Leading Golf and Sportswear Brand Makes PROFIT List for Fourth Consecutive Year
(Vancouver, BC, Canada) – Popular golf and sportswear designer Linda Hipp announces that her company, LIJA, has been recognized in the 20th annual PROFIT 100 ranking of Canada’s Fastest-Growing Companies by PROFIT magazine.
This marks the fourth consecutive year that LIJA has been recognized among the PROFIT 100. Ranking Canada’s Fastest-Growing Companies by five-year revenue increases, the list profiles the country’s most successful companies. The country’s largest annual celebration of entrepreneurial achievement, the PROFIT 100 is published in the June issue of PROFIT and online at www.PROFIT100.com.
“In the last year, we’ve debuted several exciting new initiatives and their success has helped fuel our continued growth,” says Hipp, principal designer and founder of the brand. “In addition to an expanded range of lifestyle offerings, our Tour Style Leaders program has resulted in several LPGA, Futures and Ladies European Tour players as LIJA brand ambassadors. These women embody our mission of providing apparel for all aspects of the active lifestyle.”
“The PROFIT 100 are role models for anyone who wants to expand their business domestically or
internationally,” says Ian Portsmouth, editor of PROFIT. “All entrepreneurs can take great lessons from the product development, human resources and marketing practices of Canada’s Fastest-Growing Companies.”
LIJA is a staple in finer golf and non-golf retailers across North America, including world-renowned resorts and clubs like Pebble Beach, Kiawah Island and Whistling Straights. The Spring 2008 collections are currently available in stores and online.
For Fall 2008, LIJA has introduced six vibrant collections fusing sport, leisure and fashion with unique color stories, chic details and an expanded range of outerwear across more than 200 pieces. Shipping of these collections will continue through December.
For more information, call 888.263.1191 or visit www.lijastyle.com.
About LIJA
LIJA is a market leader in fashion-forward styles featuring feminine and comfortable silhouettes inspired by the fusion of sport, leisure and fashion. The brand’s distinctive excellence is driven by LIJA’s passion, commitment and dedication to creating innovative designs.
Having received significant recognition within and outside the golf industry, LIJA has achieved organic annual sales growth of at least 50 percent every year. Enjoying a rapidly expanding sales force and account base in North America, LIJA recently began selling into the UK, Ireland, South Africa and United Arab Emirates markets.
Recent recognition for the company includes:
2007 “Business of the Year” — Richmond Chamber of Commerce
2007 PGA Magazine — Resort Top Seller
2007 PGA Magazine — Private Course Top Seller
2007 Best of Show Honors at PGA Show — Golfing Magazine
2007 PROFIT 100 Rankings of Canada’s Fastest Growing Companies
2006 PROFIT W100 Ranking of Canada’s Top Women Entrepreneurs
2006 Business in Vancouver “BC’s 50 Fastest-Growing Companies”
2005 Canadian Golf Company of the Year — Score Golf magazine
Individually, Linda 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.
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, is Canada’s preeminent publication dedicated to the management issuesand opportunities facing small and mid-sized businesses. For more than 25 years, Canadian entrepreneurs acrossa vast array of economic sectors have remained loyal to PROFIT because it’s a timely and reliable source of actionable information that helps them increase their revenues, boost their profitability and get the recognition they deserve for generating positive economic and social change. Published six times a year by Rogers Publishing Ltd., PROFIT is distributed almost exclusively to the chief executives of companies with 5 – 250 employees and annual revenue of $1 million to $25 million, reaching more than 300,000 readers across Canada. Visit PROFIT online at www.PROFITmagazine.ca.
Contact:
Andrea Latta
Buffalo Communications
703.891.3383
alatta@billycaspergolf.com
