CloudComputingGolfhasapopulargolfcoursebookingappthathas240,000downloadsand138,000users.ItalsojustlistedontheNewThirdBoard.
CloudComputingGolf’sservices
CloudComputingwasestablishedinJune2011andlauncheditsonlinegolfcoursebookingserviceinSeptember2012.Itsservicenetworknowcovers95%ofChina’sgolfcourses.
CloudComputingGolf’sCOOAngLisaid:“Golfcoursebookingcanonlyreachasmallcustomergroup.Whilewewanttobespecialists,wecan’tbeboxedin.”Hence,thecompanylaunchedagolfboutiquemall,magazines,golfersclubandgolftrainingappandservicesonitsplatformoneafteranotherfromJune2014.Thisyearitwillopenanofflinegolfacademy.
“Inthiswaywehopetobecomeaone-stopsolutionforgolferstosolvetheissuesofwhotoplaywith,wheretoplayandwhichinstructortochoose.Full-platformdistributionisouradvantage.”Mr.Lisaid.
“Unlikeourcompetitors,weintroduceeachoperationoneafteranothertomakesurewedoeachonewellbeforewestartthenext.Forexample,wespenttwoyearsperfectingourgolfcoursebookingoperationbeforeaddingourmalloperation,”hesaid.
Mr.LiwelcomesBaidu’srecentlyannouncedventureintogolfcoursebookings.“Competitionisnottheissue.Thesmallnumberofgolfersis,”hesaid.TheForwardWhitePaperGolfIndustryReport2014estimatesChinahasacoregroupof400,000golfers(playersaged18andolderwhoplayatleasteighttimesayear),whereasMr.Liestimatesthereisanothergroupofcasualgolferswhokeepasetofclubsintheircarbootbutplaylessthaneighttimesayear.ThisbringsthetotalnumberofgolfersinChinatoaboutonemillion.
CloudComputingGolfAcademyJuniorClass
Meanwhile,Ctrip’scompanyAiwan,setuptocompeteinthethemedvacationmarketinAugust2014,hasagolfdivisionthatalreadytookoffwithinhalfayearofitsinauguration.Havingraisedamulti-millionRMBASeriesfinancingroundfromFosunGroupinMarch2015,Aiwanwillcontinuetoincreaseinvestmentinthegolfdivisionandenhanceitsoperations,aimingtoget400,000-plusmembersbytheendoftheyear.
Mr.LiadmitsthatCloudComputingGolfisn’tprofitableyet,asgolfcoursepricesarehighlytransparentandmostbookingagentsoffersimilarprices,exceptduringspecialpromotions,somuchsothatintermediariescanhardlymakeanyprofit.Theprofitabilityofitsmallbusinessisalsodismalascustomersinvariablyoptforthecheapestamongcomparableproducts.
Itssoleprofitablebusinessisthegolfacademies—itsfirstschoolbecameprofitablewithinamonthofitslaunchinShenzhenthisyear.CloudComputingGolfnowhasthreedirectlyoperatedgolfacademiesandaimstohave12operatingthisyear.
ListingontheNewThirdBoard
BeforesettingupCloudComputingGolf,itsCEOYaohuiZhang,whoholdsanMBAfromFudanUniversity’sCEIBS,workedatgolfcoursemanagementandeventcompanyForwardManagementGroup.
HisstartupgotanangelinvestmentfromagroupofCEIBSclassmates,amongthemTencent’sco-founderLiqingZeng,whoremainsthestartup’sshareholder.
CloudComputingGolf’scoremanagementteamconsistsoffourmembers—CEOYaohuiZhang,COOAngLi,CTOXiZhengandCPOMingboChen,aformerTencentemployee.Itincreaseditsstafffromonly26beforeChineseNewYearto60,plusitsacademystaff.(TranslationbyDavid)