FIELDREPORT
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Stewart Golf may be high-end remote-controlled powered trolley specialists, but a humble push trolley has played a leading role in their recently reported sales jump of 21%. CEO Mark Stewart explains to Duncan Lennard why, and also reveals the brand has opened more than 100 new trade accounts in the past 12 months
ast October, power bike specialist Kawasaki announced to the world they were launching their first ever scooter. While it’s hard to imagine the motorcycling fraternity frothing at the news, it was a move that made plenty of business sense. The J300 would be affordable, accessible and open the brand up to a whole new market. All arguments in favour of Stewart Golf’s Z3, a trolley that won’t go unless you push
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it and that, at £189, it is a full £2,311 cheaper than the gadget-stacked F1, the brand launched in 2008. “We are quite aware our reputation has been founded at the top end of the
powered, remote-controlled trolley market,” says CEO Mark Stewart. “But we were also aware our premium products in the X and F ranges cater to a small proportion of the market. We are no different from anyone else in terms of wanting to make our business bigger and more sustainable, and the Z series is helping us achieve those goals.” Well-balanced, stable, smooth and with a neat, simple folding mechanism, the smart Z3 is a gimmick-free trolley with a quality feel that masters all the basics. At £189, it is still aspirational within its arena – “just as the BMW 1-series is premium within its pricepoint,” Stewart adds. But the wider appeal of the trolley, revised from the Z1 in 2012, has also made a big difference to the way Stewart Golf conducts its business. “Since Stewart Golf was founded in 2003, we’ve tended to sell directly to the
public,” Stewart explains. “But 2013 was the first year we sold more product to the trade than we did directly. That’s a big shiſt for us.” Stewart admits it’s hard to say just how much of that can be attributed to the Z3. For
the past 18 months the brand has had Robert Hardie building its trade relationships, a move that has seen Stewart golf open up in excess of 100 trade accounts in the last 12 months. They have now taken Hardie on full-time as their first UK sales manager. “But the accessibility of the Z3 has certainly got us into retail, and the brand’s
visibility goes up,” Stewart adds. “Customers are becoming aware they can buy Stewart golf through shops.” Such improved exposure may help explain Stewart Golf’s claim of a 21% sales
growth for 2013’s Christmas run-in. The Z3 currently sits alongside the remote- controlled X7 Lithium (RRP £999) and flagship F1 Lithium (happily settled to £1,499) in the Stewart range. The brand’s engineering ethos and passion – and relative disinterest in marketing –
Stewart Golf CEO Mark Stewart 16 SGBGOLF
has meant a preference for revisions and improvements to all three, rather than a stream of sassy new names masking peripheral updates. The current F1 may have the same name as its 2008 launch incarnation, but today it features such luxuries as programmable cruise control, electronic launch control and LCD screen, and comes with a choice of integrated bags. Stewart, however, lets slip that much of his time over
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