Seeing a market opportunity with squash, a sport showing signs of vitality and growth worldwide, an experienced team of sports entrepreneurs are launching a new squash brand, Vantage Squash, with a line of black customizeable racquets, the VS2xx line, and a distinctive logo of red stylized bouncing balls.

But who are these guys who are venturing into the squash market that some would say is already crowded with racquet brands?

INDUSTRY RESTRUCTURING CREATES OPPORTUNITY

Rewind five years. Dunlop Slazenger, a brand whose star and market share was in decline in squash, was bought out by a consortium of banks from a holding company, CINVEN. The new Dunlop Slazenger began a quick climb back into squash prominence, in good part due to its marketing strategies, but to a significant extent because of a vibrant and robust line of squash racquets which became very popular.

These racquets were designed in large part by Paul Angell, who is the founder of Vantage. You can expect to see the design experience and design excellence that characterized the Dunlop brand under Angell's design leadership at Vantage. In 2004, Dunlop Slazenger was sold to a retailing and brand management organization, Sports World International. Sports World believes more in retailing and branding than in design and manufacturing. They told Angell they didn't need his design experience anymore. Dunlop's loss was Vantage's gain.

CUSTOMIZED CONFIGURATION APPROACH

Vantage, starting from a base of years of racquet design expertise, already has a number of months of tennis racquet design and marketing experience behind them, and has begun a "soft launch" of their squash racquets this week.

"We feel there is a big market opportunity for us," Angell told SquashTalk in a phone interview Friday. "Players, once they find a racquet they like, don't want the models changing on a constant basis. Our design approach will be to offer a high quality, well designed line which can be varied by the customer depending on the parameters they like. Though we will change the design cosmetics, we plan to keep the racquet play and feel relatively steady in the market, not changing it all the time, to build a brand loyalty."

MARKETING MODEL
The big challenge for Angell and his team will be in the marketing. Channels of distribution for squash equipment are tricky and hard to crack. Vantage plans to initially follow the approach that has worked for them in the tennis market. Vantage Tennis predominantly sells through their own eCommerce site, and have introduced a program of referral incentives, which provide demonstration equipment for tennis pros, who then are counted on to refer customers to Vantage. Vantage is still evaluating the best channels to market for squash.

JOCKEYING FOR SHARE
Two new US-based brands, Harrow and Feather, have emerged successfully in the past four years. Harrow used an advertising and promotional blitz approach while Feather has used a regional grass roots and pinpoint marketing approach. While neither has significantly dented market share leaders Prince, Dunlop, and Head, they have taken share from some of the other players. Vantage will be fighting to gain recognition and share in that environment. With their design capability and experience, they do have a unique value proposition to build on.

In the meantime, their squash line has been launched. In fact, Vantage and Angell have invited SquashTalk readers to try out their new website (www.vantagetennis.com), and they are offering a "readers discount" to those who read this artice. Use discount code B020 and you will receive a 15% discount for buying a Vantage Squash racquet. (note: this is simply a good-will offer from Vantage, there is NO benefit to SquashTalk from this, we are simply reporting.) If you do so, report back to us on how the racquet plays. We are planning a series of racquet review articles in the next few weeks.

Visit vantagetennis.com/squash and use discount code B020 to get an introductory discount from this new squash company.