That makes a lot of sense. Especially with KSIG success.
News: Ben Hogan Golf Closing Doors
That makes a lot of sense. Especially with KSIG success.
IIRC the current group tried to buy PE out and be more than a licensee but PE refused. If I've got that even remotely correct the probability of another investor being able to accomplish what you suggest may approach the impossible.
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Yeah this means it ain't coming back with Ben Hogan on the clubs at all. They also will not be able to liquidate inventory with that logo either which really sucks for them.
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- #179
There is so much ******** running around the Internet about this Company closing. Most of it is all coming from a single source inside the previous company of management, rather than multiple sources. So the slant is real and you’re not getting the full information, will be working on a full story that highlights both sides because there’s way more to this than is being reported
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- #181
This is what happens when we break a story, a bunch of other places had no idea, so they reach out to a single person to get something done rather than go find real info.
Figured that was likely happening. Understand you know a lot more then I do but from the outside looking in it is very hard to understand all the nuances of a situation. From the bits I have read those nuances include private equity, licensing, supply chain issues, past bk rollover items and potentially a lender issue that could be the private equity or a 3rd party. So many factors at hand and potentially more that no matter what we hear on the street unless it's from the source or THP I am taking it with a grain of salt and likely missing the facts. Business closures are always messy and things that come out generally only have a small portion of the facts in my experience.
JB - Looking forward to your update. Frankly, I found the fact the Perry Ellis owns the rights to the name "Ben Hogan" fascinating. I assume Callaway sold the trademark to PE when it closed down Hogan around 2008. When reading about Hogan's 2017 Ch11 filing I was surprised that PE was the major creditor....until I learned about its ownership of the name.
As I said in a previous post, I could not find anything confirming that the Company (Ben Hogan Golf) ever emerged from Ch11 so it may have been operating as a Debtor in Possession all this time. ExWorks Capital LLC is a Private Equity firm engaged mainly in providing senior secured financing (including DIP financing), rather than taking equity although it would not be unusual for this type of financing source to get some form of equity (convertible preferred is common) or warrants to enhance its yield. It seems that ExWorks Ch11 (filed March 2022 in Deleware) may have been precipitated by some bad dealings on the part of prior partners in the firm viz. PPP loans based on some information that I found regarding a 2021 lawsuit in which ExWorks was the plaintif.
I appreciate that! If they liquidate, I would pick up a new one to hang on my wall.
Well, dang. I was seriously thinking of buying some Equalizer II wedges. Guess I'll hang onto my PTx Pro/Icon combo I bought in Jan. 21.
justincredible
Well-known member
That's a shame. Even though I'm getting ready to replace them in my bag I still love the PTx Pro's I won for Shaft Up a few years ago. I was considering the newer Edge irons before ultimately deciding to go the Maltby route. I probably would've upgraded my Equalizer wedges this fall as well.
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Michael Bodo
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The fact the BHG site's still up is a positive, even though they aren't accepting orders currently. The issue, as I see it, isn't the fact that Perry Ellis owns the trademark rights to the Ben Hogan name, it's the lack of a qualified owner with the deep pockets needed to take the golf equipment company to the next level. The Ben Hogan Golf Equipment Company probably pays Perry Ellis a royalty anywhere from 5 - 10% of sales, which isn't out of the ordinary in the licensing world and there are plenty of companies that thrive despite this.
No, what's held BHG back all along is ExWorks Capital LLC's inability and or unwillingness to invest the captial resources necessary to put the company on solid financial footing. Their DTC model is working, as more players every year are playing their clubs. I have a set of PTX irons from 2017 that I still play and love and was looking to buy a combo set to replace them with this fall. Their irons and wedges are exellent. Their drivers and hybrids are solid. Getting into the putter business was a mistake, as there's nothing original in their line-up that differentiates them from the crowd, but I can't fault them for trying.
That said, there's something to be bought here provided the acquirer is willing to make the necessary capiutal investments and expenditures to build the business into something more than it's been. First and foremost, sponsoring a stable of recognized tour players to promote the line.
I don't know what "white knights" management spoke with to help save them, but they weren't the right people. The first place I'd look at are ball companies lacking a legitimate club coponent to their business, as all the big equipment companies in golf today, save Kobra, have both ball and club lines, i.e. Titleist, Callaway, Taylor Made, Srixon/Cleveland, etc. Given the increasing importance vertical integration plays the obvious suitors to me are Bridgestone and Volvik. While Bridgestone has a club line, it's garbage. No one buys or plays their clubs. BHG would be a major upgrade in quality and be an excellent match for their ball technology. Volvik buying BHG would be akin to what fellow Korean competitor, Srixon, did when acquiring Cleveland Golf several years ago. While they temporarily abandoned the Cleveland name on the club side of the business to better promote Srixon branded clubs (save for wedges), they recently started manufacturing and promoting Cleveland irons and drivers again realizing Srixon branded clubs would never gain favor in the U.S. market. Volvik would be wise to treat BHG the same and let them run as a standalone company.
All told, Bridgestone is the better fit, as their balls are built to same high standards as BHG clubs. Volvik? Not so much. They can still offer Bridgestone branded clubs and have that be their entry to mid-level range, with BHG the high-end brand. That or they can simply buy BHG's tooling, molds and I.P. and use that to revamp their own club line. I just don't see Bridgestone branded clubs ever taking off despite how great they may be.
No, what's held BHG back all along is ExWorks Capital LLC's inability and or unwillingness to invest the captial resources necessary to put the company on solid financial footing. Their DTC model is working, as more players every year are playing their clubs. I have a set of PTX irons from 2017 that I still play and love and was looking to buy a combo set to replace them with this fall. Their irons and wedges are exellent. Their drivers and hybrids are solid. Getting into the putter business was a mistake, as there's nothing original in their line-up that differentiates them from the crowd, but I can't fault them for trying.
That said, there's something to be bought here provided the acquirer is willing to make the necessary capiutal investments and expenditures to build the business into something more than it's been. First and foremost, sponsoring a stable of recognized tour players to promote the line.
I don't know what "white knights" management spoke with to help save them, but they weren't the right people. The first place I'd look at are ball companies lacking a legitimate club coponent to their business, as all the big equipment companies in golf today, save Kobra, have both ball and club lines, i.e. Titleist, Callaway, Taylor Made, Srixon/Cleveland, etc. Given the increasing importance vertical integration plays the obvious suitors to me are Bridgestone and Volvik. While Bridgestone has a club line, it's garbage. No one buys or plays their clubs. BHG would be a major upgrade in quality and be an excellent match for their ball technology. Volvik buying BHG would be akin to what fellow Korean competitor, Srixon, did when acquiring Cleveland Golf several years ago. While they temporarily abandoned the Cleveland name on the club side of the business to better promote Srixon branded clubs (save for wedges), they recently started manufacturing and promoting Cleveland irons and drivers again realizing Srixon branded clubs would never gain favor in the U.S. market. Volvik would be wise to treat BHG the same and let them run as a standalone company.
All told, Bridgestone is the better fit, as their balls are built to same high standards as BHG clubs. Volvik? Not so much. They can still offer Bridgestone branded clubs and have that be their entry to mid-level range, with BHG the high-end brand. That or they can simply buy BHG's tooling, molds and I.P. and use that to revamp their own club line. I just don't see Bridgestone branded clubs ever taking off despite how great they may be.
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Bridgestone has made equipment for years and BHG holds virtually no intellectual property currently equipment wise. Bridgestone releases hard goods in Japan every season, but chooses not to bring it here currently, although did in the last decade.
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- #193
I was being a bit vague by design, but we will have a full story from multiple angles coming up in the future.
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Hoby
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I currently have an unfilled order for some PTX Pro irons. No response from Ben Hogan. Would love for them to end up shipping current orders.
Interesting. I assume you must have paid already?
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Unfortunately we have heard from a lot of people in this predicament. Including a few former employees that have shared probably too much information.
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The more I think about this the more it bums me out. I've been such a big fan of theirs since they came back the first time, to the point I picked up another set of the original PTX irons this year. It seemed like they were a DTC brand that had actual R&D behind their equipment. I feel terrible for those employees that are suddenly stuck looking for a new job.
I guess you could do a credit card chargeback? Nothing good happens in situations like this, to be sure.