Leading Golf and Sportswear Brand Makes PROFIT List for Second Consecutive Year
(Vancouver, BC, Canada) – Popular golf and sportswear designer Linda Hipp announces that her company, LIJA, has been recognized in the 18th annual PROFIT 100 rankings of Canada’s Fastest Growing Companies by PROFIT magazine.
This marks the second consecutive year that LIJA by Linda Hipp has been honored by PROFIT for its revenue growth. The only apparel company to make the 2006 list, LIJA placed No. 69 based on a reported 937 percent increase in revenues over five years. The complete rankings can be viewed at http://www.canadianbusiness.com/rankings/profit100/index.jsp?year=2006 and also appear in the June issue of PROFIT.
"We’ve experienced tremendous growth over the past five years and this recognition is a wonderful affirmation of our hard work," says Hipp. "Sales of this year’s spring and fall collections continue to exceed expectations as we expand our market reach and open new accounts."
‘The companies on the PROFIT 100 are role models for anyone who wants to seize today’s best business opportunities,’ says Ian Portsmouth, editor of PROFIT. ‘By differentiating their products and applying creative management thinking, Canada’s Fastest Growing Companies are outpacing the competition at home and abroad.’
LIJA by Linda Hipp recently moved into new corporate headquarters facility that better serves the personnel, warehousing, shipping and showroom needs precipitated by the brand’s rapid growth. Among the highlights of the 11,700-plus square foot facility is an expanded showroom area with large images of current collections and ever-popular basics, allowing customers, professional golf staff players and media to touch and feel the latest LIJA styles.
More information is available at www.LIJAStyle.com or 604.270.6060.
About LIJA
LIJA’s Spring and Fall 2006 collections are currently available in better on- and off-course retailers throughout North America, including world-renowned resorts like Pebble Beach, Doral, Kiawah Island and Kapalua. The collections feature the distinctive European-inspired styling that has made LIJA a favorite of fashion-conscious golfers and non-golfers alike for the past nine years.
A trend-setter and market leader, Hipp showcases innovative textures, superior styling, unique prints and functional fabrics to create elegant yet sporty complements to the various moods of a modern woman’s lifestyle.
LIJA has received significant recognition within and outside the golf industry, achieving organic annual sales growth of at least 50 percent each of the past seven years. Enjoying a rapidly expanding sales force and account base in North America, LIJA recently began selling into the UK, Australian and Japanese markets.
Recognition for the company includes:
2005 Canadian Golf Company of the Year – Score Golf magazine
2005 PROFIT W100 Ranking of Canada’s Top Women Entrepreneurs (No. 3)
2005 PROFIT 100 Rankings of Canada’s Fastest Growing Companies (No. 56)
2004 Polartec APEX Award (for innovative use of technical fabrics)
North America’s "Top-5 Up-and-Coming Women’s Golf Apparel" – GolfWorld Business
Individually, Hipp has been honored as a grant recipient of the Matinee Fashion Foundation Award, which annually recognizes and funds select Canadian designers, and voted a "40 Under 40" winner by Business in Vancouver.
Hipp, 39, previously worked as a business development executive for Vancouver’s Canucks (NHL) and Grizzlies (NBA). An avid and highly-skilled golfer, Hipp struggled to find on-course apparel that meshed with her off-course fashion sensibility. Recognizing a market opportunity – and the chance to combine her passions for fashion, golf and business – Hyp Golf was launched in July 1997. The company re-branded as LIJA in late 2004. Chiefly influenced by both European trends and West Coast style, Hipp has garnered a widespread reputation as one of North America’s hottest sportswear designers.
About PROFIT Magazine
PROFIT: Your Guide to Business Success offers news, strategies, tips, interviews and other resources to the CEOs of Canadian growth companies. Each year PROFIT – which currently reaches more than 373,000 readers nationally – hosts a number of events that bring together business leaders in the fast-growth segment and champions the interests of those leaders. PROFIT was founded in April 1982, as Canada’s first national magazine geared to entrepreneurs. Visit PROFITguide.com.
Contact:
Tom Williams
Buffalo Communications
703.891.3322
twilliams@billycaspergolf.com
