A startup luxury golf brand in Apex has raised millions and is riding the sport’s post-pandemic uptick – all the way to brick-and-mortar stores.
Charlie Burgwyn, co-founder of golf fashion brand Stitch Golf Holdings, which manufactures items such as golf bags, head covers and polo shirts, said the pandemic forced the company to innovate – a move that helps it get ahead now that the pandemic is waning.
The firm is getting ready to open its first retail stores in the fourth quarter, in Palm Beach, Florida, and in Dallas.
Burgwyn, speaking a week after securities filings disclosed the firm’s latest funder, a $2.7 million equity round, estimates the firm – which does not release its revenue figures publicly – doubled its business since the onset of the pandemic. Rounds of golf are up and newer verticals are booming, such as a corporate arm of the business.
“Who knew at the beginning of the pandemic that your business was going to come out and thrive?” he said.
Certainly not Burgwyn who, like most entrepreneurs in the first half of 2020, was nervous.
“It’s fear and uncertainty,” he said. “Nobody knows what to expect. All you can do is build a plan and commit to your plan.”
Flash forward to today and Stitch is thriving, he said – and gearing up to open its first brick-and-mortar retail stores, something that seemed inconceivable two years ago.
Pandemic uncertainty
Across multiple industries, Covid brought more than quarantines. It brought supply chain challenges – and Stitch was not immune. That’s where the “plan” came into play. Up until the pandemic, Stitch had booked on six-month cycles. But with the uncertainty of container shipments, it took a pivot – looking a full year out instead of just six months, shelving products much earlier.
“It was part of our adjustment to really get ahead of Covid and understand there are going to be supply chain challenges, so we need to be prepared to deal with that,” he said.
Container shipments were the biggest price hit, quintupling at times. Legislative challenges with duties and tariffs also caused headaches. Stitch did implement some of its own “small price increases” at the start of the pandemic, but hasn’t had to adjust its price tags since.
Burgwyn said the cycle changes the firm implemented have helped it continue to get ahead, even as the pandemic starts to wane.
Stitch is also growing its corporate apparel business as well. And it has launched a customizable golf bag product dubbed MIY – Make It Yours.
And it hopes to keep riding the wave, he said.
