Steven Russolilo of the Dow Jones Newswires checks in with Callaway Golf. Will the company’s “relatively wealthy customers” save it from the perils of a tanking golf market?
The consumer wasn’t super strong last year, yet Callaway couldn’t keep its $499 driver in stock because there was such high demand for it,” said Bill Chappell, an analyst at SunTrust Robinson Humphrey Inc. Callaway’s 2007 net sales rose 10 percent, to a record $1.12 billion. . . . Despite Callaway’s growth drivers, its sales could take a hit as consumers struggle with rising gas prices and paying their mortgages. . . . It’s very easy for a consumer to say they have enough golf clubs sitting in their garage that they may realize they don’t need a new set of Callaways,” said John Shanley, an analyst at Susquehanna Financial Group.
While reading this story we were reminded that market analysts are professional guessers. But yet, we all seem to care what they have to say when it comes to business. Why is that?
[Link: Chicago Tribune]
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