FIELDREPORT
the last six months has been taken up testing brand new products. “We will have two significant product launches coming later in the
spring,” he confides, “one higher-end and one lower-end. It’s all a bit under wraps just now but both new products will be based on increased functionality. One area we have looked at is communication between handsets and units. We’ve made our name in remote controlled product, so we will always be looking to push the envelope here.” While Stewart Golf’s route to market is changing in the UK, it is also changing in Europe. From 2014, the brand has decided to cut out the middleman, ditching its network of distributors and selling more directly to retail.
models to make things cheaper and easier for Continental purchasers, including setting up foreign language websites. “We now have Stewart
golf.eu, a mirror of the UK site but that has multi-language capability. European customers can go to that site, or the
.co.uk version, Amazon, American Golf or wherever and order our product. I believe it is a more sustainable way of doing it, because shipping around Europe is so quick and cheap these days that you are not restricted to your local market anymore.”
Stewart admits the effects of this change are yet to be realised, as the brand waits for those new products to launch before targeting European retailers. He does, however, believe their agreement with Amazon, struck some six months ago, shows the way forward.
“The driving force for this is the simple fact that European retail prices are considerably higher than in the UK and have been for ages,” Stewart says. “By cutting out the costs of distribution, we can pass on savings to the customer. Our X7, for example, retails in the UK for £999, which is about 1200 Euros. Through distributors, prices have been up at 1800 to 2000 Euros; this year we will be selling it for 1350, just a little over UK prices to cover things like additional warranty costs and a little extra transportation.”
This inequality in prices between UK and Europe is no new issue, and Stewart points out that several big UK retailers are changing business
“Amazon stock our product in Germany and France as well as the UK, and send out orders from there. It’s created a big jump in our European business, but in the next 12 months I foresee really significant growth. Our pricepoint is going to be much more competitive but it also gives us the flexibility to deal with who we like. I can see us growing our European business many, many times.”
www.stewartgolf.co.uk SGBGOLF 17
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