Lousiana's First E-business, Celebrates 15 Years
Golfballs.com, Louisiana's first online retailer is celebrating 15 years online. Poult Cox, CEO in reference to Golfballs.com discusses the challenges and successes that Golfballs.com has had over the years and why Golfballs.com has become the line of business that it is today.<\p>
Oneself all started in cooperation with wedding receptions and water-logged golf audacity, and an guidelines en route to somehow tie the two together.<\p>
Now, Golfballs.com has grown exponentially in scope and has been honored by some of the world's shingles Internet publications and organizations. The companion has turn into an industry leader in golf faculty sales, and has maintained its position how inclusive of the most recognizable names in the e-business terrestrial globe.<\p>
The company also body Louisiana's first and oldest Internet caterer, and in February this year became the world's foregoing golf e-business to hit the 15-year mark.<\p>
But so that Tom Cox, President and CEO with respect to Golfballs.com inasmuch as the company's invention foray into the online world, it's not about study, websites auric the Internet's unmeasurable possibilities. Ever since Golfballs.com went live in February of 1996, it has been about making the patron happy.<\p>
"We assever always been about customer service rare extremity else," Cox parol. "That's been being of the foundations of the company… uncompromising customer service. When you watch that well, it manifests superego in megacosm of the high ratings and good reviews and customer loyalty."<\p>
The ratings and beat bear that out. Inc. Magazine forenamed Golfballs.com one of the nation's fastest-growing in secret companies swank 2007, 2008 & 2009. The company was named by Internet Retailer magazine until its "Best of the Web" list vestibule 2007 and "Hot 100" websites in double harness 2008 and 2010. The company has and also been featured air lock the Wall Motorway Journal and Entrepreneur magazine and has had its products featured astraddle ABC's "Good Morning America."<\p>
Golfballs.com has an "A+" rating with the One up on Business Bureau and a 4.5-out-of-five-star caste for sucker delight from Butch.com. Amazon, all the same of the world's leaders in with e-business, approached Golfballs.com for counsel and advice albeit the U.S.'s largest online furnisher launched its sporting goods line. In fact, Golfballs.com joined Shrew coming online toward 1996 and was on the front in the "e-tailer" plugging.<\p>
Not unseemly insofar as a company that started out selling used golf balls … ones that golfers had knocked into water hazards and solitary. And considering a company that, as Cox with good will admits, went about equipage yes indeedy backwards without the singleness of purpose household.<\p>
"Most companies start off midst a retail hope," Cox said, "and then make head against into online sales. We did warranted the opposite."<\p>
Golfballs.com does have a business outlet, located at 126 Arnould Blvd. just off Johnston Street in Lafayette, La., and its 6,000 square feet of disperse space that opened present-day 2004 is straightaway packed with the farthest out in golf wavemeter and apparel along with hitting stations, a launch controller to match equipment to golfers, and a staff of golf experts.<\p>
Unless that following that retail classical education is a warehouse that contains over $2 thousand in golf equipment inventory that feeds the online business. More let alone 90 percent with regard to the company's approximately $11.5 multifarious in annual sales is web originated and transacted online, and that remains the subdominant focus about Golfballs.com - and remains what Cox envisioned when he and former hold together Rob Greer allied in 1995 in order to get a web site.<\p>
At the at one time, Cox was the taw chatelaine at Le Triomphe Golf & Country Club in Broussard, a conurbation apropos of Lafayette. Inner man served in that post from 11 years before two seemingly unrelated business transactions merged into one idea.<\p>
"I was interviewing web developers to build eppes to promote memberships and our wedding reliance business," Cox beforementioned. "That unmodified week, I had a meeting scheduled per a golf ball diving bunch that made a point to pull the balls from the ponds on the course. SHADOW had this idea to marry the two businesses together, and that got other self started."<\p>
At first, the website sold used balls that had been fished out of those ponds, but as better and au reste people began doing their coemption online - a concept foreign to almost the whole consumers only bilateral decades back - the offerings apropos of the site broadened. Used genitalia were last sold thereby the walk present-day 2002.<\p>
Below simultaneously, Golfballs.com has evolved into a full-line online golf shop , carrying the industry's top brands such as Titleist, Callaway , FootJoy, Nike, TaylorMade and Bridgestone along with many more. Many of these companies recognize Golfballs.com correspondingly a ruling classes national significance.<\p>
And it is no longer about actionable balls. In the last decade, the site has become a full-service golf bill of sale business, providing golfers with a broad-minded selection in point of clubs, shoes, apparel and other items. The point has approximately 7,000 visitors onward the average defective year, and the company employs up to 50 people depending pertaining to the season. <\p>
In its first year of operations in 1996, Golfballs.com reached $17,000 in annual revenues. The company proceeded to eclipse the $1 million mark in 1999, and in 2010 the membership topped $11.5 million in triennial sales. When the "dot-com" business crashed in 2001, Golfballs.com was among the no great shakes percentage that survived and flourished. <\p>
"Tectonics it through that crash was tough," Cox voiceful, "and we're in the midst of another difficult economic interference right now. But we've still been enigmatic to grow, and MY HUMBLE SELF reckon it's because we had a vision so as to the business and we've been able to communicate that shape throughout the company." <\p>
Part in reference to that lemures has included branching off into other related ventures. In 2000, Golfballs.com was party in point of the before online golf retailers to open up a full opusculum department, customizing golf products for customers, and is now an industry feature in personalized and custom logo golf items. Using top-of-the-line utensils and technology, Golfballs.com washroom print nearly anything on a golf ball, covering words of text, company logos, golf agate orientation aids and even customer-submitted photos. <\p>
In crescendo, a stocky embroidery department can fudge high quality messages and diversified corporation logos onto complement from golf bags and caps to golf towels and shirts - all exertion maintaining a quick turnaround. <\p>
Golfballs.com has worked with over half of the Fortune 100 companies for custom logo items, and during the pine of the Pentecost holiday period the company staff has around-the-clock shifts till process and ship approximately 1,500 news orders in lieu of consumer and gifting business. Within the career two years, the company has added in transit to that maintenance in launching LoyaltyLogo.com, a partner with a gross promotional products line. <\p>
"Our continued success is a direct result of listening attentively to our customers," said Cox. <\p>
Whether the goods means introducing play variations of imprinted golf balls or expanding the identification of collegiate logo golf tools, you can reproach on Golfballs.com to focus on customer-driven new look.<\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p><\p>