Company Overview
Background
The revolutionary design for the Impress grip was developed by Dr. Dennis Williams, Ph.D., a plasma-physicist and the Chief Scientist for an Atlanta-based nanotechnology firm. While working on his doctorate, Dr. Williams became intrigued with the idea of developing a hammer that could actually hit harder. Based upon this research, he developed a radical new grip design that significantly reduces the shock and vibration felt in the hand, wrist, and elbow from impact with a target, thereby reducing fatigue and repetitive stress disorders. Simultaneously, the technology allows the hammer to provide greater momentum transfer. That is, it "hits harder" than before. By simultaneously decreasing the shock and vibration felt by the user and increasing the momentum transfer, the user experiences a significant increase in productivity and comfort. In addition, the grips can be incorporated into existing products with standard, commercially accepted materials, utilize conventional manufacturing methods, and look and feel like an ordinary hammer grip. This technology is owned by Georgia State University and is the basis for several premium hammers currently on the market that are generating over an estimated $30 million in annual revenues. Since a hammer is, in essence, simply an elongated impact instrument, Dr. Williams then sought similar uses for his radical new design.
The Company
ProGrip owns a derivative technology from the one developed by Dr. Williams for hammers that the company has applied to golf clubs. The company's first product, the Impress line of premium golf grips, has a revolutionary design that significantly reduces shock and vibration to the user while maintaining a level of performance that equals or exceeds that of existing products. The company will offer a variety of custom shock-absorbing models, all of which will feature several advantages over existing grips in the market. Our grips will initially be sold to distributors, as well as mail-order houses, golf pro shops, and specialty golf retailers that serve those golfers seeking to replace grips that have become worn and slick due to prolonged use. After gaining sufficient market acceptance, ProGrip grips will be sold to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) for installation onto new clubs (woods, irons, and putters) and club sets.
ProGrip's mission is to develop and actively seek out innovative and advanced technologies that can be marketed and sold to the approximately $150 billion global wholesale sporting goods industry, to become a premier provider of quality and unique athletic products, and to establish a strong reputation for offering creative solutions to the needs of athletes and sports enthusiasts.
The company's short-term growth strategy is to:
- Initially focus primarily on the re-grip market for golf grips and on selected OEMs. While the re-grip market represents only about one-half of volume sales, it provides the greatest profit margins for manufacturers. Flynt Grips, a reputable brand, successfully used the strategy of focusing on this market for its launch in 1996. In addition, the largest OEMs such as Allegra will not use new suppliers until there is sufficient demand present in the marketplace. Therefore, ProGrip will focus initially on smaller OEMs such as Golf Authority and those focused on the women and junior markets, such as ProWomen Golf and Premier Golf.
- Rapidly build its share of the golf club grip market by leveraging its unique technology. The golf market is very accepting of new technologies and core golfers are especially eager for innovative products. In many cases a golf product's "mystique," such as the following among men for the Lady Precept MC golf ball, can lead to phenomenal success. In less than one year, the Lady Precept MC went from a cult product in Alabama to the #2 selling golf ball in the United States, with over a 6 percent share of the retail market. ProGrip will focus on the advanced design of its Impress grip and its unique benefits in all product marketing and initially build word-of-mouth through proven, as well as innovative, grass roots efforts.
- Introduce new golf grip designs and models that best meet the needs of golfers. ProGrip must quickly expand its golf product line to meet the needs of a very diverse customer base. Golf is a game that is played by both men and women and by a variety of age groups. In fact, women and juniors are golf's fastest growing segments. The flexibility of the Impress grip technology provides the company with a number of product design choices that can be marketed to specific golfer segments.
- Implement innovative marketing techniques to build consumer awareness and acceptance. Building demand is vital for getting initial orders from distributors and OEMs. The golf grip market is a mature one and historically very conservative. The company will utilize marketing techniques that will differentiate the company and the Impress grip from the competition.
- Expand its relationship with Golfworld International. Golfworld is based in Atlanta, Georgia and is the world's largest direct marketer and superstore retailer of golf equipment. The company founded the golf component industry in 1967 and since then has grown to become the leading retailer worldwide of all major brands of golf equipment. In addition, Golfworld mails over 13 million catalogues annually. Golfworld's CEO, Mr. John Danko, has tried the Impress grip and expressed his support for both the technology and the company.
ProGrip's long-term growth strategy is to:
- Build a strong brand in the sports market that represents quality, performance, and innovation. A strong reputation in the sports equipment industry will not only help the company seek out additional technologies, but also enter new sports segments.
- Strongly pursue the junior, women, and senior sports markets with products specific to them and their preferences. These markets have been the fastest growing segments since 1986. In addition, these market segments should derive the most benefit from an anti-vibration sports technology. Seniors suffer more from ailments such as arthritis that are compounded by harmful shock and vibration and women suffer greater incidences of elbow ailments than do male golfers.
- Develop new product designs based on our current technology that can be applied to other sports markets. The company will leverage its experience with golf grips to expand its Impress line of grips to other sports markets such as baseball and tennis. These products will be important additions to the company's product lines.
- Develop new solutions for athletes and sports enthusiasts. ProGrip will expand its portfolio of technologies and broaden its product mix within the broader sports equipment industry. Developing or acquiring new products will provide ProGrip with its long-term growth.
- Expand the company's sales internationally. Golf, baseball, and tennis are each sports with large numbers of enthusiasts overseas. Some of the largest markets for sports apart from the U.S., and that the company will target, include: Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and Mexico.
Current Status
First, ProGrip competed in the Atlanta PGOT CORP® Competition on December 6, 2001, and was voted First Runner-Up by a panel of distinguished venture capitalists and business leaders. Subsequently, the PGOT CORP® Ludington Fund, Ltd. announced its commitment to make a $100,000 investment in ProGrip, pending completion of the requisite documentation. The decision to make an investment in two competitors instead of just the first place team is unique for the PGOT CORP® Competition and was prompted by the Funds' confidence in ProGrip's business plan and management team.
Second, ProGrip has formalized its relationship with Dr. Williams, the inventor of the technology behind the Impress grip. In exchange for a 17.5 percent equity ownership in the company, a $7,500 note with a five-year term, and a seat on ProGrip's board of directors, Dr. Williams has agreed to sell all rights to the golf grip technology to ProGrip. In addition, Dr. Williams will provide his services to the company as needed to insure ProGrip's growth and ultimate success. These services include, but are not limited to, designing and creating an advanced prototype of the Impress grip, speaking with potential customers and investors, designing grips and equipment for other sports uses, and other advice and support as may be needed.
Third, ProGrip is in negotiations with Georgia State University to license a related hammer grip technology that Dr. Williams developed. This technology provides many of the same advantages as the Impress grip with the added benefit that it can provide greater momentum transfer; that is, the sports implement can actually hit harder. This technology has a patent filed in 1997 that is currently pending, although several of the major claims have been allowed as of February 2002, and covers the original hammer grip design as well as designs for similar grips that can be used on baseball bats and tennis racquets, as well as possibly other as yet undefined uses. This derivative technology will provide the company with valuable future products that will help ensure its long-term growth. The design for the golf grip is sufficiently different from the hammer design such that ownership did not fall to Georgia State University but to Dr. Williams directly, and now to ProGrip.
Fourth, ProGrip and Dr. Williams are working closely with Joseph Murphy, an engineer with SportsCreate LLC, on creating a number of revolutionary designs for the Impress grip. Several issues are being considered in choosing the most appropriate designs, including anti-vibration effectiveness, versatility, manufacturing practicality, cost, comfort, durability, and distinctiveness. Mr. Murphy is formerly the Director of Engineering and a 9-year veteran of Cutting Edge, an Atlanta-based professional design firm with such distinguished clients as Adidas, Boeing, Cingular, Dell, General Motors, Hewlett Packard, Shell, Sprint, and Sun. These designs will be used in creating advanced prototypes with which we can conduct additional product research and testing manufacturing methods.
Fifth, ProGrip secured its membership with the Golf Clubcraft Association and will join other organizations that will contribute to the company's success, including the Golf Merchandisers Association, the National Golf Foundation (NGF), and the United States Golf Association (USGA).
ProGrip has clearly identified an attractive opportunity with its innovative golf grip design. Accordingly, we are taking the necessary next steps to bring the company's product to market, including:
- Securing protection for our intellectual property.
- Conducting additional product and market research, including focus groups.
- Identifying and establishing relationships with potential customers.
- Creating marketing materials and campaigns.
- Securing additional financing.
