(Vancouver, BC, Canada) – Linda Hipp, founder and principal designer of the popular golf and sportswear brand LIJA, has been recognized in the 8th annual PROFIT W100 ranking of Canada’s Top Women Entrepreneurs by PROFIT: Your Guide to Business Success magazine.
Ranking Canada’s top women entrepreneurs by the annual revenue of their companies, the PROFIT W100 profiles the country’s most successful female business owners. LIJA by Linda Hipp is specifically recognized as the No. 5 company in terms of three-year revenue increase, with 295 percent growth. Earlier this year, the company was named one of Canada’s 100 fastest-growing companies overall by PROFIT.
"I’m honored to be considered one of Canada’s top female business leaders," says Hipp. "I founded LIJA because I saw a need in the marketplace for fashionable women’s golf apparel. In less than a decade, the company has achieved remarkable success and we’re happy to be on track for continued growth in the future."
Published in the November issue of PROFIT and online at PROFITguide.com, the PROFIT W100 is Canada’s largest annual celebration of entrepreneurial achievement by women.
"The PROFIT W100 are role models for entrepreneurs who lead companies of any size in any sector," says PROFIT editor Ian Portsmouth. "Through effective management, they’ve built profitable, sustainable businesses."
LIJA is a staple in finer golf and non-golf retailers across North America, including world-renowned resorts like Pebble Beach, Doral, Kiawah Island and Kapalua. The company’s Fall 2006 and ever-popular Basics collections are currently available in stores and online at www.lijastyle.com. Shipping of the Spring 2007 collections – showcasing innovative textures, superior styling, unique prints and functional fabrics – commences in November.
For more information, call 888.263.1191 or visit www.lijastyle.com to preview the Spring 2007 Collections.
About LIJA
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.
Recent recognition for the company includes:
2006 Business in Vancouver "BC’s 50 Fastest-Growing Companies" (No. 20)
2006 PROFIT 100 Rankings of Canada’s Fastest Growing Companies (No. 69)
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 entrepreneurs leading Canada’s fastest-growing companies. Each year PROFIT – which currently reaches 370,000 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:
Andrea Latta
Buffalo Communications
703.891.3383
alatta@billycaspergolf.com