Pros build a tower of Babolat
NEW YORK -- Andy Roddick recalls seeing the distinctive oval rackets with white stripes at European junior tournaments in the late 1990s. But it wasn't until his then-coach, former French tennis pro Tarik Benhabiles, carried the Babolat VS frames back from France that Roddick got one in his hands.
"After about five minutes, I asked him to get me a couple more," says Roddick, who switched and four months later was No. 1 in the world junior rankings.
Roddick, now 25 and the top-ranked American at this week's U.S. Open, was not the only instant Babolat convert. Then known primarily for strings, Babolat (BAH-bow-lah) took a swing at the racket market in 1994 and has become the fastest-growing maker in the world. It is third in world market share.
Babolat carefully orchestrated a U.S. launch seven years ago and now challenges market leaders Wilson Sporting Goods, Prince Sports and Head/Penn Racquet Sports, with 16% of the $110 million in U.S. specialty retail sales through the first half of 2007.
Among demanding pros, Babolat has served aces: About 22% of the top 100 male and female players use its frames, tying Wilson and Prince.
Mark Mason, owner of New York's Mason's Tennis Mart, says, "It is the greatest phenomenon in tennis racket history."
Kevin Kempin, vice president for sales and marketing with Head/Penn, says, "Where it was once Wilson, Head and Prince, Babolat has come along and added a fourth competitor."
Privately held Babolat was founded in 1875 and invented the first natural gut strings for tennis, so it had credibility when it gambled on rackets 13 years ago.
"We were already insiders," says Eric Babolat, 37, the fifth-generation CEO of the Lyon, France-based company. But it caught rivals flat-footed. "They didn't think we were serious about rackets."
Tragedy nearly derailed the push into frames, though. Eric's father, Pierre, died in the Swissair crash off Nova Scotia in 1998. At age 28, with only a few years of marketing experience, Eric became CEO just four years into the racket launch.
