On August 31st, an end of an era will take place in the Canadian golf industry. Tournament Sports Marketing who has been in the golf distribution and manufacturing business for almost 30 years has reached an agreement to sell its golf brands to ACI Brands. ACI Brands who are located in Oakville, Ontario has secured distribution and license agreements with Antigua, Bridgestone and Nancy Lopez Golf.
Kim Bauer, President of Tournament Sports Marketing Inc. and John Goraieb President of ACI Brands Inc have sent out the following customer letters.
August 15, 2018
Dear Customer,
I am writing to advise that Tournament Sports has reached agreement to sell its Tournament Golf division to ACI Brands. The transaction will close on August 31st and ACI has secured distribution / license agreements with Antigua, Bridgestone and Nancy Lopez Golf.
The Tournament Sports team has been working with ACI for the past 4 months to assist in the transition and ensure the transaction is as seamless as possible for our customers and vendors. Brooke Bauer, Director of Golf, has been leading the transition team and I am pleased to advise that Brooke will be joining ACI following closing. Sue Miszturak, our Corporate Business Manager, will also be joining ACI in a similar capacity. Tournament’s sales agencies will be representing these golf brands on behalf of ACI to further assist in the continuity. Tournament Sports will be continuing its embroidery operation and will service ACI’s requirements as well as our other customers. I have attached a schedule addressing transition dates and processes.
It’s been almost 30 years in the golf industry and this decision was not reached easily. However, the golf industry has experienced significant change over the past 5 – 8 years. It simply seemed time to move on. Tournament will continue business as usual for the balance of August and co-ordinate any post closing issues with ACI.
As part of the exit from the golf business, Tournament Sports is restructuring into a Skate Only business. Jackson Ultima Skates is the global leader in figure skates with operations in Waterloo Ontario, Dupont Washington, Tilburg in the Netherlands and a recently formed subsidiary in Dongguan, China. We are also represented by over 25 distributors in countries around the world. We have experienced exceptional growth and streamlining our business will help us to focus on the exciting opportunities we have in skates.
ACI is a great company and I am sure will be a strong vendor for you going forward. I want to thank you on behalf of the Tournament team and myself personally for your support over the years. If you have any questions on transitional matters, don’t hesitate to contact Susan Summers, our VP Operations, Brooke Bauer, Director of Golf, or Sue Miszturak, Corporate Business Manager.
Yours sincerely,
Kim Bauer
President
TOURNAMENT SPORTS MARKETING INC.
Dear Customer,
We would like to welcome you to ACI Brands Inc. We look forward to continuing Tournament Golf’s division as a new division to ACI. We continue to work on ensuring an easy transition of business from Tournament Sports to ACI. We are also excited that Brooke Bauer and Sue Miszturak will be joining ACI, and will continue to build on the excellent work Tournament Sports have done the last thirty years. Several changes will be introduced over the next month and will be communicated to you in a timely matter. Should you have any questions concerning any transitional issues, please feel free to contact Bill Simpson, Director of Sales, Bill.Simpson@acibrands.com; or Brooke Bauer, Director of Golf, Brooke.Bauer@acibrands.com. About ACI- ACI brands Inc. is a multi divisional distributor of Consumer Products, and markets sporting goods and fitness products under our Division ACI Sports and Fitness. For more information about ACI, please go to www.acibrands.com I look forward to meeting each one of you over the next year to discuss how we can assist in growing your business.
Yours Very Truly,
John Goraieb
President
ACI Brands Inc.
