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Randy Corti deals in the type of merchandise that's never going to lose its consumer appeal in the desert.

Corti and his dad, Ron Corti, are in the golf equipment and apparel business. In the golf-crazy Coachella Valley, that's like being in the umbrella business in Portland.

"The products are in demand. The biggest challenge lies in being able to separate yourself from the competition," says Corti, a 41-year-old Dallas native who landed in the desert by way of Pasadena back in the mid 1980s. "You've still got to market the business."

For the Corti family, it's been a steady, yet sometimes uphill, climb of nearly 20 years with this entrepreneurial venture called Lumpy's Discount Golf and Fashion Place. The 1,000square-foot quasi-warehouse that Ron Corti purchased in 1988 is only a memory now, replaced by two outlets with genuine retail feel - one in Cathedral City and the other in La Quinta.

"Retail is not for everyone," says Randy Corti, general manager of the stores. "I know now it's a good fit for me. But I had to figure that out. One thing I like is being part of the golf business here is like living in a small town. Everyone seems to know everyone."

A three-sport letterman in high school, Corti's initial career aspiration involved broadcast journalism. He majored in it at North Texas State and had to experience life as a TV sports reporter earning $5.30 an hour in Longview, Texas, before realizing, in his words, "that there must be something else out there that pays more."

Following a fling as a management trainee in Pasadena for a national company that sold swimming pool supplies, Corti came to the desert in '88 to sell commercial time for a local TV station.

"It was straight commission; no sales, no pay," remembers Corti. "So, to generate some income, I started working nights and weekends regripping clubs at Lumpy's [which his dad had purchased by then]. That's how I got started with this business."

Lumpy's growth over the years has included opening the La Quinta store (in '89) and four expansions of the Cathedral City outlet to its present 7,000 square feet. Randy now owns 20 percent of the business and hopes to buy out his dad's interest eventually.

Corti describes himself as an occasional golfer who carries a handicap of eight to 16 and enjoys playing the game with friends. His favorite fitness activity is distance running, a venture he first experienced as a cross country runner in high school and returned to out of necessity.

"After my second son was born, I weighed 230 pounds and I realized I wanted to do things with them while they were growing up," says Corti, who is 6-foot-3. "But I knew if I wanted to stay active as I got older, I had to start by getting active again."

Corti said a revived running program was solidified when he joined the Desert Cities Track Club. Nine years later, he remains a dedicated runner who's 20 pounds lighter and twice has finished a half-ironman triathlon - an endurance test requiring participants to run 13.1 miles, cycle 56 miles and swim 1.2 miles. And he says he's connected better with his sons, Roger, now 10, and Danny, 9.

Corti said he feels Lumpy's has been able to secure a solid share of the local market by building a knowledgable, customer-friendly staff. Also, the Cathedral City store has a full-swing simulator (apparently the only one in the valley). It's a $45,000 piece of equipment that enables customers to analyze the potential value of new equipment with out purchasing it.

"It's like trying on a pair of shoes before buying them," says Corti. "Nobody wants to spend $300 for a new driver only to find out it's no better than his old one. The simulator indicates what the benefit will be."

As a former broadcast journalist, Corti says he's comfortable going in front of the camera when Lumpy's decides to cut a TV commercial. The best advertisement, in his view though, is word of mouth.

"It's the least expensive, too," says Corti. "Our goal is repeat customers. We're out to make friends with every person who comes in the door. We want them to keep coming back."

LUMPY'S DISCOUNT GOLF AND FASHION PLACE

What: Discount golf equipment and apparel outlets

Where: Store locations at 67-625 Highway 111 in Cathedral City and 78-267 Highway 111 in La Quinta

Owners: Family business owned by Ron and Randy Corti

Year purchased: 1988

Employees: 15 year round; 30 during the tourist season

Information: 346-8768 (La Quinta), 321-2437 (Cathedral City), www.lumpys.com

Copyright Desert Publication, Inc. and Sharon Apfelbaum May 31, 2005
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved

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