PowerBilt Announces Hireko as New Licensee; Plans Set to Brand for Growth

(LOUISVILLE, KY) - 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.

“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.”