How One Sporting Goods Store Has Defied Odds Amidst Pandemic
The retail industry has been greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In cities such as Houston, where stay-at-home orders were issued in the early days of the virus affecting the country, many retail shops were closed and lost customer traffic. By the end of the summer, close to 50 major retailers had to file for bankruptcy.
Academy Sports was not one of those retailers.
Academy is one of Houston’s biggest sporting good chains with 10 stores in the city. The chain has been able to keep business open, even making progress amidst this coronavirus pandemic which started to affect Houston beginning in March, with stay-at-home orders in Harris County that stretched from late March to early April.
Ken Hicks, chief executive of retail for Academy Sports and Outdoor Incorporated believes that hobbies and new activities gained by customers during the coronavirus pandemic helped increase sales for the stores. He told Marketwatch.com that the increase bodes well going into next year as well. “If 20% or 30% of those people continue with those hobbies, that’s a huge increase,” he said. “Normally it would take years to grow that sort of business.”
Another thing that helped Academy weather the pandemic storm was how the business adapted to COVID-19 safety measures for staff and customers. Following CDC guidelines and COVID-19 protocols, plexiglass was installed on all cash registers. In accordance with those guidelines, a mask mandate was instituted and signs placed in front of the stores reminding customers to wear masks.
Employees had to test negative for the coronavirus in order to keep the work environment safe for all individuals and sanitation was a necessary action that Academy had taken advantage of as well. All work stations were sanitized and bottles of hand sanitizer were placed in the front of the store, and near every cash register.
An employee at one Houston Academy store who only gave his name as Eric said the items selling well during the pandemic are in the fitness and exercise equipment, fishing gear, camping gear and biking equipment categories.
Overall, sporting goods retailers have reported a similar spike in sales with items such as bikes, exercise equipment and outdoor equipment seeing an uptick in purchases. Customers dealing with a pandemic would be looking to upgrade their gear since there is more time to do certain outdoor activities, and Academy drives that notion.
Eric said his store also saw a big increase in online orders as well as orders that utilized the company’s curbside pickup offering.
“If 20% or 30% of those people continue with those hobbies, that’s a huge increase. Normally it would take years to grow that sort of business.”
If the trend in customers returning to sporting goods stores, sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic continues, it could mean more success for retailers like Academy. “People start fishing and get a starter rod and now want a new rod or reel,” Hicks says. “They went camping and have a small tent and now want a bigger, better tent. Those are things that will help us do well next year.”
