Michelle Wie Mania Sweeping Korea

The “wave” of Michelle Wie (Wie Sung-mi, age 17) has swept over the Korean peninsula.

Wie made the cut in men’s pro event on her eighth challenge, drawing much applause from golf fans. Her unique fashion style and “sayings” have caused much stir on the internet as well.

The extraordinary profit Michelle Wie is prospected to generate is also a hot topic. The expected revenue can match even that of a listed SME in the domestic market, and the net profit is similar to that of a manufacturing business that generates 300 to 400 billion won annually in revenue.

If we calculate the worth of Michelle Wie as a listed company in the Korean market, how much will it be worth?

A Statement of Profit and Loss of “Michelle Wie Co.”-

Michelle Wie earns money from official sponsorships, tournament participation fees, prizes, and from participating in advertisements. Experts estimate the total earnings to be around $41-46 million (equivalent to approximately 38 to 43 billion won). Apart from the official sponsorship money, $10 million per year, from Nike and Sony, Wie is still expected to earn more than $15 million just from participating in the men’s tournaments through invitation.

Michelle is expected to earn more than $10 million a year from modeling for advertisements as well. Already she has made Japanese and Korean commercials worth billions of won and is expected to make contracts with world class companies in sectors such as fast food, watch, clothing, and women’s living supplies.

Chief Kang Jin-gi from Cheil Communications assessed Michelle Wie, “She has a pure and untarnished image, yet is constantly challenging to break the existing authority and ideas which makes her value as a commercial model extremely high.”

Other than these, Michelle is prospected to make a further $5-10 million every year through a $1 million prize money and appearing on various television programs and other events.

How much does Michelle Wie spend?

The lesson fees to David Leadbetter, various fees, management cost, and coordinator cost comprise 10-20 percent of the total earnings, and approximately 40 percent is estimated to be spent on tax. Although Wie’s expenditure is enormous, considering the generated profit, it is relatively small compared to other world sports celebrities such as Tiger Woods.

“Michelle Wie Co.” is a Blue Chip-

Stock experts assess “Michelle Wie Co.” as a blue chip which has both the stability and the potential for growth.

Oh Hyun-seok of the Samsung Securities Co., Ltd. said, “It is a very attractive stock as Wie has stable cash flow through sponsorship money and tournament fees, and has high potential for growth as she is still so young,” and added, “In Korea, companies such as Samsung Electronics and Shinsegae can be viewed to have similar reputations.”

In particular, experts highly regarded the fact that profit rate against revenue was high.

Michelle Wie Co.’s profit rate before tax is estimated to be over 70 percent. This is close to the world’s best company Microsoft (MS) which has a 75 percent operating profit rate.

Experts think only the question of how long she will be able to maintain the current image and perform as a professional player as the largest “uncertainty” that remains.