OB Club

Abstract

On an unusual rainy day in February 2017, Sikorn Cheeranavanit, the CEO of OB Club, gathered his employees at the OB Club facility in Akamai, Bangkok, to sum up the progress of the company. After three years and almost $1 million in investment, things were looking up for the club, which had been founded in 2014 on the novel concept of creating a new culture of golf in Thailand by integrating IT and golf.

The OB club had not been a first mover in the indoor golf simulator side of the business, but was the first mover to introduce an indoor golf simulator for non-serious (i.e., casual or occasional) golfers. It was very challenging for the company to raise awareness about the indoor golf simulator within the public at large. Most golfers played golf at the golf course or driving range. Even though Thailand was considered a paradise of golf, most golf revenue was generated from tourists and serious golfers. Golf was still unreachable by the majority of the Thai population. Sikorn’s vision was to make golf affordable by everyone. Thus, the OB club was targeting non-serious golfers to play golf and have fun at the same time.

Sikorn knew that if and when his business became a success, there would be imitators who would endeavor to copy his business model. Hence, Sikorn surmised that to be successful over the long run, he could not stop at the indoor golf simulator. Rather, he would need to create an “ecosystem” to sustain competitive advantage over the long run. Thus, here at the end of February 2017, with a shareholders’ meeting coming soon, he had to devise and present a new business model and strategy to convince the shareholders that his business was going to be a success.