Combining two classic Kiwi passions, sports and travel, Golden Oldies is a global success story, the premier global brand in social sports events for the over-35 age group.
The business organising sports festivals around the world in key sports codes is now being marketed for sale by Daryl Webb from ABC Business Sales.
Founded in 1979 by Air New Zealand, Golden Oldies have been organizing world-class sporting events for over 35 years. The Golden Oldies festivals bring teams and players from all around the world together for unforgettable events in remarkable locations.
“Our enjoyment of Golden Oldies, the event industry and the actual sports themselves. Retaining a relationship with sporting people is paramount and very much part of what drives us” says the current owner, Peter McDermott.
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“The appeal for players is they can stay active and participate, without the bumps and bruises of serious competition, travel and join in on the social activities.”
The Golden Oldies brand is currently used for rugby union, cricket, netball, field hockey, golf and softball and there is good potential to add further sports codes. A global event for each code is held at least every other year.
A second brand, Vintage Sports, is also used for global rugby union events in alternative years, again with scope to grow. Currently, the first Golden Oldies Association Football (Soccer) festival is being planned.
Currently the business organises teams from the United Kingdom, Canada, the United States, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and Japan, so there is plenty of scope for expanding participation. This large collection of players and supporters is attractive to regional and local travel bureaux, who assist in marketing and finding venues.
Golden Oldies enjoys a very good reputation for managing large, global sports events and has strong relationships with the codes in each country, tourism agencies, and event locations.
“Playing rugby against the backdrop of the iconic Diamond Head at Hawaii’s Waikiki Beach, hockey in San Diego, or cricket on historic and quaint village greens in Harrogate make for an amazing sporting experience and a lifetime of stories,” says McDermott.
The Golden Oldies movement is built around the spirit of fun, friendship and fraternity. Many players have commented that the friendships they have made through Golden Oldies events – within their team and around the world – are endearing and enduring. This brings players and teams back over and over, generating a loyal customer following.
“We have a lot of people come back, they enjoy themselves. We get around 60 to 70 per cent of teams participating signing up on the spot for the next event in two years” says McDermott.
Webb says that buyers would only need internet access to keep the Golden Oldies business running, it can be located anywhere. The events themselves are managed by a small number of staff and a network of experienced event organisers globally. This team also manages a large 100,000 plus database of passionate individuals and teams.
Despite the maturity of the business (and the participants), there is plenty of scope to grow the business leveraging off the core strengths and capabilities. There are opportunities for bigger festivals with more participants and more events within existing codes. Regional events could also be organised within travel bubbles. A new owner could even choose to expand the underlying business capability beyond just sporting events if they wished.
“An ideal purchaser could come from a number of sources. A sports fanatic, someone who enjoys travel, an individual or group of individuals, or even a travel company. It’s a mass sports movement with travel and merchandise opportunities built around it. The sport is fantastic” says McDermott, adding sports clubs around the world have embraced the senior age group.
