LOUISVILLE, KY (March 31, 2016) PowerBilt®, one of golf’s oldest and most respected club
brands, has named Hireko Golf as its new licensee for the United States. Hireko, based in City of
Industry, California is one of the leading component companies in the golf industry. The
company looks to leverage its robust and expanding customer base to grow the PowerBilt brand
and re-position it for mass appeal.
“Hireko is the perfect partner for PowerBilt at this stage in our long history,” said Larry Edlin,
President of PowerBilt Golf Worldwide. “Hireko has experience selling a wide range of golf
products and brands. Owners Richard and Gineta Lin are highly respected in the industry. We’re
confident they’ll utilize their vast industry knowledge, experience, and relationships to grow and
enhance the PowerBilt brand and reach new customers.”
Hireko was established in 1982 and has developed a robust and loyal customer base over the
past 34 years. Its services include wholesale distribution, OEM design/manufacturing, and third
party fulfillment. The company has developed a reputation as a leading one-stop shop, and it
has a strong business-to-business presence through its www.hirekogolf.com e-commerce
website, as well as through mail order catalogs and flyers. With the addition of PowerBilt,
Hireko has developed a branded web site at www.powerbilt.com where all PowerBilt products
can be found.
The company’s product lines include custom clubs, clubheads, shafts, grips, bags, headcovers,
and accesserories and, now with the addition of PowerBilt, metal woods, complete irons sets
and box sets including men’s women’s and juniors, among other PowerBilt products.
“We jumped at the chance to add the PowerBilt brand to our portfolio,” said Hireko owner and
President of PowerBilt U.S. Richard Lin. “PowerBilt is a widely recognized brand in golf and has
tremendous history, including more than 100 pro tour wins and 8 major championships. Many
people tell us that their first set of clubs were PowerBilt, but in recent years they’ve had trouble
finding them. We plan to change that. We’re repositioning the brand to provide quality clubs at
a value price and make the brand accessible to more golfers, especially that huge recreational
market that likes to go out and have fun.”
Hireko’s recreational golfer strategy includes taking PowerBilt clubs into big box, off-course
specialty stores, and green grass. The company plans to do that by building a traditional sales
force of independent representatives.
PLANS SET TO REPOSITION BRAND FOR GROWTH
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“It’s an aggressive strategy, but we’re confident in it because of PowerBilt’s brand recognition
and reputation for high quality products,” said Gineta Lin. “There’s definitely a market for
PowerBilt and we plan to tap into it.”
Taking PowerBilt into new markets is also expected to open opportunities for Hireko to expand
its existing component business as new customers learn of the company’s numerous offerings.
Edlin says it’s a great partnership that’s a win-win for both PowerBilt and Hireko.
“PowerBilt opens doors for Hireko and Hireko opens doors for PowerBilt. Hireko has already
increased PowerBilt business at key accounts right out of the gate, so we’re very eager to see
that growth continue as they reach more recreational golfers. We look forward to working with
Richard, Gineta and the great Hireko staff to provide quality products at a great price to a
segment of the golf market that’s really been underserved.”
