He’s helping golfers look the part on the fairways and greens around Huddersfield.
Richard Taylor is driving ahead as a director of Brighouse-based specialist clothing company Stromberg Golf.
The family-run company, which supplies pro shops at golf clubs nationally and online, was launched by Richard’s father, Rodney, in 1982.
Rodney, a self-confessed golf fanatic, served a five-year apprenticeship in textiles, attending Huddersfield Technical College and gaining City and Guilds qualifications in textiles for colour, art, design and technology.
In 1974, he moved to John Crowther in Milnsbridge as a sales executive and in 1977 became managing director of Neil & Neil, part of the Cope Sportswear group. In 1979, he joined Skopes. Both were successful businesses manufacturing suits, jackets and trousers and supplying mail order companies and large household named retailers.
Rodney drew on his strong connections within the textile trade with Stromberg Menswear Ltd to design and manufacture quality garments for well-known designer brands such as Burberry and mainstream mail order companies, including Littlewoods, Debenhams, Grattans and Empire Stores.
It wasn’t until 2000 that business was mixed with pleasure and Stromberg became the golf clothing brand that it is today.
Richard says: “My father is a massive golfer – he’s obsessed with the game! That’s why the company strapline is ‘Designed by golfers for golfers’.
“I play golf and both my two brothers are golfers. We know the customers – because we are the customers.”
Richard’s route to Stromberg took a different path to his father’s. Richard, who hails from Fixby, graduated in product design from York University.
“It helped me in terms of working out where the gaps are in the market and the importances of doing your research,” he says.
Richard joined the graduate programme at Hotpoint, where he worked for about seven years and became a national account manager.
Moving back to the north, he joined Bolton-based online retailer DRL – the forerunner to AO World – where he was head of marketing for a few years.
“They were on the brink of being a really major company and were doing a lot of new things online that other companies weren’t doing,” he says.
“I learned about how important the customer is and how you should put the customer at the centre of everything you do.
“We have applied that ethos at Stromberg Golf by designing a responsive and intuitive website with Holmfirth-based agency Redbak Design.”
Richard joined Stromberg Golf in 2010, initially handling sales and marketing while his father ran the day-to-day operation.
In addition to its office at Wakefield Road in Brighouse, the company has warehousing in Leeds with thousands of trousers, shirts, jumpers and tops in stock.
The company has nine agents covering the UK from the north of Scotland to the south coast of England and is expanding into Ireland as well.
Richard said his father’s time working with quality brands such as Burberry had paid dividends at Stromberg Golf – while an eye for innovation was also winning customer approval. “It’s where my father acquired an ability to make a really good trouser!” he says.
“We have also innovated to make a quality product even better – such as introducing a v-cut in the hem of the trousers so they ‘sit’ better over bulky golf shoes and having a back pocket big enough to put your scorecard in. So it’s not just another pair of trousers.”
The firm’s ranges, which are manufactured in Portgual using UK-sourced fabrics, include a winter collection featuring 3 ply technology – three different layers of fabric – and a water-repellant finish.
“We are getting more technical with our fabrics, using 3 ply technology – three different layers of fabric – and a water-repellent finish,” says Richard. “They can be made in any colour. Within two weeks, we can create a new colour and get it to the market place.”
As an alternative to the traditional golfing greys, Stromberg’s “funky” collection can kit out the golfer who wants to stand out with clothing in blues, silver, greens and reds.
“If you want to be flamboyant, you can be. If you want something a little more subdued, you can,” says Richard. “We can do ‘funky’ and we can do ‘mainstream’.
“Some of our customers have five or 10 pairs of our trousers. They are very loyal customers.
“While we do business with a lot of golf retailers we have always focused on the small pro-shops because they are the guys who offer a really great service to their membership.”
Father and son are both active golfers. Rodney is a past captain of Longley Park and Huddersfield Golf Club, where he remains a member.
He was president of the Halifax, Huddersfield & District Union of Golf Clubs in 2000. Richard is a member at Meltham.
Richard enjoys the variety of his role at Stromberg Golf. “One day, I can be designing a new range for next year, the next I’m checking we have the correct stockholding or contacting the factory to ensure everything is running smoothly.”
Richard also works with Chris Hanson, European Tour golfer and Stromberg brand ambassador.
Not surprisingly, Richard plays a lot of golf in his spare time – but he’s also getting into mountain biking. “Living at Holmfirth, there are a lot of brilliant trails to tackle,” he says. “It’s beautiful countryside. You don’t always appreciate how lucky you are living in an area like that.”
On the golf course, Richard’s challenge is to work on reducing his handicap. He plays off a respectable nine – but would dearly love to match his dad who played off three in his younger days.
Role: Director
Age: 39
Family: Married to Clare with children Harry and Isabella
Car: Mercedes C Class
Holidays: South of France.
First job: Working in the warehouse at my father’s firm.
Best thing about the job? I love seeing the reaction of customers when you bring something to market. I love going online and reading customers’ reviews
Worst thing about the job? Getting to work. We must have the most traffic lights of any town.
Business tip: Have good people around you. We have good staff here who put everything into it and go the extra mile.
Work: Golfwear retailer
Site: Wakefield Road, Brighouse
Phone: W01484 717979
Email: richard@stromberggolf.com
