In 2025, Armin Boehm became president and CEO of Evansville-based Escalade Inc. He joined the sporting goods and recreational equipment manufacturer in April, following Walter Glazer’s retirement announcement in August 2024.
Boehm’s previous experience includes positions with Adidas, Levi Strauss & Co., Puma, Amer Sports Corporation (Salomon, Wilson, Arc’teryx, Atomic and Mavic) and Gibson. He spoke with Inside INdiana Business about mitigating tariff volatility and moving Escalade forward.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
What are your goals as president and CEO of Escalade?
I want to grow Escalade from a bottom-line perspective as well as from a top-line perspective over the years to come. There are opportunities as well within Escalade. We have so many different brands and categories. We are operating in several different channels, and we are operating in several different consumer groups. That also gives us an opportunity to grow in the future.
Also, modernizing Escalade is a big part of that. Forward-thinking, more consumer-centric thinking, more brand-oriented digital transformation. That includes social media, creating loyalty with consumers and approaching consumers differently. That was a big drive for the board of directors to bring me into the company.
I would explain Escalade as we are brand builders on one side, and we are product innovators on the other side. That’s important. You need to always nurture the brands. That’s what people are buying into, and you have to bring them in if you want to be relevant to your consumer. You cannot stand still. You need to look forward, and you have to bring in new products.
At the same time, we are a 100-year-old company, which is amazing. Some of the brands that we have are even older. Look at Brunswick Billiards. We are celebrating 180 years of Brunswick Billiards. What an Americana brand on that side. Abraham Lincoln played that. Super authentic. We have to be a custodian of our authenticity and iconic heritage.
But at the same time, we need to be stewards of our innovative future. That’s where I want to steer the ship. Also, when you look at the categories that we are in, from sports equipment to indoor and outdoor recreational products to fitness, I always describe us as the intersection of sports, lifestyle and culture. And fostering that and taking that forward is another big task of mine.
With your varied experience, what do you think of Escalade and Evansville so far?
Escalade has an amazing culture. When I look at the people working here, in terms of passion, know-how and expertise, I love it on that side. If you worked at Gibson, that was a passion-driven company and a passion-driven brand. And so was Salomon, Arc’ Teryx and Wilson as well. This is the same.
I love that when people are energized, and they bleed the company. When I started, the first couple of days, I went around and talked to everybody and engaged and said, “Tell me a little bit how you feel being here. Do you like it? Do you not like it?” And I heard, “No, I don’t like it. I love it.” I heard that from so many people, and it’s meaningful. I can also see that in the tenure of people, being with a company 10 years, 15 years, 20 years, up to 45 years. That means a lot.
Being in Evansville, I believe in the 1960s, the company decided to move into the building where we are. And we have been in this building since there was a renovation, I believe, five years ago. Escalade is an anchor in Evansville. Our whole history is related to the city of Evansville. That’s where home is.
How is the company mitigating the changing tariff situation?
We immediately started to build a task force. Number one: identified short, mid and long-term strategic moves. The short-term is more tactical. The long-term has to be more strategic. And that is one side you’ve got to look into. What is our strategic supply chain, and what are the strategic moves that we have to do around the world?
We have owned and operated manufacturing in the United States. We have that in Illinois in Olney, and we have that in Florida in Gainesville. The remaining part is in contract manufacturing, usually done overseas. The company started to diversify a couple of years ago.
We have manufacturing in Vietnam and Indonesia, manufacturing through OEM partners, and in China and a few other countries. China is still the majority of our contract manufacturing. That’s why we have to be strategic and look for other opportunities.
On the other side, you have to look into your product architecture and assortment. With the tariff situation, you have to be on top of the latest information daily. It’s so volatile. The information that comes out, you have to stay on top of that. And you have to understand what the impact of these announcements is to customers as well as financially to the company.
And the last one is, you prepare pricing scenarios accordingly. All of this is at this moment in play. We at the task force have at least twice a week meetings to update each other.
What else is ahead for Escalade this year?
Product innovation is a big part. The 180 years of Brunswick Billiards is a big one. Brunswick Billiards is also known for the Gold Crown series that was launched, I believe, in the 1960s. This year, at the end of August, Brunswick will launch the Gold Crown VII, which is a fantastic table in terms of design but still leaning on the tables that were produced mid-century from a look and feel standpoint as well as bringing all the latest technology and rolling that out.
Another one is Stiga, a market leader in table tennis. We just launched a Paragon table that created a big buzz in the marketplace. Soon, we’ll have a big launch coming out in pickleball, which is another big innovation in the marketplace.
Anything else you’d like to add?
It’s an amazing team, Escalade, with the categories that we are in. In most of them, we are market leaders. I want to highlight this also, specifically for Evansville as a city. To have a company like Escalade being here is meaningful for the community. At the end of the day, the whole purpose of Escalade is to promote a healthy and active lifestyle. That’s what we do. That’s a great mission to have and leaning in on that side and also practicing what we preach.
If you came [to the headquarters], you would see that we have an in-house gym. We have several pickleball courts. We have basketball courts here. This is an amazing employer as well for people on the ground. We have a fantastic internship program; usually, we do that over the summer. We want to be one of the best employers in the region.