Duca del Cosma has appointed Leslie Hepsworth as its new Managing Director in the UK & Ireland as part of an expansion programme that will also see new offices and a showroom open in Essex early next year.
Hepsworth, the former President of Srixon in Europe, who spent 16 years building the Japanese brand in the UK, is returning to the sector having once managed the golf shoe category for Hi-Tec, the company previously owned by Duca del Cosma Chairman Frank van Wezel.
The new structure also sees Tony Eccleston, who re-introduced Duca del Cosma to the UK and Ireland in 2017, promoted to become Sales Director for Europe’s biggest golf market.
“The Duca del Cosma brand has such a great potential, because it offers something completely different in terms of premium quality and looks in a congested and fast-changing marketplace,” said Hepsworth. “There has been massive investment in a fantastic product range using the finest materials to offer fashionable comfort on and off the course, so what we need now is long term retail partnerships to increase market share.
“With a commitment to invest in new UK offices and a showroom, we also intend to raise the brand profile and encourage greater levels of consumer demand and loyalty, as the brand has achieved in other markets across the world, including Asia and the USA. We have the best ever range of Duca del Cosma products at key price points to promote and sell next year, plus the team in place to support our customers in every respect,” he added.
Commenting on the appointment, Frank van Wezel said: “I’m delighted to team up again with Leslie, as he has the depth of golf industry experience needed for the brand’s next stage of development. I’m also pleased that after more than three years of hard work, Tony will be driving sales forward with our UK agents in a fiercely competitive market.”
Prior to his career with Srixon, where he led the brand to become a major player in the golf ball market and integrated Cleveland, Hepsworth worked with Adams as UK Sales Director and Wilson as European Sales Manager. He became a PGA professional while working at the Colnbrook Golf Centre near Slough.
Founded two decades ago, the Duca del Cosma brand now sells its golf shoes in more than 30 countries around the world.