Topgolf's new CEO told Modern Retail the company has barely touched retail media partnerships or licensing deals despite operating venues that generate $2.8 billion in annual revenue and attract 20 million visits per year. The admission signals a strategic shift: turning existing foot traffic into a monetizable media channel and extending brand IP into retail shelves without owning the manufacturing or distribution.
Topgolf runs 90 venues across the U.S., each already equipped with digital screens, point-of-sale systems, and captive dwell time averaging 90 minutes per visit, according to the company's investor materials. The CEO's plan is straightforward—sell those screens and customer touchpoints to CPG brands as retail media inventory, and license Topgolf's name and logo to third-party manufacturers who will place products in Dick's Sporting Goods, Target, and specialty golf retailers. No new build-out required. The venue infrastructure already exists.
The mechanism works because Topgolf controls a high-intent audience in a closed environment. Visitors arrive to swing clubs, eat, and drink for an extended session. That dwell time creates repeated brand impressions without the skippable-ad problem of digital media. A screen promoting a specific golf ball or energy drink reaches someone already engaged in golf-adjacent behavior, in a mindset to purchase, often with disposable income allocated to entertainment. The retail media buyer gets frequency, context, and measurability—three things that command premium CPMs in grocery and convenience channels but rarely appear in entertainment venues.
Licensing extends the same brand equity into third-party retail without Topgolf manufacturing a single unit. A golf glove, a putter, a range finder, or a branded apparel line carries the Topgolf logo and appears on shelves at Dick's or Golf Galaxy. The manufacturer pays a royalty, handles production and distribution, and Topgolf collects a percentage of wholesale revenue. The play monetizes brand recognition built inside the venues and spills it into external retail where the core customer already shops.
A small physical-product brand runs the same play at local scale. If you operate a climbing gym, a trampoline park, a pottery studio, or any venue with repeat visitors and dwell time, you already own the media channel. Approach a complementary CPG brand—chalk manufacturers, hydration mixes, hand balms—and offer digital signage space or table tents as a flat-rate sponsorship. Start with $500 per month for a single screen loop or $1,200 per quarter for exclusive category sponsorship. The brand gets targeted reach, you get non-ticket revenue, and no new infrastructure is required.
For licensing, the threshold is lower than most founders assume. If your venue brand has even modest local recognition, approach a contract manufacturer in your category and propose a co-branded product line. You supply the brand name and customer insights, they handle production and fulfill into local or regional retail. Negotiate a 6-10% royalty on wholesale, with no upfront capital required. The manufacturer bears inventory risk, you collect recurring revenue from shelf presence. If you run a coffee roastery with a tasting room, license your name to a local bakery for a co-branded biscotti line sold at both locations and nearby grocery. If you operate a martial arts studio, license apparel to a local screen printer who sells it at sporting goods stores. The play is the same: turn brand equity into shelf space without owning the supply chain.
The pattern here is revenue layering. Topgolf already makes money from bay rentals and food. Retail media and licensing add margin without cannibalizing the core business or requiring new customer acquisition. For any physical-product brand with a venue, a pop-up, or even a recurring event series, the same structure applies: monetize attention inside your controlled environment, then extend brand IP into adjacent retail through low-risk partnerships. The CEO's insight is that Topgolf left both channels untouched for years. Smaller operators rarely think to activate them at all.
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