Sports Apparel in Something Directory

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Sports Basement Co. in Something Directory

 

During the dot-com boom, chin-pullers mused that Internet sales might soon boot brick-and-mortar outdoor supply stores into obsolescence. Or at least, erode these stores profitability to such low levels theyd be forced to belatedly limp into online capability, or submit to shotgun weddings with rising stars of a well- wired world in order to survive. However, as G.K. Chesterton once observed, reality loves to play a game called Cheat the Prophet. So here we are in San Francisco, and one of the hottest stars on our local, outdoor retail scene, Sports Basement, is about to take a great leap forward. It will open its first wholly owned property, a 54,000 square foot retail outlet South of Market thats built (you guessed it) out of bricks and mortar (seismically reinforced, naturally). After a few shake-down days, the official opening in a refurbished hulk of the old Hamms brewery at 1590 Bryant Street will occur July 1. An encore will take place Sept. 1, when Sports Basement opens a second new store in a leased property at 1881 Ygnacio Valley Road in Walnut Creek. That will produce a chain of four, including a Sunnyvale store, and the sprawling, 80,000 square-foot facility at the old commissary in San Franciscos Presidio. Sports Basement does provide online shopping as a convenience. But that tops out at just about 7 percent of gross sales. The great bulk of its commerce occurs where customers can try on actual stuff, check the seams, heft the equipment and inspect for dings -- while interacting with floor staff and each other. This youthful partnership launched in 1998 with minimal experience, but brave idealism and a novel idea. The partners subsequently slogged through years of on-the-job-training in the tricky retail market. It was our customers themselves who informed us how to be better merchants, better service providers, said David Rumberg, 37, who joined the partnership in 2000. Rumberg, who majored in communications at Hayward State, in a prior job watched George Zimmer perform magic at Mens Wearhouse. He now directs the Basements real estate and IT operations. We constantly examine our customer experience in the stores, Rumberg said. Everyone works on the floor, even the partners. Its part of everyones job description. Sports Basement has six partners, four active, who all own substantial amounts of the firms privately-held shares, along with investors. Two are founding partners who went on to other ventures while retaining their interest in the business. Rumberg and Shelley Berniker, 40, joined the management team in the same year to replace them. Eric Prosnitz, 40, is the partner credited with the seed concept. He added a Harvard MBA to a Stanford degree in economics, then went to work for Bostons famed consulting firm, Bain and Co. He noted the formulas for success of off-price clothing retailers such as TJ Maxx and Ross. His wife, Courtney Klinge, wanted to come west to pursue her own career in high-tech. Prosnitz, a runner, swimmer, snowboarder and soccer player, wondered if that Maxx/Ross recipe might function equally well with outdoor gear.

 

Telephone: (800) 869-6670
Website: http://www.sportsbasement.com/