Over a Decade Ago
In early 1997, GigaGolf was a concept that developed out of a vacancy in the golf equipment market. At that time, much as it is today, there were several major brands that made high quality branded golf equipment sold through golf pro-shops and high end retailers. Callaway, Taylor Made, Titleist and Ping held more than 90% of the premium golf club market. Quality equipment endorsed by tour pros and sold at a premium price.
Affordable Quality
The budget end of the market consisted of low end golf equipment sold largely through mass merchandisers and department stores. Knight, Northwestern, and several others assembled golf clubs for this mass market. Prices were what you would expect to find at department stores. Even when quality materials were used to construct the component heads, the shafts chosen were typically price driven. Therefore, commercial quality shafts and grips were almost always used to maintain margins while keeping prices low. There had to be a way to offer quality golf clubs at affordable prices.
Golfers Serving Golfers
Our first task was to assemble a team of dedicated professionals with expertise in golf club design, custom fitting, manufacturing operations and customer service. One common trait of all the original GigaGolf partners, and those hired since is a love and passion for the game of golf. We truly are golfers serving golfers.
How to Brand
The market for golf clubs was in no short supply of competition. We knew to be successful we would have to offer a unique value proposition. Traditional retail channels would be next to impossible to penetrate due to the entrenched brands already filling the shelves. Several well-financed brands have attempted to spend their way into the golf equipment market. Zevo, Orlimar and Yes Golf are a few of the companies that spent millions upon millions on advertising and R&D with disastrous results. It was not that the products they designed and manufactured were of poor quality nor were their "technological advancements" without merit. Part of the answer lies in the power of marketing and brand appeal. We are all busy with perhaps more decisions to make than ever before. Branding makes these decisions easier. "the little voice in the back of your head that says "Tiger plays it" or "Everyone in my foursome plays Callaway" is a powerful persuader. It is not everyone who is willing to dig a little deeper, research a little more and uncover a true value.
Build On Proven Technology
We believed that there was a significant opportunity to engineer, manufacture and successfully sell high quality golf equipment if we could correctly fit the clubs to the customer's physical stature and playing ability. Our job would be to keep up with the proven golf technology and then make that technology better by tailoring it to the player. We also knew our clubs would have to be priced right. Selling direct to the customer was the obvious answer. Traditional catalogs and even GigaGolf stores were considered as possible direct channels of distribution. We agreed that an Internet based store made the most sense. The Internet would allow us to build a dynamic application that could essentially allow our customers to custom build their golf clubs online. Our first version of GigaGolf.com was launched in 1999. Six months later, we moved into our 2nd manufacturing facility, GigaGolf has moved and expanded twice since.
Success Story
More than 10 years after it was founded, GigaGolf, Inc's customer base is over 100,000. Our website generates over 1 million hits per day. Our production facility manufactures thousands of clubs per month for golfers all over the globe. As golfers we sincerely appreciate the opportunity to work in the sport we love. If you decide to put your faith in GigaGolf to build your next set of clubs, we promise to exceed your expectations both in the quality of the product and the level of customer service you receive when making your purchase. We are confident that you will be happy enough to tell your friends; our business depends on it.
