TigerWoods

Celebrities have no intention of staying away from fashion, even with all the bad press lately (see last season's disastrous Lohan/Ungaro mash up). Last week Madonna teamed up with Iconix Brand Group to produce a tween line inspired by her daughter Lourdes. Early this week, she struck another deal with Dolce & Gabbana to produce a line of eyewear called MDG. Amy Winehouse hooked up with Fred Perry for a line scheduled to hit stores in the fall. And then there is Sarah Jessica Parker and Halston and a myriad of Olympic stars lending their now recognizable names to brands.

Since the days of Jaclyn Smith for Kmart in the '80s and Kathy Lee Gifford for Wal-Mart in the 90s, celebrities have been ubiquitous in the fashion field. It's not hard to guess what their primary motivator is. A brand generally spends loads of money for the privilege of using a household name.

But does it do anything for a brand? Based on some marketing studies I found online, the jury is out on that one. One guy called it the lazy man's brand building. Another said it's very hard for the consumer to keep track of what celebrity is with whom and harder still to trust a brand just from a celebrity endorsement alone. And if a celeb is hooked up with lots of different brands, each individual brand could really suffer.

Last month the Sawgrass Marriott Golf Resort & Spa was in the news as the setting for TIger Woods' mea culpa moment. This month the setting for the Woods' apology is in the news for a different reason, bankruptcy. RQB Resort LP filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection listing estimated assets and liabilities of up to $500 million. A debt of over $193 million is owed to Goldman Sachs which has not been paid since August 2009.

The 65-acre resort has more than 500 rooms and has seen a drop in corporate and group bookings over the last year as a result of the struggling economy. The resort overlooks the Pete Dye-designed TPC Sawgrass Stadium Course famous for the 17th hole which has an island green. The course is the setting for the Players Championship each May. Sawgrass Marriott has the rights to the bulk of the tee times available on the popular course which draws many golfers each year. The hotel is continuing normal operations and hopes to emerge from bankruptcy to take advantage of the hoped-for economic resurgence in 2011.

According to a report from USA Today (via San Francisco Chronicle), Tiger Woods no longer gets free cars from General Motors. No worries, we're pretty sure Tiger can afford to pay for his own ride anyway.

The news, attributed to Buick spokesperson Dayna Hart, comes as a number of companies like Tag Heuer and Accenture have canceled advertising contracts with the star golfer. GM, though, indicates that the free car agreement was scheduled to end on December 31st and therefore isn't necessarily a result of Woods' November 27th accident outside his Florida home.

Woods hasn't been a spokesperson for GM since the golfer's contract ended in 2008, but the automaker had reportedly agreed to let Woods keep his Buick and Cadillac vehicles for an additional year. As reported on our sister site Autoblog.com, the 2009 Cadillac Escalade Woods was driving (see above) will be repaired and sold.

[Source: USA Today via San Francisco Chronicle]

Some brands are running from Tiger Woods as a celebrity endorser but Orlando-based Corona Cigar Co. is running toward him offering the golfer $100,000 as a celebrity "smokesperson." The brand is clearly looking for publicity. Owner Jeff Borysiewicz has said that the company doesn't condone anyone's alleged extramarital affairs but welcomes Woods as a potential endorser. Woods has visited Corona in the company of Charles Parker before. Some of Woods' core endorsers including Accenture, Gillette and Gatorade have said they will review their association with the golfer and he won't be playing golf for a little while so perhaps he should take the deal for some running around money.

"The relationship between the leader in prestigious sports watches and chronographs since 1860 and golf virtuoso Tiger Woods has always been extremely professional and productive," was part of a statement directly from Tag Heuer recently on its relationship (since 2002) with troubled sports star Tiger Woods. I believe that a follow up to this story was necessary because Tag Heuer has been flipping around a bit. Post extra-marital scandal statements from the popular watch brand Tag Heuer confirmed its commitment to its promotional relationship with Tiger Woods. Within a day or two the brand reviewed the current state of Tag Heuer's public opinion as well as his intent to leave the world of professional golf for some indeterminable amount of time, and it looked as though they had a good excuse to release Mr. Woods from his "obligations." Thus, Tag Heuer then reported that it was strongly reconsidering its relationship with Tiger Woods, and reports indicated that they felt Mr. Woods was going to be too much of a liability to the brand image, with not enough future value given his leave of absence from the public eye.

All of a sudden Tag Heuer seems to have come to their senses and realized that despite the scandal, no matter how minor or major it is, Tag Heuer is still a very valuable personality and image for the brand. In what I hope is their final position, they indicate that they will temporarily scale down Tiger's involvement or image in current advertisements, but still retain him in select ad campaigns. Don't expect to see too many more Tag Heuer "Watch are you made of?" campaigns with Wood's face attached to the ad - because the public has an answer to what Wood's is made out of. Plus, Tiger's future as the face of Tag Heuer will of course depend on if and when he returns to professional golf (which he likely will). Part of Tag Heuer's reluctance to drop Woods all together might have something to do with Tiger being titled PGA Tour player of the year. I promise that this will be the last time this story is mentioned - no matter how many times Tag Heuer seems to change its mind. Several of Tiger Wood's other sponsors have dropped him altogether, while a few like Tag Heuer are committed to the international star, but will limit his presence in ads for the foreseeable future.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Some of Tiger Woods' sponsors and business associates are distancing themselves from the sports star in the wake of his mushrooming mistress scandal; however the Dubai backers of the first ever Woods-designed golf course and housing development say they'll proceed as planned with the megabucks project. The move is surprising given the iffy emirate's recent financial troubles as well as the UAE's extremely strict laws and outlook on sexual misconduct, real or perceived. The company building The Tiger Woods Dubai housing development and golf course said in a statement Wednesday it remains committed to completing the course, a 60,000-square-foot clubhouse, an 80-suite boutique hotel for VIP guests, 300 luxury villas, 20 mansions and a community retail area, all bearing the increasingly dubious Tiger Woods brand. The developer, part of the Dubai Holding conglomerate owned by the city-state's ruler, says "progress continues" on the project but gave no specifics, the AP reports. As we reported the other day, Woods' travails are likely to end up preventing him from becoming the world's first billionaire athlete, a goal he had nearly attained.

I recently mentioned that Tag Heuer affirmed its commitment to Tiger Woods as a brand ambassador. They publicly stated that they would stick by the super star as a face of the brand despite and alleged transgressions. It now looks like they might have altered their position. This is the second time this month that Tag Heuer has had to "restate" an earlier announcement. The first was in regard to the origin on their new Caliber 1887 movement.

Now Tag Heuer seems to suggest that Tiger Woods may not be in their short term future goals.We have already seen Tag Heuer pull Tiger Wood based ads, but that makes sense in the immediate given the negative publicity of Tiger's current extramarital activities. Now it looks like Tag Heuer is seriously considering their future with the golf superstar. The main reason? Not likely the current scandal. Though it helps lubricate their decision - the main rationale behind Tag Heuer's likely separation from Mr. Woods is his announcement to leave the professional world of golf for some indeterminable amount of time. Tiger's main allure was his ability to draw a large audience when he played on the greens. Now that he will withdraw from the public eye, does he really have immediate value to the popular watch brand? Several months from now when Tiger Woods hasn't been in a golf tournament in months, he will just be another rich guy in a Nike baseball cap (unless they pull out too). The bigger picture is that because Tiger Woods is exiting the world of golf for a while, he is severely jeopardizing his main income stream - endorsements.

Via World Tempus.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

It has not been an easy holiday season for mega super athlete Tiger Woods. After news got out about his possible extra-marital affairs and the resulting fiasco surrounding it, the squeaky clean celebrity now has a new angle to his personality. Still, I think he handled the media conference aspects of it much better than others have in the past.

Tiger is a very wealthy guy thanks to years of unprecedented sponsorship and endorsement deals. Suddenly advertisements with his iconic image have all but disappeared - especially on television. Sponsors are worried about possible negative associations with the star looming in the public at this time. Of course, none of this is a surprise.

Like most scandals, this will likely more or less blow over in a few weeks or months. Whatever ensues in Tiger's personal life, is his own business. From a sponsorship standpoint, things won't be quite the same, as some of the more conservative advertisers will likely shun Tiger, although he was once the boy-wonder of conservative image athletes.

One of Tiger's most popular sponsors is watch maker Tag Heuer - who has recently announced their dedication to sticking with the man who has likely been good for their business. Tag Heuer, while a Swiss watch maker, is French owned (by LVMH). While they may pause or delay advertisements in the immediate future, expect to see lots more Tag Heuer ads involving Tiger Woods, a baseball cap, a golf club, and a watch in the near future.

Via World Tempus (in French).

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Back in 2008 we reported that Tiger Woods was set to become the world's first billionaire athlete, with earnings on target to cross the billion-dollar mark, which they did in October. In order for his net worth to follow suit however, he would need to continue the momentum for at least another year, given the taxes and management fees he has to pay, to be considered a bona fide billionaire. Now in the wake of his fateful car crash and ongoing mistress revelations, along with the looming prospect of one of the most expensive sports divorce settlements ever and now news of his lucrative advertising revenue stream drying up, it seems Woods may never reach that goal. The golfer's $110 million in annual income from endorsements and tournaments, as estimated by Forbes magazine, hinges on his standing with consumers, which is currently at an all-time low. Sorry, Tiger, looks like you'll have to be content as a mere multimillionaire several times over - at least until that divorce goes through. For God's sake please don't end up like Lenny Dykstra.

Ever since his fateful car crash and the ongoing mistress revelations, life seems to have been falling to pieces for Tiger Woods. He may be looking at one of the most expensive sports divorce settlements ever. Some wonder whether his career, including not just golf but also lucrative endorsements, will recover. But if you think that Tiger's tribulations might damage the value of Tiger Woods collectibles, author Daryle Lambert says you're dead wrong. In a CNBC article Lambert says that the opposite is true. As he sees it, the amount of signed Woods collectibles probably won't go up too much given the recent events. People are snapping up Tiger Woods collectibles on eBay. A newsmaking event whether it be death or dishonor, always changes the value of a personal collectible; we saw a similar phenomenon this year with the sudden surge in Michael Jackson memorabilia. On his blog Lambert says that collectors should "take advantage of this opportunity to buy anything associated with Tiger Woods, like clubs, signed hats, photographs with his signature, shoes, bags, signed score cards and any other item that can be directly linked to Tiger."

Tiger Woods has announced his latest golf project, Punta Brava, a private golf and ocean club community on the Baja Peninsula south of Ensenada, Mexico about 40 minutes south of San Diego. Punta Brava sits on the tip of a peninsula that extends seven miles into the Pacific Ocean making for beautiful views on the planned 18-hole par 70 oceanfront course. The project also includes 40 estates lots ranging from three-quarter to three acres and priced between $3 million and $12 million, 30 Individual-own villa residences of 4,500 to 7,000 square feet, 60 Partnership villas of 4,500 to 6,500 square feet and a 20-villa private hotel for residents and their guests. There will also be a private clubhouse, an ocean club, a wellness spa and multiple dining venues. Construction is set to begin early next year with completion by 2011. it's a gorgeous spot but the prices seem a bit ambitious for what used to be an area best known for spring break on the cheap for California college students. He's hardly alone though, Trump has a project nearby which has been selling well.

Since it first opened in 1961, Barbados' luxurious Sandy Lane has played host to a never-ending stream of royalty, socialites and movie stars. Arguably the Caribbean's plushest resort, Aristotle Onassis and Maria Callas, David Niven, Jackie Kennedy, Frank Sinatra and Queen Elizabeth all took sojourns there in years past, while the list of current habitués is no less impressive, including Tiger Woods who tied the knot there in 2004.

The ne plus ultra in exclusivity, luxury, privacy and white glove service is embodied by the palatial neo-Palladian-style main building of cream coral stone set in a grove of mahogany trees on a beautiful stretch of beach in the middle of Barbados' "platinum coast." A chauffered limousine (a Bentley for high-rollers) picks you up at the airport and you're greeted at the front desk with cold towels and fruit punch, a preview of coming attractions, so to speak.

Sandy Lane was rebuilt in 2001, and it's currently in the midst of a multimillion dollar makeover including upgrades to rooms, the spa, restaurants and public spaces. When it re-opens on October 3, in addition to 16,000-sq.-ft. of new marble, one of the biggest improvements will be an open plan, multi-cultural, all-day dining facility featuring a residential-style kitchen in the manner of a Caribbean Palladian conservatory, with a wine store, beach bar, sushi bar, lobster and live seafood tank, a fresh herb garden and a wood burning oven.



The resort's 112 rooms average 900 square feet and feature marble floors and bathrooms, mahogany plantation furniture, private verandahs, plasma TVs and all the bells and whistles. The property features two Tom Fazio-designed 18-hole golf courses, nine championship tennis courts, a 47,000 square foot spa, a John Frieda salon, shops galore (Joan Collins still owes money in one of them) and seven bars and restaurants to choose from. On the beach, attendants will fetch you drinks, clean your sunglasses and even spritz you with Evian water should you so desire.

In addition to the main accommodations, there's also a five bedroom villa that sleeps 14 with a private pool, butler, housekeeper, chef and 24-hr. security guard for $25,000 a night during the holiday season. But if you have to ask, you probably can't afford it.

Golf legend Tiger Woods is on track to become the world's first billionaire athlete, a goal he should reach in a few short years at his current rate of income. Woods' career earnings will hit the $1 billion mark by 2010, Forbes reports, but given the taxes and management fees he has to pay, it will take another year for his net worth to catch up.

In 2007 alone, the mag estimates Woods earned $115 million, $65 million more than the second highest paid athlete, David Beckham. While several billionaires over the years have been world-class athletes, none has ever earned their fortune solely from a career playing sports before Woods. Of course, most of his wealth comes from endorsement deals as prize money accounts for only one-tenth of his earnings.

Tiger Woods may be taking some time off the PGA circuit but he's certainly not taking it easy, like other golfers before him such as Greg Norman and Jack Nicklaus, he's working on his golf course empire. We've already profiled his Dubai plans but he is also hard at work on his first golf course in the United States. His course will be located at The Cliffs at High Carolina, which is part of The Cliffs' collection of eight private residential developments in the Carolina Preserve, each with their own golf course. The area features 14 state parks, three national forests and one national park and very scenic land with views out over the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Tiger's got some great land for his course, he is planning a walking golf course at elevations up to 4,000 feet which will have 50 miles of views. The Cliffs at High Carolina also offers easy access the the charming city of Asheville, North Carolina, a place which seems to consistently end up on lists of top places to live and retire in. The development features a village area that will be home to a spa, inn, fitness center, cafe and market. The course clubhouse will also include a restaurant. The Cliffs offers home sites from $300,000 to over $3,000,000 and custom homes from $700,000 to over $5,000,000. For The Cliffs at High Carolina homesites begin in the $500,000s and range to over $2 million. The sales office recently opened for The Cliffs at High Carolina and groundbreaking is scheduled for this fall. There will be 50 to 60 homesites in the first release. Membership is not included in the home price. There is an initiation fee of $150,000 plus $650 in monthly dues but this entitles you to a variety of features detailed after the jump.

From the NY Post's Gimme Shelter:
--NY Mets pitcher Johan Santana has gone to contract for just over $3 million on a three-bedroom, 3½-bath apartment at 170 East End Ave. but has also been spotted checking out a $17.5 million penthouse several floors above.
--Ben Stiller has been townhouse shopping in the West Village.
--Raffaello Follieri, the check-bouncing boyfriend of Anne Hathaway, reportedly kept one broker in limbo for almost six weeks regarding a $15.9 million West Village townhouse that the couple had checked out. There was an accepted offer but the $1.5 million deposit never arrived.

From the NY Observer's Manhattan Transfers:
--Ricky Kenig, a beauty and costume shop kingpin, is putting his Park Slope brownstone on the market for $3.2 million. He bought the home for $1,375,000 two years ago and gut-renovated it with details such as a three-story magnetized wall along the stairwell, a video monitor system, those cute little Kohler Hatbox toilets and a custom Philippe Starck shower.
--S. Christopher Meigher III, the chairman and CEO of society magazine Quest, and his wife withheld a few mortgage payments because they disagreed with their bank over a refi and nearly ended up having their two-unit apartment auctioned off. The Meighers got the refinancing rate they wanted and have settled the issue.
--Investor and environmental philanthropist. Dan Lufkin, has put his five-bedroom spread at 455 Central Park West on the market this week for $17.5 million which is around three times what he paid three years ago.The apartment, shown above, is a converted 19th-century chapel which has been beautifully restored, saving the antique French oak floors, arched windows, gold-leafed walls, stone columns, Gothic fireplace and, especially a 28-foot-high vaulted living room. More gorgeousness at the listing here.
Dora the Explorer co-creator Eric Weiner and wife Cherie Vogelstein, a playwright, have bought a high-floor, seven-room condo at Ariel West for $4.395 million.
--Leighton Candler, a Corcoran senior vice president, has been chosen to sell Brooke Astor's apartment. The listing for the $46 million apartment hasn't hit the internet yet.

From the LA Times Hot Property:
--Actor Channing Tatum has bought a Laurel Canyon property that was listed at $3.4 million for $2,595,000. Big Time Listings led us to the property website here.
--A home on Mulholland Drive that belonged to writers Aldous and Laura Huxley has hit the market for $1.95 million.
--Hollywood agent Toni Howard and her husband, producer David Yarnell, have purchased an 18th-floor junior penthouse in a luxury Westwood condominium building for $3.3 million.
--Karen Pankow, the ex-wife of Chicago trombone player James Pankow, has listed her Malibu home for $4.5 million. The listing for the contemporary home is here.
--Google's board chairman and chief executive, Eric Schmidt is the owner of Ellen DeGeneres's former Montecito estate. It was our estate of the day a year ago.

From Berg Properties Big Time Listings:
--Former "Grey's Anatomy" actor Isaiah Washington has sold his four-bedroom condo in Hancock Park for $1.5 million.
--Dido has sold her three-bedroom house in the Hollywood Hills for an undisclosed price after it had been on the market for $4.6 million.
--Sting picked up a 16th- and 17th-floor duplex unit in 15 Central Park West in New York City for $26.5 million.
--via the Palm Beach Post, movie producer and Jones Apparel Group founder Sidney Kimmel has sold his mansion in Palm Beach, Fla. for its $81,500,000 list price!

From the Real Estalker:
--The Real Estalker Mama takes us through the rumor mill reporting on the possible split of Dr. Phil McGraw and his wife Robin and the potential sale of their large Beverly Hills home. The latest estimates have the home hitting the market in the $16-18,000,000 range.
--Vincent Gallo may have found a buyer for the Wolff House.
--Los Angeles man about town Brent Bolthouse has put his sexy two-bedroom Lautner-designed hosue in the Hollywood Hills up for lease for $10,000 a month. The listing is here.
--Kirsten Dunst has spent around $3,000,000 for a three bedroom penthouse apartment in New York.
--Rumors continue to swirl over whether or not Tiger Woods really bought that $65 million house in Southampton.
--Another kerfuffle in Greenwich, Connecticut over a planned mega-mansion proposed for 18 Simmons Lane that would be over 30,000 square feet and include a gym, theater, wine cellar, staff quarters and 26 toilets.

From AOL Real Estate:
--Recession Proof Home Improvements