Craig's Crossing - Week One

Starting with this entry, every Saturday I will post news, interesting products from the leaders of the industry and things that I have seen and liked. Since a crossing is a place where people meet and viewpoints can be shared and exchanged, Craig's Crossing will be all the more meaningfully informative with participation from you. Don't hesitate to email me anything news-worthy that you would like to share and I will acknowledge the source.

Double Wall Vacuum Insulated Stainless Steel Water Bottles keep cold liquids cold for 24 hours and hot liquids hot for 12 hours. Hydro Flask water bottles are perfect for golf, gold retail and add-on tournament favors. The Hydro Flask is available in 12-24 ox. bottles and easily customized.

The high twist cotton towel in a box from Golf by James Warren is perfect for a tournament favor, merchandises well in the shop and is a great alternative to the typical towel selection in most shops.

At FootJoy, their new van fleet, commitment to a new apparel line and the Contour Casual at a suggested retail of $115.00 are definitely the buzz.

Design-a-Hat parties by Pukka give your staff a chance to design your hat inventory, have fun learning a lot about the category and taking ownership of the product's success in the shop - for merchandizing purposes - name the hats after the staff member who designed it.

New eye wear by Greg Norman is great looking, the latest technology and mid-priced.

At Full Turn Partners (previously Pima Direct) a high-end natural performance shirt is making its mark. The M15 fabrics have specially selected superfine fibers that feel luxuriously soft next to the skin, while also having the ability to detect and respond to changes in temperature. M15 speeds the transfer of moisture from the body to evaporation, naturally cooling the wearer. In cool conditions, the thermal properties of M15 shield the body providing warmth and comfort. This dual action encourages a consistent body temperature which makes the shirt perfect for any occasion.

The Linksoul collection by John Ashworth, next season's new buzz, is targeted to the golf lifestyle enthusiast who is style conscious and looking for an alternative to the polyester performance or mercerized golf shirt. These garments enable the wearer to look just as good off the course as on and their easy care nature further enhances their value.

Jimmy Glass returned to Marbas to help relaunch the brand in the U.S.A. "I am very excited to be back with Marbas and working with the highest quality shirt manufacturer in the world. The Italians have a saying, 'Quality is always in style' and it is a real joy to sell the best. Our spring pre-books are ahead 50%. What is driving this is our patent pending knitting process called AirKot, a new knitting process that creates 100% cotton fabric with no chemicals. It wicks faster and dries as fast as petroleum based polyester. We have a cotton performance shirt with synthetic attributes and our accounts are booking it strong for 2012."

In an effort to improve the content offering, please comment on the concept of Craig's Crossing and certainly an experience you may have had with the above listed products and ideas.

There will be a monthly winner for best news-worthy item or comment !

Thanks,

Craig