Nevada Bob’s, the international golf retailing franchise, is set for rapid expansion in the Republic of Ireland following a deal with Elverys, the leading Irish sports retailer, which could be replicated in other European countries. The licensing deal will see the opening of two stand-alone Nevada Bob’s stores by Elverys in Dundrum and Castlebar next month, and up to 12 shop-in-shops are to be opened in Elverys stores in the next two years.
Nevada Bob’s currently has two stores in the country, in Cork and Tralee, under a franchise agreement with an Irish businessman, Mark Jordan, covering the counties of Cork, Kerry and Waterford. Elverys already has substantial golf departments in 25 of its 55 stores, but they chiefly sell entry-level-price products and the deal with Nevada Bob’s should enable them to upgrade their offering.
As detailed in our recently published report on the Irish golf apparel and footwear business, Ireland’s off-course retail business has been clobbered in the last two years, with the closure of two of the country’s three largest store networks and an estimated market decline of about 20 percent this year.
Separately, another Nevada Bob’s store is to be opened in Perth, Scotland, later this year, under an agreement with the company’s franchisee around Aberdeen, Aspire to Golf, which already has a superstore in Aberdeen and a retail unit at a golf facility.
After financial restructuring and several closures in the last years, the European arm of Nevada Bob’s has ended up with 19 stores in the U.K., two in Ireland, two in the Netherlands and five in Portugal. It is expecting to open at least four more stores in the U.K. before the start of the next season, steadily rebuilding the network to the level it had three years ago, and considering deals with other established retailers around Europe (more in a report on the British golf apparel market coming out later this month).
