pushing ourselves, and we’ve made a lot of progress in the last few years.

What do you sell the most?

Most of our sales come from the Club collection or the Club business.

Who plays tennis today? Is it still elitist?

I think it has become a mass sport. It’s not as elitist as it used to be. Many young school kids play tennis nowadays, and the desire to play tennis is there.

What about padel tennis and pickleball? Are they growing in popularity?

Padel tennis has become very popular in southern European countries like Italy and Spain. Pickleball is especially important in the USA. Now you can see that Central Europe is slowly entering the padel market, especially Austria and Switzerland. But it will take a while before it is a big issue everywhere.

What is the big advantage of padel or pickleball? Why is it booming in some countries?

With tennis, you need a certain fitness level, you have to run more, you need a certain technique, and the rules are more complex. Pickleball or paddle is easier to play. Anyone can play them, especially pickleball. You don’t necessarily need lessons, a certain fitness level, or a great feel for the ball.

Head doesn’t just make tennis or summer clothes. How was the last winter season?

Last season was certainly challenging for apparel worldwide. There was a bit of a slowdown in spending around the world.

We did well with special product lines, such as our Kore Freeride and the Legacy lines, where we are developing luxury skiwear with ski icon Lindsey Vonn.

Were retailers able to adjust to the slowdown in consumer spending?

At the beginning of the winter, the mood was very good, but then the buying behavior slowed down a bit. This certainly came as a surprise to many retailers, and in general we are seeing a lot of merchandise all over the market.

How are you responding?

We are developing smaller, more unique premium collections, focusing on high quality and offering top delivery performance.

Is it possible to become more attractive in terms of price when fabric prices and other costs are rising?

Through perfect engineering, we have been able to reduce production time, which has allowed us to keep our prices attractive.

What is the balance between summer and winter sales?

Over the years, it has remained fairly balanced.

Are there still problems with sourcing or production reliability in the market?

No, everything has normalized. We have an excellent, high-quality supplier base and have been delivering on time for over eight years with an exceptionally low complaint rate.

Where do you manufacture?

We manufacture in Southeast Asia and Europe with high-quality manufacturers that we know personally. And, of course, we are fully aware of the new Supply Chain Act.