By Matt Hardy
If you stroll down Lower Thames Street in the City, you’ll come across the most out of place American Golf outlet. It means little to passers-by but it does reinforce the mantra, or stereotype, of the City of London being a hotspot for avid golfers.
But let’s be honest, a lot of the apparel on sale is a bit too snazzy, and a bit too loud. A 2022 study by Sheffield Hallam University puts the social value of golf at over $1bn, and it is a sport that is rising in popularity among younger people – mostly men.
Floral and loud?
But those in the younger age bracket are keener on looking fashionable on the course, and keener on wearing more sustainable garments in which to showcase their putting skills.
Tom Tracey and Cameron Thorne have taken that brief, and, beside their City jobs in tech and logistics, ploughed capital into The Cut Company, which launched late last month.
The post-Covid market has been a difficult one to navigate and two City employees under the age of 30 breaking the mould to do just that is a fascinating case study for where confidence in business and the City is at the moment.
“We’ve always played golf and there’s a lot of new brands that have come up but for us they’re either really loud – florals and bucket hats – or more lifestyle,” Tracey tells City A.M.
Golf market changing
“So we know that the market of golf has changed because it’s growing a lot at the 18-34 range. We fall into that age bracket and the thing that we’ve noticed is that I think golfers are not looking for loud golf gear.
“So we’ve produced our first collection in pretty clean colourways and they’re all made from upcycled materials.
“It’s made from upcycled polyester where we melt it down and re-spin it into a new fabric.”
But being clean is not cheap, and as with other industries, going green simply costs more.
Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for golf, Craig Tracey (no relation), recently told City A.M. of how the government is set to make golf a sport which is prescribed for mental health reasons, and the sport itself will likely catapult beyond its traditional audiences and into the household of many.
And many would argue, including the Cut Company’s founders, that it’s worth going sustainable when it comes to your apparel.
Vision
“As you can imagine, producing sustainable clothes are much more costly than producing something that is used from new fabric,” Tracey added.
“We are at the higher end, our target audience is premium. Right now it is focused on male golfers in the UK because we are testing our branding and sales channels to see if it works.
“Our vision is to open this up to women golfers because that category has grown massively.
“We’re looking at an autumn-winter collection to come out in October.”
Tracey and Thorne are 29 years old, and have careers in the City. They’re a duo looking to diversity and make a difference in a congested market, and that should be admitted.
Sporting apparel is a tough market to breach, and was worth a touch under £155bn globally last year.
Castore have made a brand for themselves out of pitching their line as premium, the Cut Company have done similar seemingly.
But that’s testament to the confidence they have. “It’s been really challenging,” Tracey adds. “We’ve learned so much doing it and we’re very good friends. We’re focusing on what we think golfers care about. The reason we do this and play this sport is because of its ups and downs and the time we get to spend on the golf course.”
