The Cliffs' golf shops have been rebranded as Storehouses and carry the vibe of luxury boutique.
We need to get our members to think differently about their retail operations. The Cliffs' Storehouses should serve as an inspiration. - Desane Blaney, Executive Director of the Association of Golf Merchandisers (AGM)
Salem, S.C. (PRWEB) February 24, 2015
Are the days of clubhouse golf shops over? The Cliffs thinks so. At the recent PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando, The Cliffs Storehouse at Keowee Falls took home an Association of Golf Merchandisers (AGM) Platinum Award for “Best of the Best” and was recognized in the Top 10 in the country and is featured on the cover of 2015 AGM Merchandise Calendar. With a vibe more attuned to a luxury lifestyle store and with retail revenues soaring, The Cliffs’ bold move to evolve the “pro shop” is not only working, but also serving as a model for the next generation of club retail.
“We are proud of The Cliffs Storehouse at Keowee Falls and appreciate the recognition from the AGM. The Cliffs is excited to update our traditional Golf Shops into lifestyle outfitters with a full range of luxury apparel, sports equipment and products for our members’ active mountain and lake lifestyles,” states David Sawyer, Managing Partner of The Cliffs Clubs.
The Cliffs Storehouse at Keowee Falls is The Cliffs’ third golf shop to undergo transformation into a Storehouse in less than 18 months. With a shopping experience for the whole family, it carries the experience of a high-end boutique and caters to the needs of golf and non-golf members alike.
Filled with golf and lifestyle apparel, The Cliffs Storehouse at Keowee Falls boasts a shoe room carrying more than 200 pairs of shoes – for golf, lifestyle, hiking, daily wear, and summer wear. The Cliffs Storehouse also offers a large selection of sunglasses by Maui Jim, Ray Ban, and Oakley. Members and their guests may also purchase other luxe items like Vitamix blenders, tech gadgetry, custom paddleboards, hiking gear, Meyer lemon trees, premium luggage, and Tsovet Watches. The Cliffs Storehouse at Keowee Falls features celebrities’ favorite items, too, stocking GFORE golf shoes and gloves worn by Jimmy Fallon and Adam Levine, and former NFL football player Gibran Hamdan’s new designer line Alial Fital.
“Currently, The Cliffs has more than 3,000 members, 1,700 of whom have golf memberships. We thought there was an opportunity to provide merchandise to the rest of our members who didn’t feel the need or have the desire to stop by the ‘golf shop’. That’s how the transformation from golf shops to Storehouses began,” explains Danielle Walter, who leads the retail business and conceptualized the store for The Cliffs Clubs.
As Desane Blaney, Executive Director of the Association of Golf Merchandisers (AGM), comments, The Cliffs’ Storehouse model is encouraging its members as well as other clubs and communities to think differently about their retail experience: “We need to get our members to think differently about their retail operations, something I have been talking about for years. I realize that some clubs are ‘stuck’ with what they have and the boards will not allow any improvements or renovations. The Cliffs’ Storehouses should serve as an inspiration.”
One of The Cliffs’ members, Sonny Gill, says, “From the first time I entered the The Cliffs’ Storehouse, I was very impressed with the nouveau vibe and light atmosphere. They not only strive to tackle the diversity of equipment and items necessary for golf but also the gear needed to living the lake life. Their range stretches from hiking shoes for the community’s trails all the way to paddleboards for cruising the lake.”
The Cliffs Storehouse at Keowee Falls has been successful by all measures. At its grand opening, members bought more than $8,000 of merchandise in the first two hours. And now, this one Cliffs Storehouse (The Cliffs’ has three in its collection of seven clubs), has surpassed its annual budgeted revenues by more than $43,000 in just eight months. Supported through in-store special events like trunk shows and out-of-store retail initiatives like “Danielle’s Pick of the Week” – a member-directed eBlast featuring the latest must-have items – The Cliffs’ Storehouse model is paying off by enhancing the member experience at The Cliffs, while bringing in $100,000 more in club revenue year over year.
About The Cliffs
The Cliffs is a collection of seven premier private, luxury residential mountain and lake communities located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of the western Carolinas, between two of the nation’s top award-winning cities for quality of life - Greenville, South Carolina and Asheville, North Carolina. The Cliffs’ suite of amenities for members includes seven clubs, five wellness centers, 21 restaurant and private event venues, seven championship golf courses, marinas, beach club, cycling, paddle sports, tennis complexes, equestrian center, hiking trails, wakeboarding, wine clubs, an organic farm and more than 4,000 year-round social activities to create timeless experiences. Homes at The Cliffs range in price from $500,000 to $4 million+; homesites, from $100,000. For more information about The Cliffs, visit CliffsLiving.com or call 866-411-5771.
