Beating a tough economy

Golf retailer’s sales back in full swing

by Doug Henze

At a time when the economy has driven consumers into their bunkers, it stands to reason few would be laying down the green for luxury items such as golf clubs.

But don’t try telling that to Chris Mile. The president of specialty retailer Miles of Golf in Ypsilanti reports that, after a rough 4th Quarter in 2008, shoppers are back in the swing of things this year.

It’s something he attributes to customer service in the fullest sense of the word. Miles of Golf offers not only a driving range, retail facility and golf academy, but also a try-it-before-you-buy-it operation known as the “Cluboratory.”

“We were really off to a good start in 2008 and then, right at the end of the year, we noticed some weakness in sales, which was really disconcerting,” said Mile, who founded the business on Carpenter Road in 1995. “It seemed to me, during that October-November-December (period), things were so unsettled. People didn’t know what to do with themselves.”

Although the overall economy still isn’t on firm ground, Miles of Golf has seen a vast improvement in its business, Mile said.

While Mile elects not to reveal sales figures, he says Miles of Golf revenues are now on par with what they were last year at this time — a victory for any business in this economic environment.

“We’ve been pleasantly surprised the last three months,” Mile said. “We’re making more money than we ever would have expected in this time.”

Mile attributes the success, in part, to the way the business has evolved since he set it up more than a decade ago.

The 28-acre site that’s home to Miles of Golf has been the location of a golf facility since the 1950s. But prior to Mile’s arrival on the scene, it consisted of a driving range with a small course.

“At one time, [former Detroit Tigers and Domino’s Pizza owner] Tom Monaghan had an option to buy it and put apartments in,” Mile recalled. But that project, on the drawing board in the mid-1980s, fell through because Monaghan couldn’t get the needed zoning change to redevelop the land.

The golf facility remained.

Enter Mile, who had just sold a beer and wine distributing business in Cadillac before moving to southeastern Michigan.

“I wasn’t necessarily searching for a retail business,” Mile said. “I was a patron of the place.”

Concluding that the existing golf facility was neglected — in Mile’s words “a mess” — he signed a long-term lease with property owner Khu Cho to fix up the facility.

A native of Stanton, near Grand Rapids, Mile already had a long history with the game. He played golf at the University of Miami in Florida and had competed in amateur tournaments.

Fixing up the establishment now known as Miles of Golf became his next golf-related venture.

“It was kind of run down,” Mile said. “We upgraded the facilities a lot. We wanted to make it a better place for people to buy golf clubs and practice. We added to that a teaching academy. It’s the biggest teaching academy in the state now [in terms of number of instructors and volume].”

The Kendall Academy is operated by Dave Kendall, a golf pro Mile became acquainted with in Cadillac.

“We [reworked] the range so that it encompasses the whole property,” Mile said. Making room for the range expansion involved removal of a small golf course that had been on the site.

Mile, who has since added former employees Doug Davis and Casey Baker as partners, also improved drainage at the location and added winter tees. Year-round, golfers can practice their swings inside oblong shelters that warm them with large, radiant heaters.

Mile also doubled Miles of Golf’s retail facility, expanding it to 10,000 square feet.

“We carry all the major brands,” Mile said. The shop sells Titleist, Ping, Callaway, TaylorMade, Adams, Cleveland, Tour Edge and others.

What was likely Mile’s biggest innovation came in 1996.

“We were looking for ways to distinguish our shop from others,” he said. “We started getting really involved in fitting our clubs.”

Studying the way customers buy clubs, Mile discovered that it often takes consumers six months to nine months to buy a club. First, they’ll try out a friend’s clubs. Then they go into several stores looking at clubs, until they eventually buy.

His research gave birth to the Cluboratory. At that sheltered facility, customers experiment with golf clubs, hitting balls out onto the range.

“What the Cluboratory does is allow them to test different clubs,” Mile said. “They’ll [compare] two clubs at a time and eliminate one. They tell us which one they like best.”

They repeat the process until they come up with the club that suits them best.

For advanced players, Miles of Golf offers Maxx Cluboratory fittings. An electronic ball flight monitor tracks results of a customer’s swings.

“People come from quite a distance for us to [fit clubs],” Mile said.

At many golf shops, customers simply hit balls into a net, or have to buy a club by hefting it, Mile said. “They don’t have the opportunity to test them.”

Mile, who estimates Miles of Golf has tripled its annual sales since he started the business, said the fact that many services are offered on one site is a big part of the reason why the business has thrived. The golf store, teaching academy, range and Cluboratory complement each other, he said.

“It’s quite an advantage over someone who just has a store or a range or a teaching academy,” said Mile, whose company now employs about 40 people in peak season, versus the 15 who were employed there when the business first opened. “It seems to me that it would be very hard to sell the new products without providing the services we provide.”

To illustrate that point, Mile points to current trends in the retail golf business.

“Like any retailer, we’re driven by product innovation. What’s happening in our business right now is there is a big turnover in product. Every year, they’re coming out with a new club.”

To attract buyers to the latest and greatest products, there is the Cluboratory.

“We only do that with the newest products,” Mile said. “They sometimes will buy that product because they get the added services.”

Offering extra services isn’t the only way Miles of Golf has survived the rough economy. Like many businesses, the company has had to take a hard look at expenses.

To reduce advertising and mailing expenses, the company embarked on an e-mail-gathering campaign. Its 1,000-customer e-mail list last year now has about 7,000 in its database.

“Every week, we send out a newsletter,” Mile said. “If you switch to e-mail, we’ll put $5 on your account.”

Miles of Golf also has expanded regular promotions. Clubapalooza, where customers can try out the newest clubs, was extended from four days to a week, while a company “garage sale” on discontinued and used clubs had more aggressive pricing.

Mile, who said he’d eventually like to add a restaurant and bar to the property to drive customer traffic, said no immediate, large-scale changes are planned at Miles of Golf.

“We just did a major expansion two years ago, so we’re pretty well set,” he said.

In terms of a business model, the company plans to continue to embrace its strong service tactics to thrive in a difficult economy.

“We’re kind of doing the same thing we’ve always done and trying a little harder,” Mile said.

Linda Morton, a customer at Miles of Golf since it first opened, said she’s had nothing but good experiences there. She’s purchased two sets of clubs from the shop and works on her swing with Kendall.

“I’ve never been treated anything but great,” said Morton, who began golfing 10 years ago. “They’ve always made me feel very much at home. The biggest thing is comfort. Sometimes, I go there to get away from things. For me, it’s been a special place.”

Doug Henze is a freelance writer and former business reporter for the Oakland Press in Pontiac.