MEMBER SPOTLIGHT NOW What is your biggest concern with what’s ahead for the industry after everything that has occurred so far in 2020? BRIAN BARNES
Brandon Source For Sports Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
TRACY GIBBONS Sturtevant’s Bellevue, WA
As we move forward in
The biggest
these times with huge
concern is
uncertainty as to what
the safety
sport is going to look
and well-being of our staff and custom-
like, I am hopeful that
ers and how to balance all their needs
vendors and brick-
and expectations. We feel fortunate our
and-mortar retail work
business focuses on promoting folks be
together as true partners to continue the
outdoors and enjoy the different activities
legacy that has been created over the years!
available. I was fortunate enough to snow
The industry needs to be respectful of each
ski at Crystal Mountain, and waterski on
other’s challenges, and work together on sell-in and sell-through data to maintain cash flow for both partners, as we hopefully
Lake Washington, in the past couple of weeks and enjoy these activities with my family while practicing social distancing. As
whether or not there will be high school and middle school sports. With this being at least 75 percent of our business, it is a huge concern moving forward. Even though most of our schools are starting summer conditioning, in anticipation of an upcoming season, we all know that all it takes is one spike in positive cases of COVID- 19 and everything will be shut down again. If there is another shutdown, athletics will definitely be one of the activities put on hold and that will hurt many of the small local team dealers across the country.
TRAVER MCLEOD
inch towards normal!
a consumer, seeing many chairs go by with
BETSY FREY
but I personally experienced a lot of happy
Hockeywolf Missoula, MT
participants who also seemed willing to
As a hockey dealer, we
Holyoke Sporting Goods Holyoke, MA My state has been hit very hard by COVID-19. The current state guidelines for organized sports are very restrictive and my concern is leagues may cancel the fall season. I was closed from March 16 to June 8 and I cannot make up this business. I think if fall sports are allowed to happen there will be less participants than previous years. This will result in less team and retail sales.
just 1 or 2 people took a bit of rethinking,
accept the new longer lines, and not full chairs, as the “new norm.”
we don’t have a clear
address changes in our business model,
picture of what our
is another concern. We have revisited our
favorite sport is going
website and are working on how it commu-
to look like in the next
nicates with our customers, and how it can
12 months. There is real concern that par-
better mimic our in-store experience. We
ticipation could drop significantly due to
are using the phone much more. And we
the constraints required by local or state
will continue to revisit our in-store expe-
governments and the sports governing
rience as we welcome back customers.
body guidelines.
Ultimately knowing not all customers are
In addition, because of the supply chain
comfortable with the same solution we are working hard to create multiple avenues to service them.
spring 2021. I fulfilled all my school orders
KEITH MANNING
not need to place orders for spring 2021, so I will be ordering and selling less merchandise. The after-effects of COVID-19 may linger for a few years.
our average customer:
Reallocating staff time and expertise, to
I am also concerned about team sales for before the shutdown. These schools will
are in the same boat as
Jack Pearl’s Team Sports Battle Creek, Michigan
interruptions and restrictions on production from our vendors, we could likely have a shortage of some important equipment or items of necessity, including custom goods. The overall uncertainty adds an incredible amount of stress to all of us.
Being a team sporting goods dealer, our biggest concern for the near future is NSGA NOW ®
>> July/August 2020 | 23
