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Wednesday, September 1, 1999 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER D 5 Bell sponsors Open (Cont. from page D4) start times, updates, and photos; a 360 degree view of each hole at Glen Abbey; tips from Glen Abbey teach­ ing professionals; the Bell Canadian Open ticket and information hotline. • Community-based initiatives, including the Bell Canadian Open Charity Golf Fest that was held on Aug. 19th in support of Invest in Kids. • Charity Putt-to-Win: on-site putting challenge, conducted during tournament week in support of Invest in Kids. • Media Centre: offering compli­ mentary communications services to all media on-site during tournament week. Bell's relationship with sports at the professional level and amateur lev­ els extends beyond the fairways and includes strong associations with the Canadian Olympic Association, Toronto Blue Jays, Montreal Expos, Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, and Ottawa Senators. Bell Canada markets a full range of state-of-the-art products and services to more than seven million business and residential customers in Ontario and Quebec. The new owners o f Glen Abbey ClubLink Corporation's business is to acquire, develop, and operate best of class golf courses and related amenities, and to develop golf-related real estate to maximize share­ holder value. (Company Description) ClubLink Corporation is Canada's largest owner and operator of high quality golf course properties and is a grow­ ing developer of lifestyle-oriented residential real estate adjacent to its courses and resort properties driven by golf as their key amenity. Combined with its affiliates, ClubLink is the third largest multi-course operator in North America. ClubLink is a public company, traded on the Toronto Stock Exchange (Symbol: LNK). Since it was established in 1993, ClubLink has built a significant portfolio -- 63 cours­ es in Canada and the United States. In Ontario and Quebec, the Corporation owns 30 courses at 25 locations, including Glen Abbey Golf Club, the top ranked public course in Canada and home of the 1999 PGA Tour Bell Canadian Open, and the Curtis Strange/Doug Carrick-designed King Valley Golf Club,- the ninth ranked course in Canada. In the United States, ClubLink has ownership interest in 33 courses located primarily in Virginia and the Carolinas. (ClubCorp Inc.) ClubCorp. Inc. of Dallas, Texas, and ClubLink estab­ lished a strategic alliance in January 1999. ClubCorp, the (See 'ClubLink' page D7) Winner of President's Award 5 Times Running "Thud. Could that Mercedes- "The Accent remains at the like sound be a Hyundai door top in comfort, safety and closing? It is. " Robert English, reliability, as well as its The Financial Post affordability." Tdronto Sun 'Tiburon. This is one car meant to be driven with enthusiasm over the twistiest of roads." Ted Laturnus, The Globe and Mail 'Best B u\' Award Winner 1991199~ a d m CUCITDE M.AGAZ1SE 1999 ACCENT L 3 -D 0 0 R%DOWN PAYMENT SECURITY DEPOSIT. FR EIG H T & P .D .S ., IN C L. 1999 ELANTRA SEDAN1)DOWN PAYMENT SECURITY DEPOSIT. FR EIG H T & P .D .S ., IN C L. 1999 TIBURON COUPE *0 Ml {1,500 DOWNPAYMENT FREIGHT & P.D.S. INCL.(SECURITY DEPOSIT EXTRA) THE ALL-NEW 1999 SONATA HI Ml M S R P FR O M $19,495 $1,950 DOWN PAYMENT [FREIGHT S P.D.S. extra SECURITY DEPOSIT EXTRA) ' Leasing program available from Hyundai Financial Services. Limited time otter. Leasing program based on new 1999 Accent L 3 -dr M SRP from $ 1 1 ,5 6 5 ,1 9 9 9 Elantra GL Sedan M SR P from $ 1 4 ,5 9 5 ,1 9 9 9 Tiburon Base M SR P from $ 1 7 ,8 9 5 ,1 9 9 9 Sanata GL M SR P from $19,495 . $1 6 9 /$ 2 2 9 /$ 2 18/$2 99 per month tor a 48 month walkaway lease tor all models. Total lease obligation of $ 8 .1 2 2 /$ 1 0 ,9 9 2 /$ 1 0 ,4 6 4 /$ 1 0.99 2 0 A C . Down payment of $0/$0/$1.500/$1,950 plus first monthly payment required. Security deposit ($ 0 for Accent/Elantra, $21 8 for Tiburon. $22 9 for Sanata). freight and PDS tor Accent/ElantraTiburon included, freight and PDS tor Sonata extra. Taxes and license and $350 administration fee extra. 20,000 km mileage allowance per year applies. Additional km charge of $0.10. t1 /.8 % financing available on 1999 Accent 4-dr., Elantra, Tiburon and Sonata models 0A .C . for 2 4 .3 6 or 48 month terms. " A l l MSRP prices exclude freight, license, PDS and taxes. Financing example: $10,000 at 1.8% per annum equals $216.08 per month for 48 months. C.O.B. is $371.84 for a total obligation of $10,371.84. See Oakville Hyundai for details. H Y U N D A I O F O A K V I L L E T O R O N T O H Y U N D A I S P E E R S ® l LAKESHORE 4™ 1 I m m 1071 Sl'KKRS ROAD (Just West of 4th Line) 2AM)D I KKKRIN STREET 905-845-7791 416-787-9789 4 0 1 LA W R EN C E z SCHELL ■ C£ LU LL LL | E G U N T O N D -- Q _ A d v e r t o r ia l - Golf town president Stephen Bebis gets in the swing of the retail business. Golf Town retail chain designed for all levels of golfers Stephen Bebis continues to answer a beacon issued north of the 49th parallel. A Boston, Mass, native, Bebis first left the United States in 1991 to become president and chief executive officer of the Molson Companies Ltd.'s new Aikenhead's Home Improvement Warehouse chain. He was among the first to introduce the big box and power centre concepts in Canada, and by the time he packed his bags five years later and ventured back to the United States, Aikenhead's had evolved into Home Depot Canada and his work helped the company sur­ pass $1 billion in annual revenue by 1994. But by spring of 1998, Bebis was back in Canada, landing in Richmond Hill to headquarter Golf Town, a new large-format retail chain designed for men, women and junior golfers from beginners to the low handicap- per. "I love Canada and it is a wonderful place to work and raise a family. But, I still have a bit of an American ascent that makes people ask what the hell I'm doing up here," Bebis explained during an interview last week. "Others from Canada just can't wait to go and work in the states. "Maybe it's because the grass always looks greener on the other side. I do think it is more difficult for an entrepre­ neur to start a business in Canada than the United States. It's harder to get financing and venture capital here, but on the other hand, it's really more com­ petitive in the states." At a cost of more than $1 million each, Bebis launched two 25,000-square-foot stores in both Scarborough and Mississauga, stocked with com­ plete lines of top golf equip­ ment, including such names as Accuform, Callaway, Cobra, Mizuno, Ping and Titleist. The golf apparel carries designer labels ranging from Greg Norman, Hugo Boss, Roots Golf and Tommy Hilfiger. Each store also features a Canadian Professional Golf Association golf school with digital video technology, tilt simulators, sand traps and chip­ ping and putting facilities where customers can try out any club they see. Golf Town's third store will open in the spring of 2000 in Woodbridge, next door to the Famous Player's Colossus the­ atre. Bebis also expects a total of seven or eight Ontario stores, with one in every Canadian province within the next few years. When he took up the game of golf in 1993, Bebis said Toronto-area stores were not offering a wide selection of mer­ chandise he could already find in the states. So together with partner Murray Bozniak, a for­ mer president of Beaver Lumber, the pair decided to build a store they would like to shop in. "Good retailers try to make the $tores convenient to the cus­ tomers and we developed a con­ cept that golfers would love. The customers are making the choice and they are coming by the droves every day," said Bebis, who helped to develop a mas­ sive newspaper advertising pro­ gram since the two stores first opened in March. "In Scarborough, what we find happening is parents are dropping their kids off at the movie theatre and then spend three hours at a time hanging out at our store. It's a real experience for them, especially whert you can work on the putting green, swing our clubs and get instant feedback from our staff." And although Bebis was instrumental in bringing the big- box outlets to Canada, he's quick to point out Golf Town is quite different than Home Depot. "I don't like to use the phrase 'big-box' because it means some things are cheap and discounted. Instead, we are a large format store that only carries name brand selections," said Bebis, who admits finding qualified staff knowledgeable in the game has been a difficult task to date. "Companies like Home Depot use their size to blow out a lot of products, but we are not that type. People might disagree with me, but I'd compare Golf Town more with Chapters or the Sports Authority." A privately held company, Bebis declined to release rev­ enue figures for the up-shot company, but said sales are exceeding expectations. Manulife Financial is Golf Town's majority shareholder, while Golf Galaxy of Minneapolis owns a 10-per-cent share of the business. "We are two separate camps that have agreed to work togeth­ er," said Bebis regarding the relationship with Golf Galaxy, a retailer with 12 American stores. "We just pass the savings on to our customers. 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