It's Not Niche... It's PXG
I believed it myself. I thought it was niche. I thought, that because it was expensive, it would only appeal to a certain demographic. And since we've stocked it, the common phrase is, "Its a niche product though...."
After a few months now- its obvious, PXG is not going to be a niche product. I might be forgiven for overlooking the price, but bear me out.
I have bought my cars from BMW Mini since the beginning of time, or rather, since I found out I could finance my Mini at an affordable rate versus my income. When I first purchased a Mini- I spent hours worrying about the money because I was a single mother paying out a fortune in nursery fees because I was working full time. But of course, it worked out just fine- because it just sounded like a lot of money.
My supercharged Mini, did everything it said on the tin, including winding back the roof automatically using the key as a remote control, it was miles ahead in build quality than anything I had owned previously and it was as solid as a rock and I only discovered all of these facts by being an owner. I changed to BMW through having a Mini. Having the Mini allowed me to become a BMW purchaser. Lets face it- it was a huge leap to make if I had gone from a 1.2l Peugeot 206 to a 3 Series. And I made the leap through financing options. Before I owned a Mini- I didn't think I was a potential BMW customer- because I thought I couldn't afford it- but actually I could. I just had to adjust my view of where I was putting my money. Most of all, even though I'm by no means a "high roller" I really really really wanted to own a brilliant car. Because I enjoy driving.
A Lot.
So what was offset by my more expensive car purchase? When I changed to a BMW my road tax was sliced down to just ￡20 annually and the 3 Series could, and did, do 70 miles to the gallon. At the time, 5 years ago this was an inordinate saving as fuel had gone up to 130p/pl. 70mpg versus 35mpg on my last car- in the book meant that for the 100,000 miles I ever drove in the 3 Series, it cost me a whopping ￡8441.90 less. In FUEL. That money I put back into the car. Depreciation on car- percentage per year of purchase value. Depreciation on fuel? 100% in all cases- consistently and predictably, entirely 'lost'. I won something back on the value of the car- because of the technology.
Now, I hear you ask. What on earth has mpg got to do with buying expensive golf clubs? Well. If you really love golf, chances are- you're prepared to invest in your game a bit like me investing in my driving. If you like good quality, then you'd be breaking the mould if you didn't think that you get what you pay for. You have probably been buying over time, the best you could source, for the money you had, in a brand bracket you thought was prestigious. We like to treat ourselves afterall.
And then PXG was invented- an instant prestigious brand because of the behind the scenes investment in research & technology. PXG instantly brought into question some of those brands who have been riding high... on their brand name alone- and if you're playing those brands, and you're NOT asking questions, then you should be. Already the companies who are forward thinking, are bringing themselves up to speed with PXG in terms of knowing that its just going to take a little bit more now, to prove your worth. The Callaway Epic driver, is a runaway success, because its brought new technology to the soup- it has not shied from the heavy sigh, of raising the bar by raising the price. And Mizuno with its consistently high build quality and accuracy, doing away with the age old upcharge on graphite. (Upcharges are so last year.)
Not everyone will be prepared to pay the price- and some people cannot afford to, but that was me and my BMW a few years back. But when you want something enough, you find a way. I didn't think I could- so I didn't entertain it. But if BMW is in the prestige bracket of cars, then its proved that expensive cars are not niche as over 21% of cars on British roads are German- and I don't think I know of any German car that could be called cheap. Thus I imagine, that 21% of golfers will be prepared to pay and have PXG in their bag for exactly the same reason.
My favourite of my customers so far, is a white van man, who is working through his PXG ownership one club at a time. Until he's put away the money to buy the irons- but I've had everyone from international footballers, Tour players, carpet fitters & retired couples buy in to PXG, and they all go away with a smile on their faces. That "it feels like Christmas" smile.
20 years ago Callaway tungsten titanium irons were about 1300 quid. When some people talk about PXG, they seem to think we are talking the prices of 20 years ago- and comparing with those. 20 years ago you could buy a three bedroom house for the price of some cars these days. 20 years ago 1300 quid was a lot of money. If you are paying ￡1300 these days, don't expect the same quality as ￡1300 got you got 20 years ago. Good quality just costs more these days, as the price of all commodities increase in line with inflation. Be that a car, or a house, or a golf club.