CARLSBAD, Calif. (April 13, 2012)—Callaway Golf Co. has sold its Top-Flite brand to Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. for an undisclosed amount.
Chip Brewer, Callaway president and CEO, said the sale “reflects the company's renewed focus and commitment to driving the proficiency of our core businesses, specifically the success of Callaway and Odyssey products.”
Dick's Sporting Goods said the Top-Flite brand will boost its private brand portfolio. It said it acquired the intellectual property rights to all Top-Flite trademarks and service marks worldwide.
“Through this acquisition, we've added a strong, highly recognized name to our portfolio while gaining a valuable competitive advantage in the golf market,” said Edward Stack, Dick's Sporting Goods chairman and CEO.
Callaway bought Top-Flite Golf Co. in 2003 and consolidated all of North American golf ball production at Top-Flite's manufacturing plant in Chicopee, Mass. In 2010, however, Callaway began a global operations restructuring that saw the firm establish a golf ball and club manufacturing facility in Monterrey, Mexico, and begin to cut back production in Chicopee.
Earlier this year, Callaway sold the Ben Hogan brand, which it acquired in 2003 along with Top-Flite.
Callaway's golf ball sales dropped 9.2 percent in 2011 to $160.4 million.