Last week’s Golf Innovation Show at Celtic Manor was the platform from which American Golf officially launched its 2018 Partnership Programme. Over the last few years the make-up of American Golf’s portfolio has changed dramatically with more than 50% of the business’s estate now sitting at golf venues. The company aims to boost this figure in the coming year through the introduction of a tiered Partnership Programme, details of which were revealed at the Show.
Retail is traditionally one of the most time consuming and expensive aspects of golf facility ownership. American Golf’s Head of Financial Planning, Andrew Moseley, told delegates at the show that in some cases owner / operators are spending 80% of their time managing a shop that, on average, only returns 10% of the site’s overall profit. By working in partnership, the sites opting to work with American Golf free up this time to focus on their core business. Other immediate benefits include a revamp to the current shop, improved cash flow from the sale of existing stock to American Golf and bypassing responsibility for existing staff to American Golf through TUPE legislation.
The new Partnership strategy offers a range of retail solutions to cater for the varied locations in which golf is played, as Elliott Fleming, Head of New Business at American Golf explains, “We know that in golf, one size does not fit all. We treat each new potential site individually. When we do our initial site visits we are looking at a range of factors, but the most successful partnerships are ones where there is already an active golf community. Our aim is to enhance your business by creating a bespoke retail solution that best fits your site.”
Kelly Lowe, Finance & Sales Director from Malkins Bank Golf Club joined Elliot and Andrew on the stage to share her experience of working with American Golf. She explained that the benefits of working in partnership with American Golf over the last year have been extensive, “Customers love the shop and the staff have access to better training and opportunities than we could ever have offered them. We have been helped immensely by the support the American Golf team is able to offer, whether that’s from the HR, retail or even the marketing department. Their knowledge and experience compliments our own and that has been invaluable.”
Facilities who are interested in find out more about the opportunities available should email partnering@americangolf.co.uk