Yes! Putters Goes Belly Up

[Richie3Jack]

www.mygolfspy.com/yes-golf-files-bankruptcy/

This has been in the talks for awhile and I agree with MGS as to why the company failed.

Unfortunately it's what I liked most about the company, their massive selection of putters to choose from.

I think if they are bought out by a company they can still have a large selection of putter designs, they just need to narrow down the ones that sell and are popular on the pro Tours and eliminate the ones that were not selling. I actually liked their Web site quite a bit as well as it described the putter head weight and the different specs you could have.

Not sure if they will be purchased though with how the equipment industry is doing. The good thing is that they are just a putter company which I think works because most Tour contracts have nothing to do with putters. But typically I could see them going to an OEM, but pretty much the main OEM's already have their own putter line. Perhaps Mizuno could buy them out.







3JACK

[gmbtempe]

It seems like this recession is not only bad for the bottom line its bad for people who like to have some choice in their equipment.

[jonnygrouville]

Silly name anyway, but guessing someone is feeling pretty silly calling the company Yes! now eh?

Wasn't there some link with Harold Swash too? I have a DVD of his and he is always banging on about these putters.

Yup. Good old fashioned reasons to go bankrupt. Concentration risk, cashflow. Ouch.

If a client has ordered USD1m of putters, they must be pretty close to just buying the company. Good old fashioned vertical integration.

I am sure there are brands out there with weaker putter lines that need some horizontal integration, a la Callaway and Odyssey, someone like Nike. Who has the cash though?

[cwdlaw223]

Ch. 7 is a death sentence for a company. The business is compelled by federal bankruptcy law to shut down immediately. Unless the Ch. 7 Trustee finds a buyer, the secured creditor(s) will (eventually) get "stay relief" and will have to sell Yes' inventory along with any intellectual property (i.e., patents, trademarks, tradesecrets, customer lists. etc.) to try to get their claim paid. Yes must not have had any buyers for their business or else they would have filed a Ch. 11 bankruptcy case to try to sell the business through a "363" sale.

Don't listen to the media, it's very difficult to borrow money no matter what Ben Bernake says. The Fed prints money out of thin air, buys "toxic assets" from distressed banks and then the federal regulators tell the banks (which are no longer distressed) to only lend money to grade A borrowers. I wouldn't be surprised if there are more golf related companies that file for bankruptcy. Golf is a dying sport. There are so many other sports that aren't as hard for youth to play today.

[jonnygrouville]

I work for a bank. I'm distressed.

[cwdlaw223]

It's a hard business. Congress tells you to lend the regulators say otherwise.

[jonnygrouville]

I remember being close to buying a Yes! putter as they did have some nice centre shafted models, so thought I would check out the website (so not just out of morbid curiosity). 'Technology you can bank on' apparently!

I organised the golf day for the previous employer of mine that went bust. I have a banner at home with the slogan 'Not just a name, a lasting name' in foot high letters. Is there a corporate irony section on e-Bay (although not strictly irony?)?