Inspired by the simplicity of Southern California-based Vans, casual style street shoes that grew out of a skateboarding culture, Lepp gradually put his bachelor’s degree in business administration to good use.
There is an inherent risk. But Lepp personally answers any questions consumer might have with an email. An order of Kikkor shoes includes two different soles. The shoe box turns into a game board which playing pieces are included for. Kikkor golf ball markers are included. And perhaps most important, Lepp includes a hand-written thank you note.
“It was a really slow slope to enter the business full-time,” said Lepp, who whimsically added the more he played golf the worse he got. “At no given point did I declare I’m going from full-time professional golfer to entrepreneur. It was slow. I just found myself doing fewer tournaments and spending more time with Kikkor.”
Kikkor has also changed its delivery method as all of their business is done online. There are no retail outlets. It’s an evolutionary new way to do business. It could increase margins. But it also gives up guaranteed money that a big order from a larger retailer could produce.
“I never really planned my career would go this way,” said Lepp who founded Kikkor in 2008 and made it his full-time job in 2010. “I played professionally two or three years and wasn’t happy with the status of my game. In the back of my head I always wondered why golf shoes had to look the way they did. It’s a sport built on a classy tradition, but why couldn’t golf shoes look more athletic … after all, we’re out there playing a sport.”
As a collegiate golfer at the University of Washington in 2005, he became the first Canadian to win the NCAA Division I Individual Championship.
Evolutionary actions have been a part of James Lepp’s entire career.
As a participant on the Golf Channel’s Big Break Greenbrier in 2012, he thought more outside the box when he invented the ‘saucer chip shot.’ An approach shot similar to a slap shot in hockey, a technique he’d used on the Canadian Tour, which was eventually ruled illegal by golf’s various governing bodies.
While he’s changed the shoes golfers wear, from the fairways of any PGA Tournament to the greens of local municipal clubs, the traditional golf shoe is becoming extinct. Today’s golf shoe looks like it could be worn to the gym for fitness training or around town for daily activities. There aren’t detachable soft spikes, rather molded teeth on the bottom of the shoes to provide traction.
A golf shoe and apparel company that has bucked traditional golf attire in a stylish, casual and comfortable way.
It’s an attention to detail and customer service not experienced with a purchase from the corporate behemoths.
Evolutionary thinking is something Lepp does well.
But it was his observation on golf shoes that could potentially leave the most lasting imprint on the game. Lepp looked at the dress shoes with spikes that were prevalent when he played as an amateur and on the Canadian Tour, seeing a need for innovation. Thus, Kikkor Golf was born.
“There is a challenge to get the word out,” Lepp said. “But we do it with one customer at a time. We want to blow them away with the experience they get. We’re also about half the price of other shoes in our category. But, it’s really about customer experience and making it excellent through the whole process.”
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