Retailers and custom-fitters in the Midlands, North East, South West and East Anglia are being sought to help with the brand’s expansion.
UK sales of one of the world’s most prestigious golf brands still account for only a fraction of the company’s global sales, which are heavily skewed towards the Far East where the brand is much better known.
However, the brand has reported strong Q2 sales with a 35% UK sales increase in June 2014 year on year.
Since 2013’s introduction of the European-styled Tour World line, and with the addition of the more traditional S-03 range in 2014, the re-introduction of the Honma brand to the UK is well underway.
Like many similar luxury brands, Honma relies on word-of-mouth rather than advertising. Each club is hand-built to order in Japan, following an intensive custom-fitting process. Sets of irons start at £1,275, although orders totalling well over £15,000 are frequently placed as the brand runs a 2 Star to 5 Star grading system for its clubs, offering multiple options for shafts, materials and personalisation. A fully-loaded set of Honma 5 Star clubs can cost over £50,000, with a 5 Star driver priced at £5,095.
“With less than a dozen official stockists in the UK, some golfers currently face quite a journey to try our clubs” said the brand’s UK spokesman, Andy Hiseman. “This is particularly true for golfers in the Midlands, East Anglia, the South West and the North East, and we are particularly keen to meet potential retailers and custom-fitters from these areas, with a view to bringing the brand within a reasonable journey’s range for a fitting.
“We would of course also be delighted to talk to trade enquiries from all areas – particularly at Hoylake later this month.
“The last two weeks have seen a flurry of Honma orders placed at 3 Star level and beyond in the UK, with three different specialist Honma retailers each enjoying significant profits from those sales. If you are a golf retailer with a good number of high net worth individuals as customers – or if you have a strong relationship with good golfers who are seeking to spend a little more on improving their game – then taking on Honma is often a good idea, as once you have made a few sales the word-of-mouth as regards the clubs’ performance is always extremely positive, to say the least.”
Interested retailers can call Honma in the UK on 01226 781000, or by emailing andy@hiseman.com
Honma www.honma.co.uk