LPGA announced agreement with Legends experiential services agency

The GIST: The LPGA is putting for the experience economy. On Monday, the golf tour announced an agreement with experiential services agency Legends to level up its business output through onsite experiences and partnership strategy.

The agency: Legends specializes in building fan experiences in sports and other industries and already counts the PGA as a partner. One area of focus is merchandising, where the agency recently scored a major win — the Indian Wells tennis tournament broke its merch sales record only one year into its partnership with Legends.

The details: The agency’s global merch team will lead onsite retail operations at several LPGA Tour stops including the Solheim Cup and will handle e-commerce and licensing efforts. Legends and the LPGA will also expand apparel offerings and launch new product lines for the tour’s online shop.

• Additionally, Legends’ tech solutions team will provide the LPGA with event sponsorship data and a custom fan survey in order to maximize revenue and audience growth. Golf and business buddies.

The context: A move to strengthen revenue streams feels like a natural next step for the LPGA following a series of business wins in the last year. The tour booked almost 1K partners from September 2021 to September 2022, allowing for increased prize purses and more TV time on NBC’s channels in 2023.

Zooming out: Though fans aren’t ditching e-commerce anytime soon, the LPGA’s choice to upgrade onsite retail is a prudent one. Consumers are finding value in IRL shopping as they crave out-of-home experiences and buying from brick-and-mortar stores eliminates that excruciating wait for a package. A business masterstroke.