- U.S. Branch to Open on July 15 to Launch Sales at 62 stores (as of July, 2015) of 4 retailers -

HONMA GOLF Co., Ltd. will release "HONMA G1X" as a global model on July 10 in the United States and Canada in a bid to achieve a golf club market share 5% worldwide  on the basis of the company's global strategy.

In conjunction with this release, HONMA GOLF CO., LTD. USA BRANCH will open on July 15 in California as a sales and distribution base.

We have established the "HONMA BRAND" in Japan and the rest of Asia through achievements by professional golf players using our clubs such as Komei Oda, a Japanese golfer and domestic money title winner. This year, in order to spread HONMA on a global scale, we have created our global strategy. Originally, we had produced clubs according to markets segmented by country. Through our original market research, we had come to the conclusion that global demand is common when divided into 9 segments and measured under the seriousness of golfers. From now on, we are going to produce models at our Sakata factory under these segment models, instead of segments according to markets. The global strategy, with this common segment strategy as its core, aims to achieve a 5% share of the global golf club market in 2016 under two themes: "Enlargement of target segments through expansion from niche strategy to major markets with differentiation" and "Expanding our sales network to the North American and European markets, instead of Asia-centered strategy." The launch of the "HONMA G1X" model and opening of "HONMA GOLF CO., LTD. USA BRANCH" are positioned as a fusion of these two themes during the launch of the global strategy.

Currently, our golf club market share of 60% (based on sales) stems from "low-priced" products. Of these "low-priced" products, more than 80% are for players of intermediate to advanced levels. In order to achieve a 5% golf club market share worldwide in 2016, capturing the North American market, the largest golf club market in the world, is a major challenge. Also vital in this connection is to market products for intermediate-level players who value "price & visual value" and products for advanced players who value "price & functional value." In order to achieve this task, our Sakata factory did an extensive amount of research before developing "HONMA GIX."

The global model "HONMA G1X" series will be launched in the world's largest golf market, North America, as the first market of deployment. In order to develop a concrete position in North America, "speed" and "cost" were considered. So, instead of our usual method of selling through distributors, we will open the HONMA GOLF CO., LTD. USA Branch. At first, we will distribute "HONMA G1X" to a total of 62 stores of 4 mass retailer groups, Worldwide Golf Shops, PGA Tour Superstore, Golf Smith International and Golf Town CANADA.

For the specifications of "HONMA G1X" please refer to the following webpage.

http://www.honmagolf.co.jp/en/item/club/g1x.html

* Please note that release of "HONMA G1X" in Japan is undetermined.

About HONMA GOLF Co., Ltd.

Head office: Roppongi Hills Mori Tower 35F, 6-10-1 Roppongi, Minato-Ku, Tokyo

Representative director & president: Koji Nishitani