In this day and age of big-box stores and online giants, a declaration of independence can mean a tough challenge for the small business owner. But someone obviously forgot to tell de Boer’s Golf Shop & Fitting Centre. The Edmonton, Alta., golf shop has been going strong since 1999, and today they are the only independently owned and operated retail golf shop in the city. And a successful one at that.
The secret to that longevity? Good old-fashioned service, stock from all the major brands, and a year-round, eight fitters-strong fitting facility that attracts customers from as far away as Saskatchewan, British Columbia and the Northwest Territories. The shop fits for all the major brands, including PING, Titleist, Mizuno, Callaway, Cobra, Tour Edge, Srixon/Cleveland, and TaylorMade, and carries all the popular models of drivers, fairways, hybrids, putters and wedges.
On the apparel side, de Boer’s carries men’s, women’s and junior apparel from the likes of FootJoy, Sunice, adidas, Johnnie-O, Nike, Dexim, Travis Mathew, and Cutter and Buck. For carts, it’s Bag Boy, Clicgear and Alphard.
PING leads the way for club sales, with adidas apparel and adidas and FootJoy shoes the most popular on the soft goods side. Bag Boy is the biggest seller in both the bag and cart categories, while accessories from Ontario-based Golf Trends round out the biggest sellers list.
Looking ahead, de Boer’s sees more PING, Titleist, TaylorMade and Tour Edge going out the door. They also expect more growth on the women’s side, with the latter and juniors being the fastest growing markets in both equipment and apparel. With supply chain issues now resolved and club delivery times back to normal, Edmonton’s first choice for all things golf looks forward to another banner year.
