HEAD moving pickleball operations to US, releases new Boom Pro EX15 paddle
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It’s no secret that the legacy tennis brands have struggled to gain a foothold in the pickleball industry over the past several years.
Many have had the same experience to some extent, releasing paddles that are solid from a performance standpoint but don’t quite catch on with the pickleball masses.
Given that reality, HEAD has decided to shake up its strategy by forming a U.S.-based team of die-hard pickleball players to lead the brand’s pickleball operations.
The company has a strong product and engineering DNA with great success in winter sports, water sports and racket sports. Previously, product and marketing decisions for pickleball, just like all of HEAD’s categories, came out of the company’s HQ in Austria.
However, pickleball’s explosive growth and its rapidly changing environment made it challenging to keep up. Especially with a market largely made up of U.S. consumers, according to Philippe Oudshoorn, who is HEAD’s Global Pickleball Director and will be leading the Phoenix-based team.
“The last 4 or 5 years have been pretty wild with the changing landscape in pickleball,” Oudshoorn said. “Paddles have seen major tech innovations disrupting the market, professional leagues have been built essentially from scratch, and governing bodies have played a significant role in allowing for that change (or not). For all this to happen in a handful of years is unprecedented. It’s significantly shifted the habits of the consumer and changed the competitive landscape.”
Given those factors, it can be hard to figure out exactly what’s going on in pickleball if you don’t live it and you’re not at the heart of it – which is in the U.S.
The formation of the team in Phoenix marks the first time in HEAD’s recent history that the brand has gone outside of Austria for its product development and marketing – for any of the several sports it produces equipment for. The team still has access to HEAD’s strengths such as the R&D and sourcing department. But now the direction will come from the U.S., which is where the sport was born and will continue to lead as it expands globally.
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Oudshoorn compared it to what Nike has done with Nike SB, the brand’s skateboarding arm. Initially the sports apparel and equipment giant was making skateboarding shoes and gear under the Nike flagship brand, but it wasn’t resonating with die-hard skateboarders. So they created a separate brand – Nike SB – and staffed it with people who were ingrained in skateboarding culture and knew what consumers were looking for.
“We want to be a pickleball brand, not a tennis brand that is also making pickleball paddles,” Oudshoorn said. “We’re building a team of people who are passionate about pickleball and I want us to be heavily involved in the local community here in Phoenix as well, with ambassadors and grassroots growth.”
HEAD launches new Boom Pro EX15 paddle
HEAD’s shift in strategy coincides with the launch of the brand’s new Boom Pro EX15 paddle, which was released this week.
The updated Boom paddle features a full-foam core using HEAD’s TriFlex Power technology. The paddle uses multiple layers of different types of foam to produce a consistent response across the face, Oudshoorn said.
Inner layer: A PP foam core provides power and pop.
Middle layer: An EPP foam ring softens impact and quiets vibration.
Outer layer: An EVA foam perimeter allows the core to flex and expands the sweet spot.
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“The Boom is the next evolution of our TrifFex technology,” Oudshoorn said. “It’s using three different layers in the core to create a consistent response across the face, which we have done with our Radical and Gravity paddles. But now we’re combining that concept with a 100% foam core, which we think plays really well.”
While Oudshoorn expects the refreshed Boom Pro EX15 to be well received by reviewers and consumers, he said his team in Phoenix is already focused on what’s next for HEAD.
Moving forward they will be responsible for testing and designing products, the brand’s marketing operations as well as running the brand’s ambassador program.
“I’m really excited about the team we’re putting together and the direction we’re going with this,” Oudshoorn said. “HEAD has always been a company very focused on R&D and designing quality products, whether it’s tennis or snowboarding or shoes or apparel, and we’re going to continue that tradition in pickleball.”
