January 16, 2015 – These are days of intense activity at the headquarters of Galvin Green, on the outskirts of Växjö (Sweden). The company with the most highly valued technical and functional golf clothing in the market is debuting with its own booth at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, after successfully introducing the brand in the U.S. during 2014. And despite all this, it had no qualms about making a space in its agenda to accommodate two of its best customers in Portugal, and MyGolfWay.com, to offer us a day of presentations and product training. Many thanks!

We went into the building of avant-garde Nordic architecture, modernized only eighteen months ago to accommodate its project of expansion. The extension of the offices and warehouse is allowing Galvin Green to follow its envisaged plan of growth, in which its U.S. debut is regarded as a major milestone and challenge for the company, although it still retains the slogan of “a small company with a big brand.”

The day began with a review of the showroom on the first floor. The new colours of the 2015 Collection caught our eye with garments in striking dark green, and others in attractive shades in purple and midnight and marine blue combined with blacks and whites. Then Daniel Ohlsson, European Export Manager, gave us a brief talk about the history of the company, which Tomas Nilsson started in the 70’s.

The commitment to making the best technical golf apparel for complete protection in all weather conditions was fully reflected in 1992 with the launch of the first garments made with Gore-Tex and Windstopper. The ISO 9001 Certification (1997) was followed by the introduction of Gore-Tex Paclite (2003), which made the garments lighter. Four years later came the design of the first Gore-Tex waterproof jacket and trousers in fully stretch material (2007). Comfort became even greater when, in 2011, garments were designed with four-way stretch fabrics, both in Gore-Tex and Windstopper material. The story culminates as one of the official brands of the 2014 Ryder Cup. Many thanks!

The Brand Manager of Galvin Green, Nicholai Stein, then told us about the continued and controlled growth of the Swedish brand’s business, registering its best year in 2014 with a 20% increase in sales, with the largest weight in value taken by Gore-Tex (23%) and Gore-Tex Paclite (23%) garments, trousers (12%), shirts (11%) and Windstopper (10%). Positioned as a high-priced and trendy brand, Galvin Green has achieved success in one of the most demanding golf markets, the United Kingdom, where it is the leading brand in high-performance golf outerwear, rated as favourite by 51% of British golfers, according to recent surveys.

Here the organization and strategy take precedence over everything else. Galvin Green’s philosophy focuses on healthy growth and careful account management, with a view to becoming the leading brand in “premium, functional, technical and high performance clothing for golfers”, and therefore the best in its category in… all areas! This is how this brand differentiates itself in the market, standing out for truly bettering the game of golf and becoming a sign of perfection.

Well, we are here from Portugal and Spain because one of the focuses of Galvin Green is the product training. The Galvin Green Collection 2015 is going to bring us big, attractive surprises from 9th of February onwards, with an exciting range of garments carrying a redesigned logo and the original marketing campaign ‘The Art of Performance’, which will show us a jacket disassembled in its 101 pieces, or a mobile app that will recommend which Galvin Green garments you should use according to the climate that day on your golf course, or how the collection will be presented in its own brand corner within the golf shops. Many thanks!

We then started the tour within the facilities in Växjö. We saw the team working to put the logos on the garments. The product test area has special machines for textile analysis, and there is a room with six washing machines to push the garments to the limit. We crossed the design department where a simulation of the disassembled jacket decorated the wall. And finally we went down to the warehouse to see the organization of the pallets and the packaging of the products in different colours. It is clearly a very close-knit family company with about 40 employees at the headquarters, and no more than 50 if you count the staff of the two current subsidiaries, Galvin Green UK and Galvin Green USA, distributing to a total of 25 countries worldwide.

In the afternoon we were received by Mats Lundqvist, Head of Product Development at Galvin Green, and one of the brains behind why Galvin Green is so highly positioned in the market, and one of the people responsible for the premium reputation the brand holds in the mind of most golfers, whether men or women, amateur or professional. In his master-class Mats explained the design, functionality and development of the products, with demos that allowed us to verify why Gore-Tex offers the best balance between waterproofing and breathability in golf jackets and trousers. The total waterproofing is also guaranteed by sealing the seams of the garments, and the breathability enables the body to breathe and to keep warm and dry.

Testing a garment with and without Windstopper highlights the difference, since this membrane prevents the wind passing through the garment, making it even more breathable and durable. Then Mats spoke about the fabrics developed by the company, such as Insula used in the warm tops which are light and sensitive, and the comfortable polo shirts made of Ventil8 – a special fibre with silver threads integrated into the filament, creating an anti-odour and anti-bacterial system that maintains its effectiveness after multiple washing, and given the quick dry properties with no need of ironing, makes our life much more comfortable.

But Galvin Green is much more than waterproof clothing and technological fabrics. As a pioneer brand in applying the Multilayer Concept in the sport of golf, the functionality of the garments allow us to combat any adverse weather conditions such as cold, cold and wind, cold and rain, or heat, changes that can often happen when you’re playing four hours on a golf course. Combining the different garments (Gore-Tex, Gore-Tex Paclite, Windstopper, Insula, Ventil8, Skintight Compression and Skintight Thermal) you won’t find yourself compromised on the course as you’ll be perfectly protected, dry and comfortable, and can enjoy your golf with the proper body temperature.

Would you like more functionality? Mats Lundqvist explained why the tops are short at the front and long at the back, why they have tight sleeves, velcro strips on the sides, rain channels in the cuffs, a pocket on the back, an inner mesh, half or full zippers… All those details, big and small, that a golfer can imagine, and those you’d never even thought of, have been devised, developed and tested by Galvin Green designers and golfers to make playing on the course with their garments, single or combined, an experience of comfort whatever the climate. Many thanks!

So this is Galvin Green, a brand that stands out for its solid commitment to specialized clothing for golf, which designs and produces with the best materials available on the market. Beyond the price of the garments, its mission is to offer the best technical and functional golf wear, teaching the players how to dress properly in order to play their best game in any weather condition. With this serious, rigorous commitment to golf, Galvin Green can now proudly declare that it is well received and sells in 50 of the Top 100 golf courses and resorts in the world.

 

Thus ends this instructive, interesting and enjoyable visit to Sweden that has allowed us to appreciate how good it feels to play golf well equipped. We finished with a surprise – our certificate in Galvin Green Multilayer Concept and the technology of Gore-Tex and Windstopper. Again, Many thanks!

Pictures: ©MyGolfWay.com

More information at…

• The Galvin Green collection is sold via golf stores and golf pro shops.
• Visit the store locator for your nearest retailer.
• More information at www.galvingreen.com.
• Galvin Green is distributed in Spain and Portugal by Farol Lda. company.
• Contact at spain.portugal@galvingreen.com, tel. +351 917 242 567, mobile 686 632 907.