G/Fore is starting the year off with new leadership.
On Monday, the Los Angeles-based golf brand announced that fashion industry veteran Suzy Biszantz is now its new chief executive officer.
According to the company, Biszantz will be responsible for overseeing G/Fore’s business operations, developing strategy to optimize efficiency, and driving sustainable growth. She will oversee all departments working closely with founder and chief creative officer Mossimo Giannulli and will report to Scott Mahoney, CEO of the brand’s parent company Peter Millar.
With over 25 years of brand leadership experience, Biszantz joins G/Fore from Centric Brands where she served as group president of the company’s men’s and women’s platforms, overseeing the full spectrum of operations for brands like Hervé Léger, Joe’s Jeans, Hudson Jeans, Buffalo Jeans, Zac Posen and Izod.
Prior to Centric Brands, she served as CEO of La Perla’s North American division where she led a comprehensive restructuring, driving significant EBITDA increase and consistent growth. She also held the positions of president and CEO at the Greg Norman Collection, a division of Reebok.
Biszantz has also played a pivotal role in creating and launching Favorite Daughter, a brand that’s captured industry attention with explosive growth and widespread media coverage.
Under this new leadership, G/Fore said in a statement that it is “looking forward to the future of the brand as it continues to grow rapidly in the golf space and beyond; focusing on international expansion, broadening wholesale offerings, and fine-tuning direct-to-consumer programs to meet the increasing consumer demand.”
Peter Millar, which is owned by Richemont, acquired G/Fore in 2018 after working together a year prior on a co-branded golf shoe.
Giannulli, who is best known for starting the Mossimo brand in 1986, introduced G/Fore in 2013. His goal was to develop the brand into a lifestyle collection influenced by golf. It started with a collection of premium golf gloves and has since expanded to include golf shoes, accessories and men’s and women’s apparel. The line targets a fashion-conscious customer who enjoys golf-inspired products.
This news comes as the golf shoe market continues to heat up as more Americans continue to flock to the sport following its rise in popularity during the pandemic.
This spike in participation has translated to a big bump in golf shoe sales, too. According to Circana’s retail tracking data, golf footwear saw $407.8 million in sales in 2023. And while dollar sales did decline 1 percent last year versus 2022, the market is still 48 percent larger compared to pre-pandemic 2019 when the category reported $275.8 million in sales.
