Becoming a Golf Retailer

[skullycapone]

I have been thinking about selling golf products for a while now but I cant seem to find any information on the internet about hooking up with the top guns so I can purchase direct. My plan would be to connect with the top producers in golf products like TM, Titleist, Calloway, Cobra and all the others and then create a website and possibly open a store in my hometown. Without going direct it is near impossible to compete with prices and also obtaining the new products as they come out.

 

Does anyone know how this process works? Do you need to already have a business to show them you will be successful? Who and where do you contact the big companies to discuss these matters?

 

Thank you

[Chilidog]

Let me save you a lot of money right now and say, "don't do it."

 

You're welcome.

[hardten]

Couldn,t pick a worst business to get into.I have known a few people who had financial resourses and lost everything.Low margins and fickel customers.Saturated market already.

[Spoon]

imho it would be a waste of time unless you had the volume, cash or half a foot in the door. otherwise you would be competeting with top retailers with deep pockets and connections and even if you did manage that the margins are not that impressive. just my .02

[skullycapone]

Thank you for sharing your concerns but that doesn't anwser my questions, perhaps I have deep pockets myself.

 

I would really appreciate some info on how to get connected with these companies and from there I will weigh my options.

 

Thanks

[leekgolf]

Find the local salespeople of the lines you would like to carry. Show them your business plan, and work with them to figure out if they are a good fit for you, and if you are a good fit in their plans.

 

You can get in contact with them through the contact button on their websites.

 

Be prepared that many may not choose to sign you unless you offer something unique, like serving a geographic area that is not well currently served, or a demographic they are missing.

[senseigolfer]

If throwing money into a burning 55 gallon barrel appeals to you, then this business is made for you...Good Luck...

[woohoo4me]

"Be prepared that many may not choose to sign you unless you offer something unique, like serving a geographic area that is not well currently served, or a demographic they are missing. "

 

 

This is a veerrryyyy true statement.

 

Good luck if you choose to persue.

 

Woo

[hef63303]

Retail golf shop-The quickest way to make a SMALL FORTUNE, provided you have a LARGE FORTUNE to start with.

[adamsstaff]

very difficult to open accounts in the beginning, Titleist and Ping are the toughtest to open. Contact customer service on their websites, and they can head you in the right direction. Callaway and taylormade are fairly easy to open, with the right credit references. 3rd tier companies such as nickent, adams, mizuno, sonartec, etc. are much easier. Unfortunately they will be a small portion of your buisness. Margins are very slim. rougly 28-30% on hard goods.

 

GOOD LUCK!!

[oregongolf]

very difficult to open accounts in the beginning, Titleist and Ping are the toughtest to open. Contact customer service on their websites, and they can head you in the right direction. Callaway and taylormade are fairly easy to open, with the right credit references. 3rd tier companies such as nickent, adams, mizuno, sonartec, etc. are much easier. Unfortunately they will be a small portion of your buisness. Margins are very slim. rougly 28-30% on hard goods.

 

GOOD LUCK!!

In my experience, it's pretty easy for a green grass shop to open a Titleist and Nike account. You can usually start with some sort of ball/glove type of thing (COD-type of stuff).

 

I'll agree that Ping is particularly sticky.

[Carolina Golfer 2]

Adams staff pretty much hit it on the head. Almost all of them will require you to have an existing shop, most if nto all will not sell to an internet only account. Many of them will require a lot of financials on you, or put you on a COD basis. This is even assuming they consider you as an account. Best first step is contact the TM local rep for your area, you can probably find him at a demo day in the area soon. Don't try and talk to him too much about it at the demo day, he's there to sell clubs...but maybe set up a time to buy him breakfast or lunch one day and go from there. I say TM, because obviously you have an affinity for them and he'll see that and be somewhat inclined to talk to you.

[Slapjax7s]

Depending on where you are and if you can sell large quanities..even if your a millionair, your going to get a small credit line until they see there products going out the door. Call up customer service, they can certainly connect you to credit departments and send you all the info to fill out. Just gotta keep in mind how many big retailers ar out there taking a huge market of your business.

 

good luck

[in the red]

If you want to have a business, i suggest being known as the best custom fitter in the area. A few years back i knew a man who had a very sucessful golf retail business because he was the best. He reshafted, refinished, and anything else you needed better than anyone in the area. he was very well known for also building very high-end custom clubs. It was funny, when you saw a good golfer with a "knock-off" set of irons, you knew exactly where they came from, and some were with very high end products. He also turned his business into a "hang-out" of sorts. Go to his shop, sit on the couch, talk golf, he always had a few TV's on playing old masters, us opens, etc. in black-and-white. He did all of his club work in plain sight, so you could watch him do all the work on your clubs, and then even test them out in one of his two hitting nets (which were also fully recorded and viewable on his computer). Imagine a golfwrx forum in person... Unfortunatly a few years ago he passed away from cancer, his business was sold and now it struggles and may even be closed. It takes a big commitment to provide the necessary service to successfully run such a facility. If its something you really love and plan on being commited to, then do it.

 

To answer your original question: i don't know, i'd guess that when you got 1 or 2 companies, others would be willing to do business... if you can't get the big boys, specialize on having a good selection of some of the less heard of equipment... you never know what company will come out with the next "big thing."

[labillyboy]

I was a mfg. sales rep and regional manager for several years for one of the majors.

 

I concur with most of what has been said above.

 

If you don't have an established business, you won't get product from any of the majors. They will not open accounts for internet only businesses.

 

Your best bet is a green grass shop to get product, but green grass shops normally don't get the traffic to do enough volume to survive. I watched quite a few guys lose their shirts while I was in the golf business.

 

The only guys driving Mercedes were the Korean and Japanese guys who were buying 100's of sets of irons and shipping them (against company policy) to Asia. I don't know if that is still going on as I have been out of the business for over 10 years. It was actually the only way I made a lot of money at it.

 

I am VERY happy to be out of the golf business and way ahead finacially too.

 

If you HAVE to do it, see if you can get the management contract at a local muni to run the shop. This way you will not have to start from scratch and should be able to retain all the major lines.

 

Good luck!