Rio Real, one of the most emblematic courses in Marbella, with an extraordinary design by the prestigious Spanish designer Javier Arana, continues to make improvements to maintain its privileged position as a reference club on the Costa del Sol. It has recently redesigned its proshop, doubling the surface area and providing it with a modern, attractive and functional design.
The director of Río Real Golf, Luis Navarro, explains what the renovation consisted of: “We had a smaller store and above all not updated. There was a lot of showcase surface, which makes sense in a commercial store on the street because it serves to attract people, but really in a golf club store where the player has to enter to get his game ticket, it is not necessary to attract him with a showcase, but we need much more display area. So the windows have been removed and the capacity of the store has been expanded to almost double what it was originally. In addition, the golf reception desk has been arranged in such a way that there is a flow of customers throughout the store, so that they see the entire assortment we have.”
As regards golf apparel, accessories and products for sale, Navarro points out that Río Real has signed an exclusive agreement with Holiday Golf, the largest wholesale distributor of its kind in Spain, so that we sell all the brands they have, which are leading brands. He points out, for example, the Ecco shoe: “It is the most successful shoe today because of its concept, because it is not only a shoe for playing golf but also a very comfortable street shoe”. He also mentions Peter Millar, Callaway, Cutter & Buck, Glenmuir and, for ladies, Daily Sports, “which is a tremendous success”.
The spectacular change in the store has also been noticeable, and very much so, in sales. “The work and the new facilities,” explains Navarro, “were completed in March, and April has been a record month. We are fully confident that the investment has been worthwhile and will help us to increase sales, as we can see is already happening”.
Another advantage added to the commercial aspect is that the refurbishment has had an impact on improving “a lot” the image of this prestigious golf club. “It is a much fresher image, much more modern,” says the director of Río Real Golf, “and we must take into account that almost always the proshop is the first impression of the club that the player receives, and the fact that it is renovated and attractive helps a lot in the positive experience that the visitor begins to perceive”.
The refurbishment and redesign of the proshop has been carried out by Holiday Golf, which has its own design and installation department with extensive experience in setting up stores in golf clubs.
“We have taken the opportunity to count on Holiday Golf’s experience in store design,” says the director of Rio Real Golf, “because they are collaborating with many golf courses to modernize them as an important business center.
Thanks to the refurbishment, the club has gained two extra spaces, which are a small office to support the caddie master, “where we can process tournaments and work without being in front of the client, and a second office, much larger, where our reservation center is, with Ángela Caro, from where you can see the people who have already made the reservation when they finally go to the golf reception desk and are attended to and any incident that may arise is immediately rectified. The team works much better and the contact with the client is much more direct,” says Luis Navarro, who also reports another new development at Río Real: the signing of Antonio Gómez Caba as the resort’s commercial director.
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