20 Years of Coastal Cool: How Johnnie-O Became a Force in Golf, Lifestyle, and Licensed Sports
By — Front Office Sports
Posted — December 10, 2025
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What started as a simple sketch of a polo with a surfer silhouette in 2005 has grown into something far bigger than John O’Donnell ever imagined. The collegiate golfer set out to blend East Coast polish with West Coast ease. Twenty years later, that identity now sits at the center of one of the fastest-growing brands in golf, lifestyle, and licensed sports, including a rare NFL license held by only a handful of companies in the category.
That early idea has now grown far beyond what was thought possible. Johnnie-O has become one of the fastest-rising names in golf, lifestyle, and licensed sports apparel, a brand that now stands in more than 2,500 green-grass golf shops, more than 800 specialty retailers, and a growing footprint of company-owned stores from coast to coast.
Johnnie-O isn’t just a shirt brand anymore. It’s a
full-closet lifestyle offering, built to carry the customer from Monday morning meetings to Sunday afternoon tee times.”
Matt Ferrer, Johnnie-O’s SVP of Sales
Twenty years in, Johnnie-O is not slowing down. It is accelerating into its biggest moment yet.
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The company’s growth reflects that identity. Its new Raleigh office has strengthened Johnnie-O’s East Coast footprint, while retail has emerged as a major engine of expansion. The first store opened in Fort Worth, Texas, and the brand has since grown to fifteen locations nationwide, including the newest in West Palm Beach, with plans to double its door count in 2026.
As put by Matt Ferrer, Johnnie-O’s SVP of Sales, this retail strategy reflects the continuous evolution of the brand. “Johnnie-O isn’t just a shirt brand anymore. It’s a full-closet lifestyle offering, built to carry the customer from Monday morning meetings to Sunday afternoon tee times. That balance has become a differentiator in a market split between traditional prep and hyper-technical athletic wear.”
The most dramatic growth is happening in licensing, with Johnnie-O’s growing presence in college towns, NHL arenas, NFL and MLB stadiums, country clubs, and major championship venues.
What began in 2016 with a single MLB partnership has since become the fastest-growing segment of the business, up more than 40 percent year over year. Today, Johnnie-O holds full licensing rights across the MLB, NFL, and NHL, along with more than 200 colleges and universities. The brand’s collegiate assortment is now available on over 100 campuses and through major national retailers such as Rally House and Alumni Hall.
While distribution spans every team, certain schools and franchises have quickly emerged as standouts, including Texas, Texas A&M, Georgia, Tennessee, Ohio State, Auburn, Notre Dame, Clemson, and NFL powerhouses like the Chiefs, Eagles, Bears, Bills, and Packers — a reflection of both fan passion and category demand.
Heath Hooper, VP of Licensing at Johnnie-O, credits this momentum to a combination of having great brand energy, a premium product and storytelling platform, and a commitment to the licensed business. “Having NFL, MLB, NHL, and NCAA product in our offering allows consumers to express their fandom in a new and different way,” Heath noted. “It’s exciting to see how, as the sports landscape changes, the licensed business evolves right alongside it.”
Like any major growth, this expansion required investment. The company has tripled its in-house embroidery capacity in the last year alone and ramped up production for major events.
In golf, Johnnie-O has become a Preferred Retail Partner of the PGA TOUR, giving the brand access to on-course storytelling and the ability to create custom collections for many of the sport’s biggest tournaments, including the Waste Management Phoenix Open, THE PLAYERS, and the TOUR Championship.
Beyond the TOUR, Johnnie-O has built collections for the Ryder Cup, PGA Championship, and the U.S. Open, with the U.S. Open becoming the brand’s highest-volume drop of the year.
That ethos has carried the brand through two decades of steady, deliberate growth. The next chapter will push those boundaries further—more retail, more storytelling, more licensing, more investment in performance, and a deeper exploration of where coastal cool meets modern sport.
Our founder, John O’Donnell
What makes this growth compelling is not just the breadth of partnerships but also the consistency of appeal across audiences. The brand’s women’s licensed business, while a smaller share of total revenue, is outperforming its footprint—evidence that female fans are drawn to a more elevated approach to team apparel. New ambassadors in the golf space, including Blair Wheeler, Peter Finch, Danny Maude, and St. André, bring credibility to the performance side of the business, while rising collegiate star Michael LaSasso—an NCAA Division I champion who will compete in The Masters—represents the future of the brand’s competitive identity.
This strategy is grounded in a clear belief: There is significant white space at the intersection of golf, lifestyle, and sport. Consumers want apparel that feels stylish without being loud, technical without looking athletic, and premium without feeling inaccessible.
