PING Collection has announced it is to move to the headquarters of its parent company, Umbro International, in Cheadle.
The decision to close its subsidiary office in Lancaster and move into Umbro’s office in Cheadle is part of a major drive by the licence holder to maximise sales of the PING Collection throughout the UK and Europe.
PING Collection staff will move to Cheadle in March at a time when the brand is proving more popular than it has ever been before. The company says that its Spring/Summer 2002 PING Collection has been greeted with universal acclaim and plans are already afoot to expand and develop its range of rain suits, windshirts, sweatshirts, polo shirts and knitwear into winter 2002 and beyond.
“There is no doubt that the move makes sound business sense,” said PING Collection’s managing director, Anthony Little. “It is all about focus and prioritising our business objectives. The decision was made for efficiency reasons and will allow the existing team to focus purely on PING Collection and build on its successes to date.”
PING Collectiont is expanding its sales force to deal with increased demand. Former Ladies European Tour pro, Claire Brown, has already been signed up to handle sales in Scotland and the North East of England.
The company has appointed Golf Marketing Services as its marketing and advertising agency in the UK and Europe. GMS also handles the accounts of PING hardware, as well as a number of other leading golf brands. The fact that GMS now handles both PING and PING Collection means that it is in a unique position to maximise publicity for the two PING brands.
“These are exciting times for us,” said Little. “The PING Collection has developed significantly since we obtained the license in 1999 and we feel sure it will soon become Europe’s leading golf apparel brand.”
PING Collection will be operating out of its new offices at Umbro House, Lakeside, Cheadle, Cheshire SK8 3GQ (Tel: 0161 492 2000) from March 25th.
Further details about the move and the company’s PING Collection are available from Neil Gray at GMS on 01438 718399 (neil@gms.ms) or from Jemma Philips at PING Collection on 01524 382251 (jemma_phillips@pingcollection.co.uk).