Posted On: September 1, 2017 by ClubProcure in: Clubhouse Pro Shop
The golf world has seen many changes since Heritage Golf Group’s three Hilton Head Island courses; Port Royal Golf and Racquet Club, Shipyard Golf Club and Oyster Reef Golf Club joined VGM Club in 2005. Those changes forced clubs to be innovative, especially when it came to merchandising.
Fast forward to February 2017. VGM Club is ready to announce an official partnership with YETI®. The innovative, fast-growing cooler company out of Austin, Texas was looking for a chance to reach the golf market. This was exactly the type of innovative product that would appeal to clubs and their patrons.
Heritage Golf Group’s director of merchandising, Madeline Duncan thought so too. Madeline and Heritage Golf Group was an early adopter of the YETI® program, and she recently sat down with us to talk about their success.
How did you learn about VGM Club and the YETI® program?
“We’ve been partners with VGM Club for many years. Amy McClean-Ragsdale [Director of Member Development, National Accounts] knew I was coming out for the PGA Show in Orlando, and mentioned YETI® was joining as a supplier.” Madeline was interested in bringing a product like YETI® into her shops. She watched as knock-off brands began popping up around the island – and it made her a little apprehensive to adopt a top of the line product like YETI®.
Once at the PGA Show, Madeline was one of the small group of buyers invited to the YETI® presentation. She walked away from it incredibly impressed. “YETI® only invited about 35 people, which was nice because they kept it very exclusive. Just the presentation about their product and how they got started, and what their materials are made of, it was all so impressive.”
Starting with YETI®
“We were a little hesitant because we didn’t know what it was going to take. There are so many knock-offs on the island, and so much business too. We didn’t know how people would respond to YETI’s pricing.”
Nonetheless, Madeline thought back to the presentation and had countless conversations with their contact at YETI®.
“They helped us put an order together and they were very flexible. YETI® allowed us to mix colors instead of having a full case of the same color, and they were very suggestive and supportive with what we should try for an opening order.”
Jordan Gaston, store merchandiser at Shipyard Golf Club tested an assortment of products, including the YETI® Rambler in three different sizes and with different styles and colors, including logos at Hilton Head’s Shipyard Golf Club site. “When we checked the sales of each, much to our surprise, we found that all of them were selling extremely well.”
However, Heritage Golf didn’t stop there. They continued to add YETI® products to her club, including T-shirts, trucker hats, coolers, and bottle openers.
The Pricing Strategy
“What we originally did is marked our prices based on the YETI® website. When we saw that people weren’t even flinching, we went back a month ago and raised everything a few more dollars to add flexibility.” Madeline asked her team to inform her of any resistance due to the pricing. They received none!
“Their approach is quality not quantity. We feel honored that we get to put YETI® products in our shops.”
Marketing Strategy
Jordan Gaston created a display and cart signs to better market their offerings at Shipyard Golf Club. This has undoubtedly caught the attention of her customers and it has certainly helped with sales. Between YETI’s exceptional product and the club’s creative marketing, sales had nowhere to go but up, and it has been a fantastic experience for Heritage Golf and the Hilton Head Island clubs.
Educating the staff
At Heritage Golf Collection, we educate our employees on every product to equip them with the tools to answer any question a customer may have.
“We educate our staff really well on why YETI® is more expensive, why it is such a great product, and why the knock-offs do not compare. The last thing we want is for a customer to ask a question and have our staff not be able to answer it. YETI® often sells itself, but we can get additional revenue if people are talking it up.”
Summary
Constant innovation is an essential component to success. VGM Club would not be around today if we didn’t consistently strive to grow and update our offerings, just like Heritage Golf Club. Signing a program with YETI® was important because we knew forward-thinking merchandisers, like Madeline and her team, could take this program and run with it.
Because of Heritage’s forward thinking, Shipyard Golf Club just placed their fourth re-order, while Port Royal Golf and Racquet Club and Oyster Reef Golf Club are both on their second.
“I really attribute a lot of this to Amy, for getting us in on the ground floor. We’re standing out because we’ve got the real thing.”
For more information about YETI® contact your local VGM Club rep, or visit their supplier page here.
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