PING lose latest appeal against CMA case

PING Europe has lost the latest round of appeals against the CMA’s decision that PING must allow online retailers to sell custom fitted golf clubs.

“Since pioneering custom fitting more than 50 years ago, we’ve been committed to helping golfers play better and enjoy the game more by offering the most comprehensive, industry-leading custom fitting processes available”, said John Clark, Managing Director of Ping Europe. “The position put forward by the CMA and disappointingly followed by the courts that the Internet provides an appropriate and beneficial sales channel for almost every product the consumer can buy regardless of its qualities or bespoke nature appears to us as misguided. A PING golf club is a highly technical and complex product which is manufactured and assembled to the precise specifications derived from each golfer’s individual characteristics and swing. The sale of this product from a website through which a person simply cannot receive a dynamic ‘in person’ custom fitting, deprives PING customers of the full benefits we design into each of our golf clubs. We do not believe that this decision is to the benefit or in the best interests of the consumer or the game of golf in Europe.”

In light of this judgment, Ping Europe will be requesting permission from the Supreme Court to appeal. “We have an obligation to the PING consumer and the vast majority of Ping Europe account holders who we know fully support our aim of achieving a 100% custom fitting rate for PING clubs and the methods we employ to achieve this goal” said John Clark. “The cornerstone of our business is focused on maximising the value we deliver to our consumers. After decades of growing our business by delivering individually custom fit clubs to our consumers, we remain hopeful that if permission is granted to appeal to the Supreme Court, our way of doing business by serving the consumer first will be upheld.”