Like other sponsors of Tiger Woods, the Missouri-based eyecare company has been fending off questions about the image benefits of promoting a serial philanderer. Woods stars in TLC's advertising and on its website, talking about how laser surgery transformed his nearsightedness to 20/20 vision.
Woods says he suffered an "invisible handicap" — contact lenses that made his eyes burn and sting while trying to concentrate on championship golf. Without contacts, Woods couldn't even see the ball on the tee. After his Lasik procedure in 1999, Woods was able to focus on the flag hundreds of yards down the fairway. Wags easily credit the surgery for enabling Tiger’s roving eye. Unlike Accenture, Gillette and Tag Heuer, TLC is standing by Woods. "Our relationship with Tiger Woods continues without change," says TLC Vision spokesperson Stephen Phillips, a Fleishman-Hillard exec.
There is a new twist to TLC's relationship with Woods: Chapter 11.
TLC went belly-up yesterday, adding a financial dynamic to its ties with the still-in-hiding golfer. The reorganization plan was filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. It follows a third-quarter in which TLC lost $10.8M on $51.6M in revenues. That performance compares unfavorably to 2008 when TLC lost $6.7M on $57M in revenues. The company now has secured $15M debtor-in-possession financing and agreed to sell six of its refractive centers in Canada. Bankrupt TLC promises to honor the "Total Lifetime Commitment" (TLC) pledge that it makes to its customers, a vow much more important than remaining true to the Tiger.
TLC's relationship with Woods brings to mind the story that former baseball great and New York Mets announcer Ralph Kiner tells about his negotiations with Branch Rickey, a famous cheapskate. After leading the National League in home runs, Kiner asked Rickey, then general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, for a raise. Rickey responded: "We finished last with you. We can finish last without you."
The same applies to TLC. It filed for Chapter 11 with Tiger and could have filed Chapter 11 without Tiger.
TLC's bankruptcy does pose the question: What is the financial worth of a Woods' sponsorship?