Company profile Hunting for ‘no returns’


With eight years under its belt and an established brand in the electric golf trolley market, PowerBug is aiming for the Holy Grail of no faulty trolleys being sent back. With Rob Hunt at the helm, it looks as if the company’s getting there


of electric trolley specialist, PowerBug, he was busy preparing for Saltex 2011, an event that Hunt describes as “probably one of the largest exhibitions for greenkeepers in the UK”. He admits that although it is not a trade show and it will be the first time PowerBug will be exhibiting, since it is literally across the river from where the company HQ is based and his brand will be the only electric golf trolley represented, this makes it too good an opportunity to miss out on. And Hunt is not a


W


businessman who likes to miss out on a good opportunity. As a mature member of


the electric trolley market who offers a premium quality electric golf trolley at an affordable price with exceptional after-sales customer service, Hunt is keen give pros and the general public the opportunity to “make a balanced decision on quality, service and price”. He points out that while


other established brands might have an issue with dealing with exhibiting their products at trade events next to PowerBug products: “I don’t have a problem with the public and retailers viewing products side-by-side. Our offer is easily comparable quality-wise with more expensive brands”. The prices of the products


speak for themselves. The recommended retail price for a standard lead acid powered PowerBug (PowerBug Sport) is £250; the ProSport (the ‘pro’s choice’) is £299 while the


32


hen Pro-Shop caught up with Rob Hunt, managing director


ProSport Lithim (PowerBug’s flagship trolley) is £450. How did Hunt get involved in


the electric golf industry? “I’ve been involved with


electro-mechanical devices since leaving school,” recalls the MD, who as a typical engineer is extremely precise about everything. “My business path started


in 1979 at 12.30 on 21 June when I established a hardware distribution company. It grew exponentially to become a regional distributor of hardware (rather than a national distributor) covering the SE of UK. I subsequently sold it and was then asked to look after a company that manufactured power supply units,” recalls Hunt. “I was appointed MD of the company to re-position the brand as far as price points were concerned and reposition the manufacturing platform from the UK to Asia; which I did. “During the period, in 1979


these were the embryonic days of the Chinese market expanding into the supply chain of Europe. I met some young and energetic Chinese people and one in particular became extremely successful. Using my contacts, I was able to help my electronics manufacturing company successfully relocate their manufacturing platform and when that was in position, I left to look at a developing manufacturer of electric golf trolleys. I was introduced to the manufacturer and worked with them for a period of time and the net result was the PowerBug trolley.” The greatest challenge for


Hunt has been to overcome the


‘returns’ issue that every club pro dreads, i.e. when customers ‘return’ electric trolleys that have developed a fault. Proudly, the MD says that Powerbug’s returns rate is the lowest in the industry. “I come from an environment


where boomerangs are not acceptable and I felt it was our mission to achieve as close a zero return rate as possible. I’ve been involved with the automotive


industry where the quality and returns criteria mean that anything over 1% failure rate is frowned upon. “Most of our returns are


battery related with 1.5% coming back to us within 12 months with the vast majority of complaints relating to lead acid batteries.” With the development of


lithium batteries, the MD says he expects the returns rate to halve resulting in them being below 0.75%. Why are PowerBug’s offerings


so much more competitive? “We have solid financial


foundations and we have a different way of supplying the market. We haven’t exposed ourselves to the credit crunch. Instead, we’ve grown our company in a very manageable way and therefore maintained our price integrity. We also place great emphasis on our after-sales service,’ explains Hunt. An example of this attention


to details is the company’s customer helpline that is


printed on each trolley’s battery tray. “We try to get the message over to our distributors that when presenting the product, they should identify the customer helpline number to customers so they have an option to talk to us directly or return to the point of sale. I don’t think other companies do that.” The secret of PowerBug’s


journey to the success it enjoys today boils down to four factors. These comprise (a)


gaining a good knowledge of your subject (including understanding ‘the black art of lead acid manufacturing’), (b) sourcing your elements, including lithium cells and trolley frames, from blue chip suppliers, (c) keeping the design simple (‘By building in too much functionality, you design in more things that have the potential to go wrong’) and (d) offering a quality product at an affordable price along with an after-sales service that Hunt says is ‘second to none’.


Pro Shop Europe September 2011


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