Decayeux
is a French metal processing mill north of Paris that has been providing major high-end
fashion brands with luxury goods such as jewelry, leather and luggage
accessories for over a century. They describe their mission as “High quality
materials, precision tooling, best practices, perfection and execution are at
the heart of our company.”
Decayeux
Golf has made its mark at prestigious golf clubs and resorts in France and is now looking forward to bringing
their prestigious line of metals and apparel to the United States. I have the
pleasure of working with Stéphane Decayeux, Erwan Spohn and Pierre Lequeux to
help tell their life-style story to our green grass community.
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| Click for Decayeux Video |
We first need to talk
about the decision to create Decayeux Golf and enter the green grass market.
Stéphane Decayeux represents the 5th
generation of the industrial family Cie. The company was founded in 1911 in
Picardy, in the north of France near Normandy, beginning with the manufacturing
of alcohol cookers and umbrella mechanisms. Throughout European industrial
history the French domestic company evolved into a European Group with a staff
of more than 500 people manufacturing both industrial and luxury metal
products.
It is Stéphane’s passion about golf shared with his
son Benjamin which drove him to start this new venture. Having a long industrial
background, strong product knowledge and close collaboration with the fashion
industry led to the idea of creating this new luxurious brand.
A unique aspect of
your vision for Decayeux Golf involves the concept of partnership which includes
the sponsorship of tournaments culminating in the Decayeux Cup. Could you discuss this very special program
and how you see it being implemented in the U.S.?
When Decayeux Golf
started three years ago in France, we decided to promote the brand by
organizing a competition tour, the Decayeux Cup. To make it more attractive and
chic to the participating clubs, severalmajor brands interested in the golf environment
joined the venture, Champagne Henriot, La Colline cosmetics, Bücherer jewels…
Our tournament
with these sponsors has become a great success with participation by all the
top golf clubs in France and created a wonderful venue to promote golf and our
brand awareness.We believe participation by the U. S. golf community in this
tournament would be an exciting partnership and we would welcome U.S. sponsors
to join the project. What a wonderful opportunity for a U. S. company to
associate its name in sponsorship to a final day at Chateau de la Messardière
palace resort of Saint Tropez.
Chateau
de la Messardière
Sainte Maxime golf
course
http://www.sainte-maxime.bluegreen.com/en
One arm of your
product line includes metals and commemorative pieces that can be customized
and personalized.Let’s point out the materials and the process involved in
producing these exceptional pieces.
Luxury accessories
worldwide is synonymous with classic brass. Our entire product line is made of
solid brass, hand polished and plated in our facilities in France. We apply
only precious material for the finishing such as 24 carat gold, palladium and
ruthenium.As the manufacturer, it is possible for us to produce personalized
and unique product. We offer our customers the option of branding their
products with their own picture, name or text message and most of our product
can be engraved to make them unique.
One of my favorite
products is the scorecard commemorative. It is perfect the perfect small
tasteful piece for the desk and the perfect prize for club tournament.
There are so many
applications for this type of re-memberance: a hole in one card, my lowest
score at the home club, my round with Dad, only round ever at Bandon Dunes, my
round that won the member guest, etc. This is one of those pieces that exemplifies
the elegance of the line.
The line also
includes men’s and ladies’ golf apparel. These boutique collections have very
distinctive features and benefits. Tell us about the apparel and how you see it
as merchandising with the rest of the line.
Decayeux Paris is
a lifestyle brand and thus it seemed appropriate to design and merchandise an
apparel line.The idea is to introduce a bit of French touch within Golf courses
and proshops by promoting and merchandizing our global look.
Many people
reading this article are getting ready to attend the PGA Golf Show in Orlando
and make decisions regarding something new and special for their member/guest
and member/member favors and prizes. What do you see as possibilities with
Decayeux product, particularly how some of your items could be personalized per
participant and the time frame needed to fulfill such a request?
Attending the PGA
show for the first time will give us the opportunity to present our unique
products to the professional attendees. We are very confident in presenting our
personalized product such as the brass engraved score card, the engraved tees
collection and our belt line. Our whole line must be seen to be appreciated because
product details and finishing is not something that can be seen in a catalog.
We are convinced that prominent golf clubs and resorts in the states will soon welcome our product and be
glad to partner with our brand.
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| Click for Video |
Stéphane,
Erwan, Pierre and I will be in Orlando in Booth 3416 and look forward to discussing
the product and concepts that are introduced here. This should be a booth you make a point to
visit in Orlando as Decayeux has a one-of-a-kind product line, placement
incentives and incredible European panache. The line absolutely needs to be
seen in person to fully appreciate the quality and presentation appeal of the
metals as well as the distinct customization of the apparel.
I
will be happy to mail anyone a catalog and price list if interested in
previewing before Orlando. Email me your name and address to craigrkirchner@gmail.com. Also, email or call me at 443-309-3005 to
make an appointmentfor a GoToMeeting or to meet with us in Orlando to discuss
Decayeux Golf and the possibility of representation of your facility’s
tournament winner at the Decayeux Cup in Saint-Tropez.
