headtohead
Back behind the wheels
PowaKaddy and Hill Billy have returned to ownership under John de Graſt -Johnson and David Catford. We hear about the plan ahead from de Graſt -Johnson
W
hat is the history of your involvement with PowaKaddy and Hill Billy? I fi rst became involved in PowaKaddy as
managing director in 1991 when the brand was at a crossroads. Over the next 13 years we took the lead in transforming the electric trolley market by changing the perceptions of the golf consumer. We positioned the electric trolley as an essential piece of equipment for a serious golfer, as opposed to something only senior golfers with bad knees would use. With PowaKaddy we fuelled that demand by
introducing contemporary designs, backed with robust engineering and eye-catching marketing programmes. Hill Billy joined the PowaKaddy stable in 2000; a
great brand with an extremely loyal customer base that appreciated no-frills functionality, durability and great value for money. By bringing the brands together we benefi ted from cost effi ciencies and operational synergies, to maximise the potential of both brands. We sold the business in 2004 with sales, market
share and brand popularity at an all-time high. Now I am delighted to be back alongside David Catford. David, our CEO, has vast experience in the electric trolley business both at PowaKaddy and as one of the original creators of Hill Billy. We believe we can really make a diff erence here again.
Can your foresee any major changes operationally from your headquarters in Kent? As you would expect we are reviewing every single part of the business over the next few months, but one thing is for sure; we have a great British heritage and a long history in Kent. We have been building electric trolleys here for nearly 30 years and I have no doubt that will continue for many years.
How is the chain between PowaKaddy and golf retailers set to change? In terms of sales and customer service the message in the short term is simple – business as usual. Our sales team has corresponded with every single PowaKaddy account providing details of the new ownership and re-iterating that all warranties are valid from the previous ownership. Of course as part of our business review we will look at ways of improving our proposition with our retail partners in terms of products, programmes and service. We acknowledge that there have been some challenges over the last few years and we aim to make improvements as quickly as possible.
24 SGBGOLF
ROLLING ON: PowaKaddy’s PK Sport has an ergonomic, soft-grip handle with a built-in, ambidextrous speed control roller, combined with an LCD display screen. It has a three-way folding mechanism and the aluminium frame comes in three colours. RRP FROM £429
What are your plans for future growth of PowaKaddy and Hill Billy? We are extremely excited about the future. When you look at the facts we are in an extremely strong position. The electric trolley market continues to grow – in the UK it is the most popular form of golf club transportation amongst regular golfers – more popular than pull carts or carrying. According Sports Marketing Surveys Inc.’s very latest consumer survey, more than half of regular golfers who own an electric trolley have a PowaKaddy – we have an incredibly loyal following built up over four decades. Put the legions of Hill Billy fans alongside that and we have two of the three dominant brands in the marketplace. Add to the mix the incredible support we get from our retail partner base and that is not a bad starting point for a new plan.
“THE ELECTRIC TROLLEY MARKET CONTINUES TO GROW – IN THE UK IT IS THE MOST POPULAR FORM OF GOLF CLUB TRANSPORTATION AMONGST REGULAR GOLFERS – MORE POPULAR THAN PULL CARTS OR CARRYING”
What can you tell us about how the PK and HB product lines will evolve in the near future? It is very early days and the product development timeline is a relatively long one but we have started the process on formulating a new long-term product plan. We had some new iterations of current products in the pipeline anyway for 2013 but we are already looking beyond that as we look to re-invigorate the brands over the next few years. The starting position for all our products will remain
true to the core values that built the brands in the fi rst place – great quality, outstanding functionality, top class performance and excellent service.
www.powakaddy.com
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