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News Commentary Opinion
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Any journalist receives press releases. Emails, faxes,
telephone calls from people with an agenda, usually to
get you to write something nice about their newest,
latest and greatest whatever. That’s OK though; they
have a job to do but frankly most of these epistles,
whatever form they take, get ignored, tossed, deleted
and waste canned.
Therefore when the news of a different approach to
retailing golf equipment popped up and particularly since
it didn’t have anything to do with the ubiquitous Internet
sales, the interest button was pushed.
Briefly Edwin Watts Golf, the 70+ store chain based in Ft.
Walton Beach, Fla., is trying a new retail model or at least
a new one for the golf business. They are opening a
“store-within-a-store” in 12 Sears locations around the
country starting in Murray, Utah May 31 followed by ones in
Hicksville, NY; Falls Church, Virginia; Friendswood, Texas
and ultimately eight others in Florida, Illinois, Kentucky,
Maryland and New York.
telephone calls from people with an agenda, usually to
get you to write something nice about their newest,
latest and greatest whatever. That’s OK though; they
have a job to do but frankly most of these epistles,
whatever form they take, get ignored, tossed, deleted
and waste canned.
Therefore when the news of a different approach to
retailing golf equipment popped up and particularly since
it didn’t have anything to do with the ubiquitous Internet
sales, the interest button was pushed.
Briefly Edwin Watts Golf, the 70+ store chain based in Ft.
Walton Beach, Fla., is trying a new retail model or at least
a new one for the golf business. They are opening a
“store-within-a-store” in 12 Sears locations around the
country starting in Murray, Utah May 31 followed by ones in
Hicksville, NY; Falls Church, Virginia; Friendswood, Texas
and ultimately eight others in Florida, Illinois, Kentucky,
Maryland and New York.
A new era for golf retailing?
By ED TRAVIS, Editor FrontPageGolf
April 29, 2010
By ED TRAVIS, Editor FrontPageGolf
April 29, 2010
This may qualify as a brilliant idea; at least someone in
golf equipment retail doing something besides running
a “sale” or pushing a “demo day.”
Edwin Watts CEO John Watson is quoted in the release,
“This first-of-its-kind partnership with Sears is a
significant development in the golf industry as it expands
the access of service-oriented golf retail to all levels of
golfers, while helping to drive new players to the game.”
He goes on about his company having a “strategic need
for mall-based retail” giving them “a new channel of
distribution” and a “national footprint,” which all may well
be true. The big story though is they are trying to reach
out to golf consumers in a unique way by partnering with
the fourth largest (3,900 stores) retail chain in the
country.
golf equipment retail doing something besides running
a “sale” or pushing a “demo day.”
Edwin Watts CEO John Watson is quoted in the release,
“This first-of-its-kind partnership with Sears is a
significant development in the golf industry as it expands
the access of service-oriented golf retail to all levels of
golfers, while helping to drive new players to the game.”
He goes on about his company having a “strategic need
for mall-based retail” giving them “a new channel of
distribution” and a “national footprint,” which all may well
be true. The big story though is they are trying to reach
out to golf consumers in a unique way by partnering with
the fourth largest (3,900 stores) retail chain in the
country.
By way of comparison Dick’s Sporting Goods, based in
Pittsburgh, Penn., does have “golf stores” within their
general sporting merchandise big box outlets which are
staffed by PGA Professionals but these are owned and
operated by Dick’s.
Edwin Watts in-store stores will be around 3,000
square feet, carry all the major golf brands just like a
stand alone Edwin Watts and be staffed with Edwin
Watts employees.
It would be great to see them successful and you can
be sure if they are their competitors will partner with
other retail chains, after all its worked at perfume
counters for years.
Pittsburgh, Penn., does have “golf stores” within their
general sporting merchandise big box outlets which are
staffed by PGA Professionals but these are owned and
operated by Dick’s.
Edwin Watts in-store stores will be around 3,000
square feet, carry all the major golf brands just like a
stand alone Edwin Watts and be staffed with Edwin
Watts employees.
It would be great to see them successful and you can
be sure if they are their competitors will partner with
other retail chains, after all its worked at perfume
counters for years.