When John O’Donnell founded Johnnie-O in 2005, his goal was to create a brand that combined East Coast prep with West Coast surf culture. 20 years later, you’ll find their surfer logo in golf pro-shops and menswear stores across the country.
Today, John joins us to share his incredible journey from being a walk-on on the UCLA golf team to founding one of America’s most iconic golf brands.
We get into the origins of Johnnie-O, discuss the source of their customer loyalty, and talk about the scale of their growth over the last two decades.
Highlights:
- The opportunity John saw in 2005 (2:02)
- John’s midwest roots (5:18)
- UCLA Golf team (6:42)
- Johnnie-O’s differentiation (7:49)
- The origins of Johnnie-O (9:43)
- Distribution (11:12)
- Inflection point for the brand (12:28)
- Marketing (13:54)
- Scale of growth (16:31)
- Breaking into women’s wear (19:29)
- Avenues for growth (20:44)
- Tariffs (21:55)
- Outlook for Johnnie-O (24:03)
- Competitive Landscape (26:18)
- Lessons learned (27:24)
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Feedback:
If you have questions about the show, or have a topic in mind you’d like discussed in future episodes, email our producer, joe@lowerstreet.co.
