Week 1138
Keen Funded Report Finds
Recess Provides Benefits...
Keen, Inc., which launched its Keen
Recess Revolution campaign earlier this
year, released findings of survey that
identified recess as key to improving
workplace health and productivity, and
re-energizing employees.
The Survey on Workplace Recess, which
was conducted on their behalf by Harris
Interactive in August 2011, revealed
that more than half (53 percent) of the
1,099 U.S. adults surveyed who are
employed full-time indicated that if a 10
-minute "recess" outdoor break was
initiated at their workplace every day, it
would make them a healthier, happier
or more productive employee. Forty-one
percent (41 percent) welcomed this
concept of an outdoor break to help
them deal with stressful situations at
work, and more than one-third (35 percent) indicated that it would make employees more productive during the
workday.
Seventy-eight percent (78 percent) of
full time employed adults felt that certain factors would need to be in place
for recess to be a part of the workday,
including encouragement from top management (39 percent), participation
from their boss and/or colleagues (25
percent), a designated time of day for
recess to avoid scheduling conflicts (35
percent), offering recess during designated paid time (35 percent), and recess becoming part of the company
culture (33 percent).
Keen's Recess Revolution encourages
company employees to take a 10minute activity break outside each day
to escape the daily grind at work.
Dr. Toni Yancey, author of "Instant Recess: Building a Fit Nation 10 Minutes at
a Time" and co-director of the Center
for Health Equity and professor of
health services at UCLA, in a statement
cited the side benefits of reducing obesity and sick time through work breaks
while also lifting employee's moods and
ultimately improving productivity. Said
Dr. Yancey, "If employers offered and
encouraged a paid activity break during
the day, it would offer a real return on
investment for them--delivering $1.50 $2.00 for every dollar spent implementing the program, according to our estimates."
For Breaking News every day, go to
the sporting goods industry’s only
continuously updated news portal
at www.SportsOneSource.com.
SPORTS EXECUTIVE WEEKLY
News · Analysis · Insight
September 19, 2011
BSN Sports Launches Ambitious Charity/Growth Plans...
BSN Sports, formerly Sport Supply Group, revealed
bold plans to double its road sales force and revenues
over the next five years. And while some of that
growth will be driven by even more acquisitions of
team dealers, it's also expected to be stimulated by
several moves designed to further its commitment to
serving local communities.
That includes officially changing its corporate name from Sport Supply Group
to BSN Sports Inc. by the close of this year, reflecting the catalog for which it
is best known; and the company’s recent move to combine its athletic catalog
and field sales operations under the company's flagship BSN Sports brand.
The initiatives are also underscored by a new tagline: "Feel the Strength."
"'We want local communities to 'Feel The Strength' of
one organization, one name, with one commitment,
which is to passionately serve our customers on the
field and create game-changing solutions for them,"
said Adam Blumenfeld, the chairman and CEO of BSN
Sports, in an interview with Sports Executive Weekly.
But the symbol of its drive to better serve local communities is the official launch of the Victory Grant
Program, representing a one million dollar commitment by the company to provide free equipment and
uniforms to school athletic programs and recreation
leagues in need.
Blumenfeld said the commitment – by far the largest
Adam Blumenfeld
in the company's 39-year history – addresses the fisChairman & CEO
cal challenges of its many customers, including not
BSN Sports, Inc.
only schools but leagues, YMCAs, churches, boys and
girls clubs and other organizations supporting team play. Said Blumenfeld, "As
this economy churns on and either goes nowhere or goes in the wrong direction, we have been constantly thinking about how can BSN Sports can play a
leadership role in helping some of these cash-strapped organizations."
On an even wider scale, the program speaks to the fight against childhood
obesity. "This is a great way for us to put free equipment and free uniforms
to use in organizations to get them up and running and to get kids physically
active - not just at the high school level but also at the elementary and the
early childhood level," said Blumenfeld.
But for the company, Victory Grant marks BSN Sports’ shift to take on a larger
leadership role in driving change at the local level. Blumenfeld likened the program to the community-driven efforts orchestrated by New Balance and admits to being inspired by Jim Davis, New Balance's long-time chairman.
"In some small way I suppose this is BNS Sports’ way of stepping up to the
plate in this industry and acting as a leader," admitted Blumenfeld. "But in all
fairness it's taking what I've learned by watching Jim Davis and watching New
Balance do good things in communities over the years and trying to put that
into practice in our business. It's been fun to watch how New Balance has
taken what they've developed and given back."
Indeed, Blumenfeld said the program represents a "natural extension" of what
BSN Sports has been doing since 1972 in serving local markets with "quality,
fair-priced" sports equipment and team uniforms. Said Blumenfeld, "It's
about making specific grants to help programs that really are having a tough
time getting off the ground or keeping them going. So I look at it as a very,
very natural extension of what we do in terms of making BSN Sports not just
relevant but make it a true leader."
Continued on Page 7...
Page 6
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Week 1138
SPORTS EXECUTIVE WEEKLY
News · Analysis · Insight
BSN Sports Continued from Page 6...
Company Looks to Support Challenged Communities...
Programs nationwide are invited to apply for Victory Grant consideration via
BSN Sports' 250 local field reps or online at www.BSNSPORTS.com/
sponsorme. The program will involve an internal grant committee, which will
sort through the applications. The Victory Grant program – aimed at the 6th
grade through college – will be complemented by a "Fit Funds" grant program
run by its U.S. Games division, which focuses on elementary school and early
childhood programs. Grants will be allocated on a rolling basis and are open to
all organizations.
The grant process is expected to start over the next 30 to 60 days although no
timeframe has been set for when the grants will be handed out. More notable
grants will likely be reported as they are made and detailed in the company's
catalogs. The program was soft launched in the BSN Sports mid-July catalog
and the company has already received a number of applications, including tornado- and drought-impacted regions, said Blumenfeld.
He adds that that while the company has no budget for revenue benefit from
the program, management certainly expects to "create goodwill in the communities that we're serving but we intend to do that every day anyway." He
also sees the program as an opportunity to help its road force give back to the
local community each serves while helping the whole organization rally around
a positive cause.
"We have 900 employees and to give our employees a common cause is a
very valuable thing because they like giving back too," said Blumenfeld. "They
feel good about their jobs and feel good about what they're doing in their
communities. So this is a great tool to do it."
The program parallels the company’s move to combine its athletic catalog and
field sales operations under the company's flagship BSN Sports brand that is
designed to bring the organization together "under one name and not 15
names," according to Blumenfeld. He noted that consolidating the company's
many properties under BSN Sports will also make it easier for its more than
1,500 vendors and 125,000 customers. He elaborated, "We're trying to create
some real cohesion so that the outside folks feel like they're working with the
inside folks under one tent, one name, and one common vision."
Asked how BSN Sports' business was fairing, Blumenfeld said the company
doesn’t detail its performance since going private with its sale to ONCAP II LP
in August 2010. But he added that the company was "certainly pleased with
what's been going on over the last 12 to 24 months from a business perspective. We're very happy to be members of the ONCAP family. They've been tremendous partners for us in growing the business and we continue to look for
ways to grow the business."
He noted the company is a $300 million business and recently internally developed a plan to double the size of its business within five years, partly
through a goal of doubling its 250-person road staff.
"We are committed to increasing the size of the sales force," said Blumenfeld.
"We think involvement in the local community is the key to success and it
dovetails directly with the Victory Grant program. BSN Sports is not a catalog
company; it is a comprehensive solution to local communities across the
United States. We intend to become a true one-stop-shop for equipment and
uniforms as well as fundraising solutions for local communities everywhere.
And that's why the Victory program is such a great tie-in to how we're developing this business and where we're taking this business over the next 3 to 5
years."
Some of those road associates will come from acquisitions, such as the lateJuly acquisition of Bethlehem Sporting Goods in the Pennsylvania market.
September 19, 2011
Nike Roiled in Bat Dispute...
Nike Inc. last week was forced to defend itself against charges that its baseball bats weren't 'sluggers' by any degree.
The Tuscaloosa News reported that all
universities under contract with Nike,
including its The University of Alabama
it closely follows, were released from its
obligation to use Nike baseball bats
during the upcoming season. The move
came after a report by the newspaper in
May found that Nike underperformed
versus other bat manufacturers.
Research found that while using the
Nike bats last year, Alabama hit just 23
home runs, down from an average of
86.6 over the previous three seasons.
Major schools such as Southern Cal,
Miami, Georgia, North Carolina and
Kentucky all used Nike bats and experienced major drops in offensive production. Home runs were 20 percent lower
and slugging percentages 44 percent
lower for those teams than for the rest
of the NCAA. Of the top 20 college
teams in home runs last season, not a
single one used Nike bats.
According to last week's article, Alabama requested Nike allow the school
to use other manufacturers' bats following the 2010-11 season.
Nike responded to the article by claiming it hadn't released any of the universities from contracts but was allowing
them to use other brand's bats for only
the 2011-2012 school year. Nike said in
its statement, "We believe in our technology and look forward to seeing it
continue to perform on the field of
play,”
The industry introduced bats last year
to meet new NCAA standards that were
designed to encourage college bats perform more like wood bats. The goal was
to reduce the high scoring that had affected the game since aluminum bats
arrived in the 1990's while also protecting the safety of pitchers. But Nike's
bats reportedly saw a more significant
drop off versus other brands.
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categories.
Continued on Page 8...
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Page 7
Week 1138
SPORTS EXECUTIVE WEEKLY
News · Analysis · Insight
September 19, 2011
BSN Sports Continued from Page 7...
BSN Continues to Eye Acquisitions; Seeks Owners That Want to Join Team...
Said Blumenfeld, "We are an organic grower but we're
also an acquisitive company. And so when we can find
great people like George Kline and great sales forces
like Bethlehem Sporting Goods that we can bring into
fold, we intend to do it."
Moreover, he noted that key to any acquisition is often
retaining the management and sales force of the acquired firms. He called it a "tremendous feather in our
cap" that many of the owners of team dealers it has
acquired in the past have stayed on to play prominent
roles within the company.
"I think one of the reasons that you've seen the Dickmans, the Caravatis, the Salkelds, Eric Kattus, Jim
Fischer and George Kline - all of these people – not
only stay but play meaningful management roles inside our business is because they've been in this business for two, three or four decades," said Blumenfeld.
"They know what they're doing. They know what it
means to serve local communities. So in many instances we won't even entertain acquiring some of
these businesses unless their leadership agrees to
stay on and shares the culture and passion that we
do. And I think they enjoy it because they know we're
doing something special. We are not distributors of
sporting goods equipment and uniforms; we believe
we are generally changing the game for how local
communities are served."
In 2010, the company acquired Kattus Pro Team
Sports, Coaches Sports Corner and Greg Larson
Sports while acquiring Har-Bell Athletic Goods, Gus
Doerner Sports and Webster's Team Sports in 2009.
Its team dealer network also includes Dixie Sporting
Goods, Orlando Team Sports (OTS), Kesslers Team
Sports and Salkeld Sports.
Asked about the arrival of Genesco through its Lids division into the team arena, Blumenfeld said "any competition is good because it makes your organization more focused and better." But he also said there's a number of
competitors in the marketplace, including local team dealers, catalogers and larger chains.
"We do not look at Genesco or Lids participating any differently than we look at other companies or that we do at
new entrants into the space,” said Blumenfeld.
“So
there's nothing particularly unique about the Genesco
model other than yes, we consider them our competition
and yes, we like the fact that it helps us all focus on what
we need to do best."
Touching on team channel challenges, Blumenfeld said
schools and municipalities are waiting until the last minute
to buy, putting pressure on both distributors and vendors.
The 'pay to play' trend continues with schools either requiring an activity fee or requiring the parent to pay for
the equipment and uniforms for their kids. This drove
BSN
Sports
to
create
My
Team
Shop
at
www.bsnteamsports.com to help schools raise money for
any shortfalls as well as simplify the process of parents
paying for gear.
Blumenfeld said that it's not just athletic and physical
education budgets getting cut, but reduced funding for
teachers, lunch or bus fare winds up drawing money from
extra-curricular activities.
"Things are tough," he said, "Certainly parts of the country are feeling it more than others, but even Texas is feeling it. For a good 3 or 4 years the state was able to defend itself against the pain of the fall in property values
and the tax base. But Texas is feeling it in a different way
than it was 12 or 24 months ago. It’s a national issue."
Implus Acquires Perfect Pushup Parent...
Implus Footcare, LLC has acquired Perfect Fitness, the creators of the
Perfect Pushup. The acquisition comes as Implus, best known for its
footcare and outdoor accessories, looks to broaden its offerings of
sporting goods. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Perfect Fitness' design principles originate from the military experience
of the company's co-founder and CEO Alden Mills, formerly a platoon
commander with the U.S. Navy’s Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) teams.
Alden used his background in elite SEAL training and understanding of
functional fitness to develop fitness products that utilize functional,
natural movement and body-weight exercise to maximize results and
prevent injury.
The Perfect Pushup became a national exercise equipment sensation
on its release in 2006. Since then, the company has launched several
other pieces of equipment, such as the Perfect Pullup, the Perfect Situp as well as Perfect Counter, a line of sports nutrition products, and
multiple accessories. Its items are sold direct and through over 24,000
retail doors throughout the world. The company's website is perfectonline.com.
Page 8
"The innovative and easy-to-use designs of
Perfect Fitness products make them a
valuable purchase for all prospective consumers," said Seth Richards, CEO of Implus. "We are excited to expand Implus'
footprint in the fitness market, and look
forward to expanding the Perfect Fitness
brand into new product lines."
Mills said, "This is the Perfect partnership
of product development, marketing and
operational expertise. Implus's industry
leading retail capabilities are exactly
what's needed to help our retail partners
and the Perfect Brand grow for years to
come."
The Implus brand family includes Sof Sole,
Yaktrax, Apara, Airplus, Sneaker Balls, Sof
Comfort, Little Hotties and Highgear.
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