Hole19 expands marketplace to Europe

Hole19 has launched a new online store in its home market of the United Kingdom. The golf technology company has opened the site to brand partners. It plans to extend the marketplace to shoppers in continental Europe later this year.
The platform is designed to connect established and emerging golf brands with the Hole19 audience, with a business model that is claimed to be revolutionary in the golf space. The company promises visitors “their own personal pro shop” and prominently highlights the value of personalized product recommendations on its homepage: “Unique to you and your game.”
Brand partnerships
The marketplace stems from a significant strategic shift, according to Head of Ecommerce Chris Somerton, with a key focus on brand partnerships: “Our new ecommerce platform empowers golfers with a completely personalized shopping experience, and our partners, by leveraging a commercial model that puts control firmly back where it belongs, in the hands of brands.”
‘The platform puts control firmly back to brands.’
Hole19, which claims to be the largest community of active golfers in the world with over 4 million members, promises brand partners full control over products and prices. The aim is to offer an extremely wide range of products, from tees to simulators, by eliminating barriers to entry. There is no cost for brands to integrate with or trade on the platform. They can expect to receive “unique holistic” customer insights. “We can provide brands the means of new growth in our game”, states CEO and founder Anthony Douglas.
Vertical marketplace
With its platform, Hole19 taps into the growing popularity of vertical marketplaces, where shoppers can find everything within a market segment. These marketplaces capture business by addressing specific customer needs that generalist marketplaces struggle to meet.
After the launch in the United Kingdom, Hole19’s marketplace will be introduced in continental Europe, planned by the end of 2024. The United States will follow next year.
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