Mizuno’s dedication to craftsmanship and performance has made them a trusted name in the golf industry. From concept to market, the journey of creating a new product at Mizuno blends cutting-edge technology with meticulous attention to detail. In this article, Mizuno shares insights into their product development process, pricing strategies, sustainability initiatives, and more, offering a rare glimpse into the passion and precision behind their renowned golf equipment.
AGM: What’s your most popular product, and why do you think it’s been so successful?
Mizuno: Mizuno’s most popular products are our world-renowned irons. We have always been known for our precision and feel that it is a direct result of our one-of-a-kind forging process.
AGM: What’s the process of developing a new product from idea to market?
Mizuno: The development of new golf clubs from idea to market typically takes between one and three years, depending on the complexity of the changes. There are periods of research, design, prototyping, testing, and finally manufacturing and mass production. In each of these phases there are a number of different factors that will ultimately determine if we can move on to the next step, but the most exciting phase has to be testing and prototyping. This typically involves a few different rounds of samples and multiple tests with some of the best golfers in the world as robot lab testing of our theories and designs.
AGM: Can you discuss a challenge unique to the golf market?
Mizuno: One of the biggest challenges in the golf market is engineering performance into clubs while still working within the rules of golf that are constantly being updated by the governing bodies. This is where customization and ensuring all of our products can be custom fit and built to individual players helps us to overcome this challenge.
AGM: How do you approach product pricing while ensuring value for golf retailers?
Mizuno: It’s always a challenge packing as much technology into a product as possible and ensuring that the price doesn’t escalate from there. One of Mizuno’s key factors of ensuring value for golf retailers is our tight control over the manufacturing and production of the heads. By instilling the utmost quality control over the manufacturing, we are able to ensure high performance at reasonable costs.
AGM: What are the most common misconceptions about your product category, and how do you address them?
Mizuno: One misconception within our product category is that it costs more to have clubs custom fit to you. We address this by engineering all of our clubs to be easily modified for any player. With that, we offer custom built clubs to individual specs at no additional charge.
AGM: How does sustainability factor into your product design and manufacturing processes?
Mizuno: Sustainability is at the core of Mizuno and our product design and manufacturing. We hold ourselves and our vendors to extremely high levels for sustainability in our design and operation.
AGM: How do you stay innovative in product design and functionality?
Mizuno: This comes with always staying on the forefront of new materials and manufacturing processes. Understanding those two things helps us to push limits of performance and strive forward, not being held back by what we could previously make.
AGM: How do you adapt to changing consumer preferences in the golf industry?
Mizuno: It is all about having a company filled with passionate players. We are a team of golfers who are constantly looking to better our own game through training and equipment which keeps us always in the know of what is and isn’t working in the world of golf.
AGM: What feedback has significantly influenced a product redesign or improvement?
Mizuno: We always like to listen to our customers and retailers in terms of what is working and what isn’t. We strongly believe that the ultimate proof of performance lies in your validation and know that professional feedback is massive when developing clubs.
One big push from a retailer that has impacted how we run our business is the push for trial/demo products. This request has led us to developing an entirely new process for testing and providing clubs for trial.
AGM: How do you stay connected with the golf retailer during off-peak seasons?
Mizuno: Because the golf season is so short, the off-peak season is when we do the majority of our planning and connecting with our retailers. We utilize this time to help with Product Knowledge training to ensure that when the peak season does hit, everyone is fully equipped with information on all things Mizuno.
AGM: What message would you like to leave with AGM members about your brand and products?
Mizuno: Mizuno is a brand with 100+ years of experience developing high-end sporting goods. Our corporate philosophy is to “contribute to society by promoting sports and improving sporting goods.” We believe we do this through our high-quality, high-performance designs that help to push athletes to get the most out of their game, whether it be golf, running, baseball, swimming, or any number of other sports we participate in.
Conclusion
Mizuno’s century-long commitment to quality and innovation continues to shape its approach to product design and customer satisfaction. AGM members are encouraged to learn more about Mizuno Golf by visiting their website at https://mizunogolf.com/ or by contacting jeremy.galbreth@mizunousa.com.
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