Play It Again Sports South West Florida
When Marking Zimmerman looked into ownership Sarasota's Play Information technology Over again Sports, he knew it was a chain of sporting goods stores specializing in selling used and new sporting equipment.
What the 61-year-former native of New Rochelle, New York, was unfamiliar with was the origin of the proper noun.
Play It Again Sports. Play information technology again, Sam, a misquotation of the line "Play information technology, Sam" from the picture "Casablanca."
Zimmerman'southward independently owned store isn't exactly a gym joint, only because of COVID-19, many gym patrons have turned to him for assistance.
And sales at Play Information technology Once again Sports have reflected this need.
"For the year, I'm upwards double-digits," Zimmerman said. "I'thou bitterly sweet about how adept the business is due to the pandemic. Merely that doesn't mean I want this pandemic to proceed. I want to be normal, too."
For area sports enthusiasts in need of stuff, in that location'southward Dick'south Sporting Goods, the nation's largest sporting goods retailer with approximately 850 stores and thirty,000 employees, and Play Information technology Again Sports, started in 1983 in Minneapolis and at present with more than 450 stores in the The states and Canada.
Zimmerman was on the back end of a 37-year career equally a district managing director for CVS Pharmacy in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut area. But the company reorganized in 2017, a shuffle which greatly increased his work load.
"More work for the aforementioned pay," Zimmerman said. CVS eventually severanced him and the move caught him by surprise. "I would have retired with them."
Simply with three children in college and not yet set up to sit down at habitation, Zimmerman looked into ownership into a multifariousness of businesses. His love of sports zeroed in the quondam high schoolhouse baseball player and rail star in 2018 on the Play It Again Sports franchise for sale in Sarasota.
Zimmerman visited a couple of stores, i being the Sarasota location, which had seen its sales tumble. The owner operated 26 other Play Information technology Once more Sports franchises effectually Florida, but hadn't been in his Sarasota location in x years.
"I knew information technology wasn't very assisting," Zimmerman said. Still, he saw the potential in it, and later on getting approval from the Winmark Corporaton, the franchiser of Play It Again Sports, Zimmerman forked over about $200,000. The Sarasota location was his.
"I was nervously excited," he said. He renovated the store, but without much available inventory, Zimmerman began listening to the requests of his customers.
So he started selling discs for disc golf. Zimmerman brought in more bikes and more fettle equipment. He got the necessary space by ridding the store of cumbersome hockey equipment.
But six months after Zimmerman took over, Dick'due south opened a shop at The Mall at University Town Center. And for the first calendar month at Play It Again Sports, sales tanked.
"I was like, 'Oh, my God. What'due south going on here?' " Zimmerman said. "But afterwards a month and a half, it started going back up again and information technology hasn't stopped."
That'due south considering COVID-xix has been good for Zimmerman's business. Cycle sales are up more than 100 percent. He'southward operating with a ratio of 60 percent new gear and forty percent used due to no one coming in with their used equipment.
In March, when expanse gyms close down, fitness junkies descended upon Zimmerman'southward shop for equipment. "There are fitness junkies out there like yous tin can't believe," he said.
Sales of dumbbells, benches, weight bars and plate weights exploded. People came to Zimmerman for inline skates, bikes and golf equipment. "It made upwardly for the other stuff I was non selling."
He was forced to close in April, but since reopening on May three, Zimmerman hasn't been complaining, save for one thing.
His vendors can't get him the equipment fast enough. Zimmerman ordered 27,000 pounds of weights. 10 weeks later, he got only 8,500.
"And I tin't tell the customer when he can get it," he said. As a result, Zimmerman will postal service on Facebook when an social club of equipment arrives.
"Then information technology's first come up, first served," he said. "I wish I had carte blanche to be able to get whatever I wanted, when I wanted it."
Someday the virus volition pass. Just Zimmerman thinks the sale of certain equipment won't as part of the mail-COVID-19 earth.
"I think, quite frankly, (it will last) until the end of fourth dimension. I don't think it volition terminate."
Source: https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/sports/2020/08/10/covid-19-sarasota-play-it-again-sports/3332346001/
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