“Grand in scale or character,” “Particularly impressive or remarkable,” “Extending beyond the normal or usual,” are just a few definitions. It’s a pretty high bar to set for yourself, and a pretty high bar to actually reach. Setting high bars, and actually reaching them, is nothing new for the ownership team behind Epic Carts. Epic was acquired last year by ICON. As the brand is already well known, ICON went from a little known startup to the fourth largest manufacturer of golf cars in the United States, behind E-Z-GO, Club Car and Yamaha, in less than 3 years. ICON’s rise has been well-documented in this publication and others, but like any successful business, product diversification is essential. With this momentum in hand, last year ICON founders Roy Williams and Terry Trek went looking for another brand to add to the ICON portfolio.
Custom is our
standard
Sean Heatley founded EPIC almost a decade ago, operating mainly in the Texas market. Heatley owned a retail location, and like many shops across the country he was unable to secure a “Big 3” dealership due to territory restrictions. Heatley realized that the only way to significantly expand his business was to create his own brand and to distribute that brand to other dealers.
Peace of mind
The manufacturing process, however, is only one piece of the overall puzzle.Innovation, sales, expansion and distribution are equally vital components, and this is where Heatley looked at ICON’s example. “What ICON did in the last 3 or 4 years has been amazing, so of course I was interested to see if possibilities existed to do something together,” Heatley said. He met with ICON CEO Williams and COO Trekas, and soon after a deal was reached for EPIC to become part of the ICON family.
