Mississippi’s GenTeal apparel finding niche in golf industry

By Alabama Golf News Editor Gregg Dewalt

Fast-growing brand making its mark

ORLANDO, Fla. – It’s an easy comparison to make – GenTeal men’s apparel and Ole Miss football.

Both brands are trying to carve out their niche against industry giants – Ole Miss against the top college football programs in the country and GenTeal against the behemoths in men’s casual fashion. Also, it shouldn’t be surprising that there is a direct correlation between the Rebels and GenTeal in that the owners/founders Blake Dubinski and Brice Noonan just happen to be Ole Miss professors.

Noonan is a biology professor while Dubinski runs the university’s entrepreneurship program. Their partnership was born over beers at a local Oxford establishment and the company was founded in 2016.

Eight years later, GenTeal can be found in more than 250 stores mostly across the Southeast. The GenTeal brand covers the spectrum from outerwear and polos to sport shirts and pants. It recently announced the launch of its 2024 spring collection, with Noonan and Dubinski already looking ahead to fall 2025.

“Bryce and Blake were looking for a brand that was luxurious and classic but not a Southern brand that was really popular at that time,” said Lauren Johnsey, GenTeal’s marketing and brand strategy director. “So, they came up with GenTeal and we have all of the polos, but then we also have really nice outerwear. We have versatile clothing – work to weekend wear is what we say. It’s made for the avid outdoorsman, someone who wants to golf on the weekends and then fly fish and then go to work with the same shirt.”

Earth-tone colors and a flying mallard logo

Johnsey said GenTeal does “typical polos with a few details.”

Because of the structure of the collar, it stays down all the time.

“You can wear this all the time and it would never lose its quality,” Johnsey said “We also pay a lot of attention to fit. We use good fit metrics and try to adjust them to you. They’re really refined. But they are great for someone who likes to be in the outdoors. I would say our niche is that we have earth-tone color palettes, and then we also do some of the distinguishable outerwear and stuff.”

It’s only been the past few years that GenTeal has moved into the golf space. During the Covid year, GenTeal was trying to move merchandise and golf was a perfect landing spot. The addition of embroidery machines so that it could be done in-house instead of outsourcing meant a quicker turn-around on orders. Johnsey said it’s a perfect solution for golf clubs that want to get their logos quickly embroidered on their fashion line.

“That kind of helped us get into the golf space,” she said. “And then we’ve been growing pretty rapidly. We don’t have a lot of bright flashy things. Mostly we like to say we offer very subtle luxuries.”

In late January, Johnsey and the GenTeal team were set up in a booth at the PGA Merchandise Show for a second year. They’ve also had a presence at several of the northern golf shows in recent weeks, spreading the news about the GenTeal brand.

GenTeal named to the Inc. 5000 List

GenTeal was named to the Inc. 5000 list in 2023 as one of the fastest growing privately owned companies in the U.S. Its apparel can be found in men’s specialty stores in 22 states and in 50 golf shops.

GenTeal’s distinct logo – a flying mallard – helps set the brand apart.

“It has kind of helped us get in the door,” Johnsey said. “That’s really helped us in that space. It comes down to our branding, our color palettes and everything like that. And then we have a really good in-house team. Most people outsource all of that.”

With a growing customer base, a price point similar to their competitors’ brands, its own embroidery capability and distinctive color schemes, GenTeal, like the Ole Miss football program, is ready to take its pace alongside its well-known competitors.

For more information, go to GenTealapparel.com.

Gregg Dewalt is the editor of Alabama Golf News