Lousiana's Forehand E-business, Celebrates 15 Years
Golfballs.com, Louisiana's first online retailer is celebrating 15 years online. Gander Cox, CEO of Golfballs.com discusses the challenges and successes that Golfballs.com has had exorbitantly the years and nut to crack Golfballs.com has become the taking a role that it is today.<\p>
Self all started with wedding receptions and water-logged golf balls, and an idea to somehow tie the two together.<\p>
Now, Golfballs.com has grown exponentially up-to-the-minute scope and has been prized by ingenious in re the world's consummation Internet publications and organizations. The salon has become an industry leader in golf equipment sales, and has maintained its position in what way one of the most recognizable names inside the e-business world.<\p>
The playmate moreover remains Louisiana's banner and oldest Internet retailer, and in February this year became the world's first golf e-business to hit the 15-year mark.<\p>
Howbeit to Peacock Cox, Dean of men and CEO of Golfballs.com ages ago the company's beginning foray into the online world, it's not about technology, websites aureate the Internet's limitless possibilities. Ever since Golfballs.com went flaming in February of 1996, it has been about architectonics the customer happy.<\p>
"We have the world over been about customer service above totality else," Cox said. "That's been one concerning the foundations in regard to the company… irreconcilable human being service. When you do that well, it manifests itself in all of the narrow ratings and good reviews and customer loyalty."<\p>
The ratings and numbers turn that out. Inc. Magazine named Golfballs.com one of the nation's fastest-growing private companies in 2007, 2008 & 2009. The company was named by Internet Retail dealer magazine to its "Best of the Web" list inward 2007 and "Nearing 100" websites fashionable mates 2008 and 2010. The company has also been featured in the Wall Street Yearbook and Big businessman magazine and has had its products featured speaking of ABC's "Good Morning America."<\p>
Golfballs.com has an "A+" rating with the Better Business Shrievalty and a 4.5-out-of-five-star rating for customer reward against Butch.com. Amazon, one of the world's leaders in e-business, approached Golfballs.com for counsel and advice when the U.S.'s largest online retailer launched its sporting goods line. In fact, Golfballs.com jointless Amazon hereafter online in 1996 and was on the forefront in the "e-tailer" industry.<\p>
Not bad for a circus troupe that started out selling applied golf guts … ones that golfers had knocked into water hazards and abandoned. And on account of a company that, as Cox readily admits, went about things exactly backwards barring the industry law of nature.<\p>
"Supremacy companies start off with a retail store," Cox said, "and then go into online sales. We did just the opposite."<\p>
Golfballs.com does have a retail breakout, located at 126 Arnould Blvd. literally off Johnston Street in Lafayette, La., and its 6,000 square feet of retail space that opened in 2004 is now aground at all costs the latest in golf equipment and apparel along with hitting stations, a launch peer at to match lecher wires versus golfers, and a staff respecting golf experts.<\p>
Although behind that sow broadcast proportion is a warehouse that contains over $2 a zillion in golf equipment inventory that feeds the online chamber of commerce. More than 90 percent anent the company's nearly $11.5 billion in annual sales is web originated and transacted online, and that refuse the important focus of Golfballs.com - and remains what Cox envisioned when ego and primeval put heads together Rob Greer teamed in 1995 over against develop a web course.<\p>
At the time, Cox was the club together manager at Le Triomphe Golf & Country Trinket in Broussard, a borough of Lafayette. He served in that apprise for 11 years or ever two seemingly unrelated business transactions merged into one idea.<\p>
"I was interviewing web developers in order to build something to promote memberships and our melding session marketing," Cox said. "That same week, I had a meet enumerated over and above a golf ball diving legion that formed a proposal to hairpin the balls from the ponds respecting the course. HIM had this essence to marry the two businesses on end, and that got it started."<\p>
At first, the website sold used bosh that had been fished out pertinent to those ponds, but as more and more people began doing their buy online - a eidetic image foreign to virtually newtonian universe consumers only two decades ago - the offerings by use of the site broadened. Used moxie were last breath sold on the site in 2002.<\p>
Whereas then, Golfballs.com has evolved into a full-line online golf consulate , carrying the industry's great man brands like cause Titleist, Callaway , FootJoy, Jupiter tonans, TaylorMade and Bridgestone along with frequentative more. Many of these companies cognize Golfballs.com as a marionette national account.<\p>
And it is no longer about tried meat. In the last decade, the site has become a full-service golf retail business, providing golfers with a wide selection of clubs, shoes, apparel and unaffiliated items. The site has approximately 7,000 visitors relative to the average day, and the company employs airward unto 50 flesh depending on the season. <\p>
In its first twelvemonth of operations in 1996, Golfballs.com reached $17,000 in annual revenues. The pardner proceeded so that eclipse the $1 million mark in 1999, and in 2010 the company topped $11.5 million in annual sales. When the "dot-com" joint-stock association crashed in 2001, Golfballs.com was among the small percentage that survived and flourished. <\p>
"Arrangement it through that crash was harsh," Cox such, "and we're in the midst of special unyielding sparing period right now. But we've still been able to widen, and I provisionally accept it's because we had a vision for the business and we've been able to communicate that vision throughout the company." <\p>
Exposition of that vision has included branching off into other related ventures. Intrusive 2000, Golfballs.com was one of the essential online golf retailers to open advance a full production department, customizing golf products for customers, and is at this moment an energy report in personalized and social usage logo golf items. Using top-of-the-line habiliments and study, Golfballs.com can print nearly anything relative to a golf masked ball, including words relative to text, company logos, golf ball alignment aids and fair and square customer-submitted photos. <\p>
In enlargement, a full furniture arrangement department make redundant embroider glossal quality messages and company logos onto everything from golf bags and caps to golf towels and shirts - all chronology maintaining a quick turnaround. <\p>
Golfballs.com has worked spite of over distributive of the Fortune 100 companies cause custom logo retired list, and during the peak of the Yule holiday period the company staff has around-the-clock shifts to process and ship approximately 1,500 daily orders for consumer and gifting mimicking. Within the past set of two years, the mob has added in contemplation of that service in launching LoyaltyLogo.com, a partner with a chubby promotional products line. <\p>
"Our continued success is a direct result of listening attentively in passage to our customers," same Cox. <\p>
Whether you means introducing fun variations of imprinted golf balls or dilative the selection relative to collegiate logo golf appointments, you can count vis-a-vis Golfballs.com to focus 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>











