In an effort to exercise more control over its brand image in Canada, golf retail giant Nevada Bob’s is gradually buying back the rights to its franchises across the country.

‘The franchise system is underdeveloped in terms of brand uniformity and brand positioning in the marketplace,’ says Carson J. Wynne, senior vice-president and chief financial officer for Calgary-based Nevada Bob’s Canada.

The company now has six corporate stores out of a total 46 outlets – 24 in Western Canada and 22 in Eastern Canada.

When the stores were originally rolled out, there was no standardized franchise package, says Wynne, so outlets were working from different playbooks. Stores within 10 kilometres of each other, for example, had entirely different price points.

Not only is Nevada Bob’s buying back its franchises, but the company is currently in the midst of an aggressive renovation program where stores of 5,500 square feet are being expanded to 10,000 square-feet. The look, feel, selection and services – right down to the merchandising – are becoming uniform.

Customers will now be able to test equipment in real-life environment areas such as sand traps. As well, the company is increasing its product selection and experimenting with a more liberal return policy.

Wynne says the Nevada Bob’s image had been cheapened by its former positioning as a discount golf chain. He says he believes the discount image will soon fade as the revamped stores are rolled out.

With its redesign well underway, Wynne says he expects the competition Nevada Bob’s faces from the ‘ma and pa’ sporting goods stores and golf-course pro shops will diminish. Many of these stores, not to mention general sports retailers like Canadian Tire, do not have access to the inventory lines of Nevada Bob’s, says Wynne, adding that as pro shops expand into the soft-goods side of the golf industry, like apparel, Nevada Bob’s will be there to fill the gap with professional service and a larger selection of golf equipment.

‘We want to become every man’s pro shop,’ he says.

Every man indeed. Industry estimates peg the number of golfers in Canada at five million, with 350,000 new golfers teeing off each year.

Within the next five years, the retailer hopes to double the number of Nevada Bob’s stores, bringing the total to between 80 and 100 outlets.