Founded in 1916, Imperial Headwear has been producing premium golf hats and visors for more than a century. As a result, the brand has become among the strongest in the game, which is remarkable when you consider that most of the time the company is putting other people’s logos on its gear.
But Imperial has found ways to stand out, even as it often takes second billing.
Consider that its products are now sold in all of the top 100 golf clubs in America, as well as at roughly half of the 15,000 courses that operate in this country. Imperial gear, which also includes apparel such as T-shirts and hoodies and accessories such as belts and luggage, is also offered for purchase in the merchandise pavilions of all four men’s professional major championships, as well as the Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup and Solheim Cup.
“My dad introduced me to the idea of wearing a visor on the golf course at a very young age, so it’s always been a part of my look.” – Keith Mitchell
Customers of the company also include the PGA Tour and the American Junior Golf Association, as well as a number of top state golf associations and management groups such as Troon, Discovery Land Company and the Dormie Network. In addition, Imperial has manufacturing relationships with Peter Millar and Rhoback, among other apparel and lifestyle concerns, and a number of leading equipment makers, from Ping and Srixon to TaylorMade and Cleveland Golf.
Not surprisingly – given the range of its business relationships and the strength of its product lines – Imperial is the No. 1 headwear brand in the combined on- and off-course retail golf channels in the States.
So perhaps it is not surprising that Imperial Headwear and its Bourbon, Missouri-based parent company, Paramount Apparel International, attracted a buyer in the winter of 2021. The new owner is a family office investment firm called CPC that is headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. Its business mantra is described as being “Buy, Build, Hold,” and its goal “to make long-term investments and grow businesses over decades, not years.”
Clearly, the new owner liked what it saw in Imperial and also Paramount, which is also family run. Which is no doubt why CPC executives made a point when announcing the transaction that there would be “no changes in operations” at either concern.
Another sign of how Imperial is prospering came when it announced at this year’s Masters a multi-year sponsorship deal with PGA Tour professional Keith Mitchell.
“This partnership took shape in a really organic way,” Mitchell said when the deal was announced. “My dad introduced me to the idea of wearing a visor on the golf course at a very young age, so it’s always been a part of my look. Imperial is an historic brand that makes some of the best hats in golf, so picking a classic like the high-crown Tour Visor to wear while I play seemed like a natural.”
The Aloha Rope (left) and the Alter Ego caps.
David Shaffer, the senior vice president of sales at Imperial, was thrilled to sign the stylish, sweet-swinging Mitchell. “Keith is a very special guy who has been wearing our products all his life,” he said. “He is a very good dresser, too, with a real throwback look. There’s a reason that people call him ‘Cashmere Keith,’ and the Tour Visor fits his image perfectly.”
The Tour Visor is among Imperial’s most popular products. Another big seller among what the company calls Imperial Originals is the Oxford Bucket Hat, and a pair of offshoots for that line, the Oxford Performance Bucket and the Junior Oxford Bucket. The Original Performance is a hit, as is the Wrightson Performance Rope hat, a retro piece that had gone out of production for a spell before being brought back to market, with great acclaim, it is worth noting.
These are just part of the dozens of headwear products that Imperial offers to golfers, and also those who enjoy other outdoor endeavors. And Shaffer says that no matter what the style or shape, they are all made with the same dedication to fit and quality, as well as detail and craftsmanship.
“We will never forget that each and every cap we make will be proudly worn as a badge of honor, a commitment to be showcased or a story to be celebrated,” he said.
Which is a big reason why the Imperial logo that is stitched on the inside of the hat or visor has come to resonate as deeply with golfers as the well-known emblems that are embroidered on the crowns.
For it, too, is one of the biggest brands in golf.