Epon Golf's New Sales Policy

[jamnguy1]

Knowing your specs would also mean(to me) knowing wether blades are suitable or not and as I said above, even if you bought unsuitable equipment, how would that harm a Co.? People just sell them on

if it doesn't work for them. Most people's swings change over time, so their specs will alter, which is another reason why people change their equipment.

They they will still sell over the Internet to domestic customers...... So that invalidates their reasoning (IMHO). It's about something else.......

Not trying to start a conspiracy theory vut it doesn't add up.

Yup, I agree with this. Most dedicated players have been fitted many times. But I do agree that to reach the market that does not have access to the equipment itself, especially JDM stuff, TSG is the next best thing.

[jamnguy1]

The idea that "Club Fitting" by Specialists will enhance a Brand's image and sales is foolish. It has failed world wide with the exception of maybe Japan (i.e. Miura, whose "sales" are just petty cash to most OEM's). And, Miura North America just sells Clubs not Fitting...any clue's yet Epon?

Epon is an outstanding Golf Club Engineering and Manufacturing Company but no one has ever said they were smart. In my Corporate life, I have witnessed many attempts to control a marketplace with Specialized Marketing, Controlled Territories, Price Controls, etc. They all failed miserably and the people that implemented those Marketing Policies were all terminated. Epon's good intentions to control their Brand will now be blurred even more thru the underground world of Auction Sites. So sad and when they had a "quality" Company like TourSpecGolf to market their Brand world wide and help maintain the integrity of the name. Epon owes TSG a lot of money for the excellent Marketing and Distribution that they provided AND TSG honored all of Epon's requests for launch dates, etc while all the others "leaked" Epon's offerings everywhere.

To top it all off....Golf Equipment Sales are in the toilet and now this, Wow!! Good Luck Epon, I wish you well but sooner than later, you will be hiring a Marketing firm (for big $$$, Yen) to come in a help you find your way out of the Commerce Jungle you will find yourself in.

Yes, but I wouldn't question their business plan. Sales of their clubs are probably a small portions of what they make.

[idrive]

I was in Japan a couple of months ago,. and went to an authorized retailer for a fitting of epon,.. it was quite elaborate, and thorough. I know that the particular shop that I went to,. would not sell a blade to a person, if he thought a different epon model would suit him better, or vise versa, and the shaft really needs to suit the customers swing to get the best results of their product. ( woods, and irons ) Knowing your specs is only have the equation when doing a good fitting. So I guess I can see their point to a certain extent. Also from T's original post,. they are still selling via the internet in Japan,.just not outside of Japan. Will this hurt their total bottom line,. in my opinion, I doubt it. And besides, it's their product,. I suppose they can market it however they choose. Anyways, having to go to Japan to get a set of epons, is just another great excuse to go there, it is a blast, and well worth the money

Cheers,

Marty

Marty,

Maybe, maybe 1 out of a million will go to Japan for a fitting. Even if it's not about money it's about time....

The idea that "Club Fitting" by Specialists will enhance a Brand's image and sales is foolish. It has failed world wide with the exception of maybe Japan (i.e. Miura, whose "sales" are just petty cash to most OEM's). And, Miura North America just sells Clubs not Fitting...any clue's yet Epon?

Epon is an outstanding Golf Club Engineering and Manufacturing Company but no one has ever said they were smart. In my Corporate life, I have witnessed many attempts to control a marketplace with Specialized Marketing, Controlled Territories, Price Controls, etc. They all failed miserably and the people that implemented those Marketing Policies were all terminated. Epon's good intentions to control their Brand will now be blurred even more thru the underground world of Auction Sites. So sad and when they had a "quality" Company like TourSpecGolf to market their Brand world wide and help maintain the integrity of the name. Epon owes TSG a lot of money for the excellent Marketing and Distribution that they provided AND TSG honored all of Epon's requests for launch dates, etc while all the others "leaked" Epon's offerings everywhere.

To top it all off....Golf Equipment Sales are in the toilet and now this, Wow!! Good Luck Epon, I wish you well but sooner than later, you will be hiring a Marketing firm (for big $$$, Yen) to come in a help you find your way out of the Commerce Jungle you will find yourself in.

If I was wasn't so pissed off last night I might have been able to post what you've said here because it is spot on.

Oh well.

Epon will soon become "out of sight; out of mind".

No other company has promoted Epon in a more respectful and classy way than TSG has. For Epon to go and do this is simply wrong and a huge slap in the face to TSG and mostly to Chris.

This move is only designed to do one thing. Increase price for a line which is already out of the range of comfort for most golfers out there as it is. No doubt that Epon makes very quality equipment. However, most golfers (USA) aren't and don't pay these prices simply because they're not going to really see an improvement that justifies the cost. For myself who plays an Epon driver and 3-wood, I could easily find the same results in most any other line out there. So why do I play Epon? Its because the feel I receive from these clubs is unmatched. Also, Epon is one of the few that I've been able to special order specs. My driver is near 2 degrees open and a degree and half flat. Same for the three wood. This move is very disappointing to me. I'm one of those people that once you burn me, I don't usually come back. Up until this time I had been waiting for the new series of drivers to come out because I very much wanted to update with a new Epon. I guess that's now out of the picture. That's okay because there are many other brands from which to choose and to be quite honest any one of them really won't stop me from going out and shooting 75. I'm not on the tour, I don't play competatively anymore so really, scores don't matter much to me. Well what I mean is score to me is secondary. I've never played better than I do now but I'm what I call a "soul golfer". I play to play. Simply to see how well I can perform for myself. My equipment has never been better and I'm shooting scores which have never been better. My enjoyment during a round has never been higher. I attribute a lot of that to the equipment I play. Epon was a big part of that. If they chose to do this now, well they're choosing not to be a part of my bag. Oh well. In the last year I've golfed several times in Phoenix, all around the Los Angeles area even as far up as San Jose. I've yet to come across another player, playing Epon clubs. The line surely isn't growing and this move won't help to make it grow any further.

Truly a sad day for TSG, but, then again. . .

There will always be another brand on the horizon. Then again, if it all goes to crap, there are other sports out there. There's always something else.

Goodbye Epon, and good luck to you. You just might need it.

Another spot on reply. Epon is going to disappear. I'm willing to bet money their sales, outside of Japan are going to drop. Clubs and accessories.

Without TSG I would have never heard of and obviously bought an Epon product.

I could go buy a new car with the money I've spent on their clubs.

I've been bugging Chris for a new Driver, would have ordered at least one new set of irons, probably the 302's.

Not going to happen now.

.

Edited October 2, 2009 by idrive

[+TourSpecGolfer]

So does this mean "Goodsie" can sign up and be a retailer/fitter/builder??

Yes Mr. Goodsie is well qualified to recieve the full Epon account. Goodsie contact me and we can get your started!

[bogeydog]

I didn't catch this news until now. What a shock. I bet TSG is the sole and main reason that Epon even has a presence in the US. Bad move.

[gus]

Playing devils advocate; what about Epons loyalty to THEIR customers here (outside of Chris and TSG)? People who know what Epon product fits them and have spent lots of money through appropriate channels for years now; thats a shame and very bad business; sorry....BB

Edited October 2, 2009 by BigBen

[bogeydog]

Glad I found Yamaha 2 years ago. Too bad they are forged by Epon. Really I am in shock.

[marty]

Just an observation, but it is starting to sound a lot like a guy who was totally in love with his girlfriend, then she broke up with him,. now he thinks she is a whore,,.. Epon probably has over a hundred golf shops in Japan ( if not more ) carrying their products, and selling them on a daily basis,.... them losing one account is not going to bother them, as much as it does the members here on TSG,. Manufacturing clubs is like any other business. Their product, their choice

If this marketing decision didn't happen yesterday,. the bandwagon would still be full,. then again,.. just my observation

Cheers,

Marty

[idrive]

Marty,

I have to say that I really don't agree with you.

TSG serves far more people and reaches much further than losing "one account" in Japan.

Even in Japan Epon is not that well known and no where near as big a player compared to Taylormade, Titleist, Mizuno, XXIO, Tourstage to name just a few. Epon never even makes it into the shootouts conducted in Japan. Check out the top 5 survey gocchin posted that was done in Japan. Epon is not on any list. They would fare much much worse outside of Japan.

Outside of Japan Epon is known because of TSG. IMO the majority of their dealers exist because of interest generated by people that have seen the brand here at TSG. Without TSG generating interest people are not going to look for or know anything about this brand.

Setting up KNOWLEDGABLE dealers is going to be a very slow and difficult process. Nobody anywhere near me is going to carry them. Their exposure is and more importantly sales, are going to suffer greatly. Hey their choice to shoot themselves in the foot.

Edited October 3, 2009 by idrive

[chinkwan]

I agree with Marty 200%

Epon has been praised to the sky here for the past few years...

All of a sudden, guys are saying it's a bad move for them to have dropped Internet sales and such..

And many suggested that they don't want another Epon..

Seriously, if you have liked the products in the past, u can seek out a dealer that carries them..

This is similar to Miura. they prefer to have the stuff sold fitted to ensure it performs its best to the buyer.. so what's the big deal???

Couldn't speak of guys in Europe.. but Miura clubs are pretty much standard priced everywhere with Ebay keeping it in check..

I personally played Epon EMB and have played other Epon clubs in addition to owning and still owning clubs OEM by Endo..

IMHO, the praise have been overblown.. EPON are good but not hugely superior to other products.

If you guys love EPON so much.. you can still enjoy them by way of getting irons OEM by them.. I am sure Chris and Gocchin will continue pointing out which clubs are made by Endo..

End of rant.. lets move on guy!!!

[xxio]

From what I understand about Epon from readings outside TSG. Epon was principally geared as a club-fitting type brand. I have read Nimi-san say that in several interviews as far back as 3-4 years ago.

The ability of TSG and the other online sellers to sell Epon was outside their company philosophy. If you look at the dealers on the website, if I'm not mistaken it is only TSG that stands out that does not have an actual physical club fitting/making facility. IIRC Epon requires that in their dealership contract.

We may all know what our specs our but club fitting was Epon's philosophy from Day1 and we should respect that. This is just the enforcement of that philosophy. They will lose the TSG market but in my experience with Japanese companies as long as they are not totally losing money they will stick to philosophy and principle. I respect that. I'm actually that they still have the resolve to enforce what they espoused from the start. The ability to previously buy Epon components on TSG should be looked at as a bonus.

We can still buy the specs we want thru a dealer who is a fitter. May be at a higher price but we should never confuse pricing when it comes to dealer vs people who sell solely online. We see that all the time on the net. Online vs mom and pop/storefronts.

Epon is just protecting their dealers who have put up the facilities that they require. In any business a company should protect the interests of the majority of their dealers.

I'm sure Chris can turn us on to another brand if we really want :)

Alternatively, I'm sure Chris should be able to put up a storefront himself. The proshop has a lot of items that walk-ins would be able to purchase as well.

Edited October 3, 2009 by xxio

[+TourSpecGolfer]

It's really not a big deal at all guys. It isnt a reason to stop buying Epon clubs, It isnt a reason to get upset.

I love the debate going on and all the loyalists but I will let you in on a little secret...

We are Epon USA! We run the complete of north america distribution & business to business sales.

No reason to feel like this is anything against us. We dont need to compete with our dealers.

I say contact your nearnest dealer and buy Epon product from them! If you dont have a dealer nearby contact me or [email protected] to introduce us to the account you would like in your area to help you access the product. Buy Epon Product!

TSG will always cover the Epon products and news.

[xxio]

Initailly on the website TSG was previously listed as the US distributor. I was surprised at the change to "on-line", about 6-7 months ago? Good to hear Chris still dealing with Epon.

In fact this makes more reason for the policy of having a clubfitting facility. It will make sure that Chris' resellers/clubfitters (who are also his clients btw :)) in the US will have spent the same amount of money and effort investing in Epon and facilities that there will be no big pricing wars. That can only benefit Chris as the US distributor by standardized pricing as well.

Edited October 4, 2009 by xxio

[88 ROUNDS PER YEAR]

I agree with Marty 200%

Epon has been praised to the sky here for the past few years...

All of a sudden, guys are saying it's a bad move for them to have dropped Internet sales and such..

And many suggested that they don't want another Epon..

Seriously, if you have liked the products in the past, u can seek out a dealer that carries them..

This is similar to Miura. they prefer to have the stuff sold fitted to ensure it performs its best to the buyer.. so what's the big deal???

Couldn't speak of guys in Europe.. but Miura clubs are pretty much standard priced everywhere with Ebay keeping it in check..

I personally played Epon EMB and have played other Epon clubs in addition to owning and still owning clubs OEM by Endo..

IMHO, the praise have been overblown.. EPON are good but not hugely superior to other products.

If you guys love EPON so much.. you can still enjoy them by way of getting irons OEM by them.. I am sure Chris and Gocchin will continue pointing out which clubs are made by Endo..

End of rant.. lets move on guy!!!

I could not agree more with you, especially "the praise have been overblown.. EPON are good but not hugely superior to other products."

[idrive]

Here's my point and I'll let it die.

Any Golf Brand on the Planet could go out of business tomorrow. Oh well, you'll buy from someone else.

If a product you like is no longer available to you, oh well you'll be disappointed and you'll buy something else.

To make a product and not make it availble to you is stupid. I do not and will not have a club fitter any where near me to be fit and buy EPON. Quite frankly if not for TSG I would have never heard of and certainly not bought an EPON product.

Quoting "IMHO, the praise have been overblown.. EPON are good but not hugely superior to other products"

If you read that you're saying they are superior, just not HUGELY superior, but superior none the less...

Who doesn't want to buy the best if it is available to them??

I have no problem buying other brands, I already do. I buy just about every other brand there is. EPON will just not be one of them anymore. Oh well...

Now, I'm off to hit my new Sky Dream Jump Irons. :)

Edited October 4, 2009 by idrive

[marty]

CoolClubs in Scottsdale is a real option for you,. its not that far from Nevada,. and a great facility for fitting. Extremely good place to go.

Cheers,

Marty

[xxio]

Here's my point and I'll let it die.

Any Golf Brand on the Planet could go out of business tomorrow. Oh well, you'll buy from someone else.

If a product you like is no longer available to you, oh well you'll be disappointed and you'll buy something else.

To make a product and not make it availble to you is stupid. I do not and will not have a club fitter any where near me to be fit and buy EPON. Quite frankly if not for TSG I would have never heard of and certainly not bought an EPON product.

Epon is still available. Chris is the US distributor I'm sure he can go thru his list of authorized sellers and find one you can deal with.

IMHO the only thing that has really suffered here is the pricing and the ability to buy heads only. Noone hits a clubhead only and pricing is just being brought in line to what MSRP should be.

[SocalIrvineLee]

OMG, I didn't know that.

What a bad move,,,,,

the Epon made big mistake and it might be really big problem for them.

So where to buy Epon products in Southern California, L.A and O.C?

I would like to purchace new AF-151 and 302!!!!!

[Spoon]

OMG, I didn't know that.

What a bad move,,,,,

the Epon made big mistake and it might be really big problem for them.

So where to buy Epon products in Southern California, L.A and O.C?

I would like to purchace new AF-151 and 302!!!!!

check out eponforged.com where to buy list.

[johnno]

i was looking at EPON for my son. he originally wanted the new titleist 710mb's. i stumbled upon epon and found out there was a dealer at tweed heads australia, my son lives on the gold coast. great, only about 30 mins drive to tweed heads. i happened to be talking to my local golf pro about titleist, epon etc and he said he can do the epon. he gets their specs when they hit some irons with him. he e-mails epon, they make them to suit and they are the same price as the dealer down at tweed heads. sounds like a good deal to me. and the AF tours aren't much dearer than the titleist, but you are getting a quality set.

[potuna]

Thanks G. for such a quick explanation and sorry to hear they have adopted that internet policy. I live in San Diego and there are no Epon retail outlets anywhere near this area, so how am I going to be able to purchase new Epon products? I really do like Epon and their quality.

Doc

Doc,

I think Fairway golf may add Epon and Tourstage.

[clevelaand]

It would be great if Fairway Golf added Epon and Tourstage. I go to their shop at least once a week and have suggested they add some JDM products but no success yet. They said they had a agreement with OnOff but did not materialize. Oh well, one can only hope.

Doc

[appilags]

i was looking at EPON for my son. he originally wanted the new titleist 710mb's. i stumbled upon epon and found out there was a dealer at tweed heads australia, my son lives on the gold coast. great, only about 30 mins drive to tweed heads. i happened to be talking to my local golf pro about titleist, epon etc and he said he can do the epon. he gets their specs when they hit some irons with him. he e-mails epon, they make them to suit and they are the same price as the dealer down at tweed heads. sounds like a good deal to me. and the AF tours aren't much dearer than the titleist, but you are getting a quality set.

I Can't say enough good things about Gary Tozer at Aussie Custom Golf. He looked after me extremely well. Fitted me out with 4-PW in AF-501s and 50,55,60 in 208KGX wedges. He did a fantastic job with the equipment and even threw in some tuition from his partner with the deal.

Enjoying my golf more than ever before.

[Soul survivor]

Same as above with Brandon Collier at the mobile golf lab.

phil

[xxio]

I think this is what Epon's policy has been from the start. Getting their products in the hands of great builders/fitters.