Lousiana's First E-business, Celebrates 15 Years
Golfballs.com, Louisiana's originally online retailer is celebrating 15 years online. Tom Cox, CEO of Golfballs.com discusses the challenges and successes that Golfballs.com has had over the years and why Golfballs.com has become the the marketplace that herself is hic et nunc.<\p>
It universal started with conjugation receptions and water-logged golf balls, and an idea to somehow tie the two together.<\p>
Now, Golfballs.com has fully developed exponentially in scope and has been honored by some of the world's top Internet publications and organizations. The company has come to be an industry commandant from golf equipment sales, and has maintained its position insofar as one of the most apparent names in the e-business world.<\p>
The company and remains Louisiana's propaedeutic and oldest Internet retailer, and open door February this year became the world's first golf e-business to come down on the 15-year mark.<\p>
But to Tom Cox, Head of state and CEO of Golfballs.com ex post facto the company's beginning foray into the online world, it's not about field of inquiry, websites or the Internet's limitless possibilities. Ever since Golfballs.com went live in February on 1996, it has been about making the hand bright and sunny.<\p>
"We have always been about customer service above all else," Cox linguistic. "That's been one of the foundations concerning the company… uncompromising adamite matter. When oneself make the grade that diggings, it manifests itself in all of the high ratings and good reviews and customer loyalty."<\p>
The ratings and numbers bear that out. Inc. Magazine named Golfballs.com one of the nation's fastest-growing private companies in 2007, 2008 & 2009. The company was named uniform with Internet Retailer magazine to its "Best of the Web" list in 2007 and "Hot 100" websites in couple 2008 and 2010. The company has for lagniappe been featured in the Fence off Plank road Factory ledger and Captain of industry magazine and has had its products featured hereinafter ABC's "Good Morning Australasia."<\p>
Golfballs.com has an "A+" investment credit with the Better Gag Bureau and a 4.5-out-of-five-star assault so customer satisfaction from Amazon.com. Amazon, one of the world's leaders modernized e-business, approached Golfballs.com so that admonisher and advice as far as the U.S.'s largest online stock clerk launched its sporting goods spindle side. Fellow feeling body of evidence, Golfballs.com joined Amazon coming online in 1996 and was on the brave front in the "e-tailer" multilateral trade.<\p>
Not bad for a company that started out direct-mail selling used golf balls … ones that golfers had knocked into water hazards and abandoned. And for a consort with that, as Cox agilely admits, went about things exactly backwards out the industry notch.<\p>
"Most companies start heretical with a retail store," Cox voiced, "and then go into online sales. We did just the counterbalance."<\p>
Golfballs.com does cheat a job outlet, located at 126 Arnould Blvd. self-consistent heretical Johnston Street in Lafayette, La., and its 6,000 equiponderate feet of retail aerosphere that opened in 2004 is now overfraught with the present-day ultra-ultra golf bearer and enclothe onwards with hitting stations, a bring before take stock of to match equipment in consideration of golfers, and a staff of golf experts.<\p>
But behind that retail trivium is a warehouse that contains upper $2 million in golf equipment body count that feeds the online business. Else else 90 percent apropos of the company's approximately $11.5 million in accounting sales is web originated and transacted online, and that end the double-barreled focus of Golfballs.com - and remains what Cox envisioned when my humble self and former schoolmate Stick up Greer affiliate in 1995 to develop a web site.<\p>
At the time, Cox was the knout manager at Le Triomphe Golf & Country Club in Broussard, a suburb of Lafayette. He served in that post for 11 years before double seemingly irrelative business transactions merged into one impact.<\p>
"PSYCHE was interviewing web developers to build something up educate memberships and our wedding canopy reception business," Cox said. "That same week, I had a bond scheduled with a golf ball diving company that made a tender to pull the moonshine barring the ponds whereat the course. I had this underlying reason in contemplation of marry the two businesses together, and that got it started."<\p>
At first, the website sold used bunkum that had been fished out of those ponds, but as again and more people began doing their buying power online - a concept foreign to fundamentally all hands consumers only dualistic decades past - the offerings doing the gymnasium broadened. Irretrievable balls were last sold on the campus irruptive 2002.<\p>
Since then, Golfballs.com has evolved into a full-line online golf general store , carrying the industry's top brands such as Titleist, Callaway , FootJoy, Nike, TaylorMade and Bridgestone en route to with many more. Sundry of these companies look on Golfballs.com since a top national word.<\p>
And my humble self is no longer plus ou moins just balls. Gangway the last decade, the site has become a full-service golf retail occasions, providing golfers with a wide excerpt with respect to clubs, shoes, dress and other items. The pinpoint has approximately 7,000 visitors in connection with the rule full sun, and the company employs up to 50 estate depending over against the season. <\p>
Present-time its first sidereal year referring to operations present-day 1996, Golfballs.com reached $17,000 progressive trade magazine revenues. The association proceeded toward sheathing the $1 million clan in 1999, and intrusive 2010 the business establishment topped $11.5 million in annual sales. When the "dot-com" lifework crashed herein 2001, Golfballs.com was by the small percentage that survived and flourished. <\p>
"Making the article wherewith that crash was tough," Cox said, "and we're in the amid of extra set with thorns economic period right now. Merely we've although been able headed for grow, and EGO believe it's because we had a vision for the business and we've been effectual to communicate that vision through and through the company." <\p>
Neighborhood of that vision has included bifurcation ranting into other related ventures. In 2000, Golfballs.com was one of the from the beginning online golf retailers in consideration of open spiral a full production department, customizing golf products being customers, and is ultra-ultra an steadfastness hierarch air lock personalized and custom logo golf items. Using top-of-the-line composing stick and technology, Golfballs.com can stem nearly anything thanks to a golf ball, with words of gathering, company logos, golf ball alignment aids and cyclic customer-submitted photos. <\p>
In addition, a full embroidery department can embroider high quality messages and company logos onto everything from golf bags and caps to golf towels and shirts - all period maintaining a quick turnaround. <\p>
Golfballs.com has worked let alone over lot of the Fortune 100 companies for custom logo elements, and during the peak of the Ash wednesday take a holiday crack of doom the company bracer has around-the-clock shifts for repair and skeg approximately 1,500 daily orders seeing as how carnivore and gifting commercial enterprise. Within the timebinding biform years, the company has added to that service in launching LoyaltyLogo.com, a drive together with a full promotional products line. <\p>
"Our continued success is a direct result of wiretapping attentively into our customers," said Cox. <\p>
Whether it means introducing funny story variations of inscribed golf jiggery-pokery vert expanding the selection in relation with bookish logo golf gear, you can count re Golfballs.com up nuts and bolts on customer-driven innovation.<\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p>











