(Vancouver, BC, Canada) – Popular golf and sportswear designer Linda Hipp announces that her company, LIJA, recorded a three-year corporate staff growth rate of 280 percent.
Founded in 1997, LIJA continues to increase both its corporate and sales staff to service rapidly expanding demand for what has grown into one of North America’s leading golf and sportswear brands.
The company’s latest hires include Bonnie Berezowski for the newly created position of Senior Manager, Finance & Human Resources, and Manisha Sandha as Customer Service Coordinator.
The brand’s expansion – based on Hipp’s dynamic, European-influenced designs in conjunction with strategic sales, marketing, PR and endorsement initiatives – has been widely recognized. Most recently, for the second consecutive year PROFIT magazine named LIJA among Canada’s 100 fastest growing companies and Linda Hipp as one of Canada’s top female entrepreneurs.
"When we started, golf fashion was an oxymoron for women – there was a real need in the marketplace for apparel that was both stylish and functional, and transcended the golf course," says Hipp, principal designer and founder. "We’re ideally positioned to continue growing responsibly, and we are happy to welcome new members to the LIJA team whose passion for the industry will help us continue to do so."
LIJA recently debuted an updated website, and earlier this year moved to a new 11,700-plus square foot headquarters facility with increased office and warehouse space for greater efficiency in business operations.
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 late 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 PROFIT W100 Ranking of Canada’s Top Women Entrepreneurs (No. 5)
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.
Contact:
Andrea Latta
Buffalo Communications
703.891.3383
alatta@billycaspergolf.com
