Bogey player’s albatross shot

Gene Yoon, Chairman & CEO of Fila Global

Fila CEO buying global golf product makers Titleist, FootJoy

By Oh Young-jin

What does Gene Yoon, chairman and CEO of sportswear maker, Fila have in mind?

One thing that is certain is that Yoon, an amateur golfer with a handicap of 18 for an 18-hole round, has as good as hit an albatross by snaring one of the biggest deals in the global golf industry.

It is hard to catch a glimpse into the business mind of one of the most celebrated self-made businessmen in Korea but, by some indications, he has set his mind on making his sportswear making firm into a golf conglomerate such as Tailor-Made or Nike Golf.
Last week, Yoon made it into headlines, as he, with the help of Mirae Asset, took over Acushnet, the U.S. golf firm that has Titelist golf ball maker and FootJoy golf shoemaker, at a cost of $1.2 billion.

“I want to create big synergy between Fila, and Titelist and FootJoy,” Yoon told The Korea Times during a phone interview Sunday. “I believe that these firms, the world leading firms in their given areas of business, will encourage the development of the golf-related industry in Korea where there is no infrastructure to name.”

In the process, Yoon beat out Adidas, which owns Tailor-Made, and U.S. golf giant Callaway that bid in a consortium with the world’s largest private equity, Blackstone.”

“We needed this deal more than the others,” Yoon said. The deal immediately puts Fila on the map of golf-related item makers, setting the stage for its foray into China, the biggest emerging market where golf is fast gaining popularity.

He said, for now, that he would make no new purchases anytime soon.

Showing his commitment to his latest buys, the 66-year-old Korean industrialist said that their current management will be kept for a considerable period of time. “Any change will be made at a time when his firms achieve synergy to the hilt.”

The history of Yoon and Mirae goes back some time when Mirae helped him buy Fila, the Italian firm, in 2007. Two years prior, Yoon bought Fila Korea, the Korean branch, from its Italian owner.

“I have not seen Mirae Chairman Park Hyun-joo,” he said without clarifying whether he meant he had not seen him while the deal was being made or he doesn’t know Park.

When he answered the call, Yoon said that he was playing a round of golf.

However much he loves the sport, he said that he is an average player, his handicaps being one over par or 18 for a 72 par 18-hole round.

“I love to play but I can’t because of my tight business schedule,” he said, adding that he plays about three times a month.