Apparel Brand Peter Millar to Purchase G/FORE

Regardless of how good you are at golfing, if you’re even semi-interested you like to look the part: sleek-looking polos, comfy and classy pants, sharp shoes, and a few hats from your favorite brands.  Recently, a lot of non-OEM affiliated brands have come out and offered some very popular stuff, brands like Atlas Premier, Bonobos, Greyson, J.Lindeberg, Linksoul, and Travis Matthews.  But the best part of all these smaller brand companies is that they each offer something different.  And that’s what makes this union between Peter Millar and G/FORE so interesting…

Peter Millar is a much more traditional, conservative apparel brand.  I mean, just look at some of the other brands owned by parent company, Richemont: Cartier, Montblanc, and Panerai.  As a result, the quality of the materials are very high, but there’s nothing really eccentric about the polos, pull overs, shorts, and accessories (e.g., belts, gloves, headcovers), which are available in a variety of colors and patterns.  It’s great stuff, and certainly could be worn from a morning meeting at the office to a round of golf in the afternoon.  But it’s not edgy.  Think of Peter Millar as Dr. Jekyll.

A post shared by Peter Millar (@petermillar) on Jun 14, 2017 at 7:24am PDT

And then we have G/FORE, who is most certainly Mr. Hyde.  I mean, just look at two of their most well known items. First, the ever so popular flashy colored gloves.

A post shared by G/FORE (@gfore) on Jun 30, 2017 at 2:27pm PDT

And then of course, the hats.

A post shared by G/FORE (@gfore) on Nov 16, 2017 at 7:09pm PST

Clearly, the guy who wears G/FORE likes the attention because their stuff is loud and edgy.  And it’s awesome.  In addition to the gloves and hats, G/FORE also sells polos, shorts, pants, shoes (worn by Bubba Watson and Phil Mickelson), and other accessories (such as umbrellas, belts, and socks).  But these are two brands that appeal to two very different consumers.  And now, they both sleep under the same roof.

Peter Millar announced today that it has acquired G/FORE.  And this is all I’m going to say about the merger: I hope they keep the brands separate.  Peter Millar and G/FORE are great brands because they’re different; while Peter Millar appeals to the traditionalist, G/FORE appeals to the younger golfer who’s not afraid to wear high tops and break some rules.  God knows that there’s lots of stuff I like from Peter Millar that I can wear anywhere and while playing with anyone, but there’s also lots of stuff from G/FORE that I like, even though I probably couldn’t wear anything but the glove at my father-in-law’s country club.  Allow one to infect the other will degrade the identities of both brands.  If anything, I hope they identify the behind-the-scene strengths of each other and, ultimately, pass the benefits of those newfound skills onto their customers.

Cover Image Via Instagram