Golf Business News – THE GBN INTERVIEW: Stewart Clare, UK & Ireland Sales Director, Galvin Green

In a strategic move to accelerate growth across its largest European market, Galvin Green has appointed Stewart Clare as its first-ever Sales Director for the UK & Ireland.

With over 25 years of golf industry experience, Clare joins the high-performance golf apparel brand to strengthen customer relationships, expand its premium presence, and champion sustainability.

GBN caught up with Stewart to learn more about his vision, leadership approach, and what excites him most about joining Galvin Green.

GBN: When did you first become interested in golf and what has your career path in the industry been to date?
Stewart: I fell in love with the game around the age of eleven and played as an amateur to a good standard but then decided I wanted to make a career in golf.
I started my PGA training with Simon Fletcher at Morecambe Golf Club in Lancashire. Whilst in that role I was given the opportunity to work part-time on a temporary contract through the season for Cobra conducting fitting days in the north of England. That role gave me a taste of working for a big brand and in sales.
The following year I got my first Head Professional role and that summer I went back working for Cobra and at the end of my contract an Area Sales Manager Role became available in London and I jumped at the opportunity.
Subsequently I worked for nine years with Cobra and latterly PUMA in different sales positions. In 2018 Callaway had just completed the purchase of TravisMathew and were looking to start with the brand in Europe and I thought this would be an exciting challenge starting a brand from the ground up and that proved to be an amazing journey of growth and learning.

What attracted you to the Sales Director’s role at Galvin Green?
When the opportunity to join Galvin Green presented itself it was one I couldn’t refuse and a position I am now extremely proud of holding. As an Assistant Professional I aspired to wear Galvin Green and I remember getting my first jacket and feeling like I had made it.
Throughout my time in the golf retail environment, I always stocked Galvin Green and looked forward to the buying meeting every season to see the latest garments. To have now come full circle and be leading the brand in the UK & Ireland is a responsibility I don’t take lightly.

What is the remit of your role?
The UK & Ireland is a key market for Galvin Green and my role is to ensure that we enhance our focus and deliver on both customer and consumer needs, as well as identify new opportunities to help grow the business.

Eight months into the role, what have been the main challenges?
With the dry weather experienced at the start of the season, our DRYVR rainwear collection has been slower than anticipated. That being said, we have a product line-up for all weather conditions so other categories like our VENTIL8 PLUS polo shirts and INSULA mid-layers within our multi-layer concept are performing very well.

What role does online sales play in Galvin Green’s overall consumer sales strategy?
Online sales through both our wholesale partners and our own website play a key role in meeting our consumer where and how they want to shop with Galvin Green. Online allows us to tell technical product stories and convey key information through video content. I believe it is so important that we have a consistent consumer brand message both digitally and physically in stores.

There’s a saying that’s often touted in retail that if you ‘buy cheap, you buy twice’. As a brand operating at the higher end of the market, how difficult is it, especially in tough economic times, to convince consumers to spend that bit extra when it comes to golf apparel?
Product quantity and durability is very important to us at Galvin Green. Garment lifespan is a cornerstone of our product development and in order to protect the planet’s resources, we create quality clothing that will stand the test of time to ensure exceptional value for consumers. I’ve even seen golfers wearing jackets from the very early collections which shows just how long-lasting our apparel is! We always like to say that the most sustainable piece of clothing is the one you already have in your wardrobe, and owners of our products will know they can rely on their Galvin Green pieces for years to come.

Some premium golf apparel brands have launched collaborations with other brands, whether they be apparel or other general lifestyle brands. Is this something we might see from Galvin Green going forward, or are you confident that the brand has a strong enough ‘street appeal’ to the younger generation of golfers coming through to stand on its own, especially in light of the launch of your new CONCEPT collection?
We would always look at collaborations if we felt they were right for Galvin Green or exposed our brand to new audiences. The CONCEPT collection has performed well beyond our expectations and sold out very quickly. Having a CONCEPT collection allows us to push the boundaries in design and be more fashion forward. The number of messages I received when we launched the product was incredible. Having a seasonal CONCEPT collection is part of our long-term strategy and we have new collections planned for later this year and in 2026. Watch this space…

Capsule collections, especially those launched around specific events, whether that be a major championship, a Ryder Cup, or a new season, seem to be all the rage. How important a role do these limited-edition drops play in the overall sales strategy?
I think these are very important as they keep you relevant and aligned with the time of year. Capsules also allow you to introduce bursts of newness in colour or design and it give us another compelling and credible reason to communicate with our consumers.

Galvin Green recently announced a partnership with the 59club, providing 59club branded apparel for its staff. Is this something you’d like to see more of inside the corporate golf space?
Creating meaningful partnerships is an important part of our growth and brand relevancy. From the first meeting with 59club it was clear that we shared similar goals and that we can both bring value to each other’s business. Galvin Green is perfectly positioned to support corporate partners given our depth and quality of product for men, women and junior golfers.

Galvin Green signed England’s Laurie Canter as a tour brand ambassador at the beginning of this season. What boxes does a tour professional have to tick in order to be considered a potential Team Galvin Green player? What appealed specifically about Laurie and how important is it to have tour players wearing your gear as part of the overall sales story?
Galvin Green is rooted in golf and making premium high-tech golf apparel. It’s important that we have brand advocates and authenticators at the highest level of the game. Laurie has been a long-time ambassador for Galvin Green and is the perfect brand fit. The team love working with Laurie and we wish him every success in The Open at Portrush and the remainder of his season.

What are your favourite pieces from the SS25 collection?
The entire 2025 Part One collection is incredibly strong, but I would have to point out the LARRY jacket. It weighs only 113g, which is lighter than a sleeve of golf balls, and is super stretchy and versatile so you can wear it both on and off the golf course.
I’m also a big fan of the Marlon polo which is a modern take on the traditional Argyle print. Oh, and all of the CONCEPT Collection. We will soon be launching our Part Two line-up and I’d urge retail partners to keep an eye out for some more standout garments on the way.