{"id":3527,"date":"2017-02-02T17:43:28","date_gmt":"2017-02-02T22:43:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/the-hottest-sporting-goods-company-youve-never-heard-of\/"},"modified":"2017-02-02T17:48:59","modified_gmt":"2017-02-02T22:48:59","slug":"the-hottest-sporting-goods-company-youve-never-heard-of","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/the-hottest-sporting-goods-company-youve-never-heard-of\/","title":{"rendered":"The Hottest Sporting Goods Company You\u2019ve Never Heard Of"},"content":{"rendered":"

When most people think of sporting goods, they think of equipment manufacturers like Wilson and Rawlings, apparel brands like Nike and Under Armour, and big box retailers like Sports Authority and Dick\u2019s.\u00a0 It turns out that there is a whole other side to the sporting goods industry \u2013 and I don\u2019t mean Lululemon and yoga mats.\u00a0 It is called the \u201cteam sports\u201d business, and it is enormous: about $20 billion in annual sales in the US alone.<\/p>\n

\u201cTeam sports\u201d refers to the business of buying uniforms and equipment for youth & community leagues, as well as high school & college teams.\u00a0 The market is served primarily by local distributors, who maintain relationships with league managers, and coordinate bulk orders for equipment and uniforms.\u00a0 Simple enough, right?\u00a0 Think again.\u00a0 Imagine the nightmare of being asked to coordinate orders for a youth soccer league:<\/p>\n

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\u201cCan you go collect the uniform specs (color swatches, style & cut, etc.) for each team?\u00a0 Make sure to get sign-off from each of the \u2018Team Moms\u2019.\u00a0 Then, get all 100 kids\u2019 uniform sizes and jersey numbers.\u00a0 Hopefully they all remember their forms and checks.\u00a0 We\u2019ll discuss referee gear, equipment, scoreboards, and other infrastructure later\u2026 we\u2019re just getting started.\u00a0 The parents will be angry if the uniforms aren\u2019t here on-time, and games start in two weeks, so make sure to stay on-top of the manufacturers and track the packages\u2026 we wouldn\u2019t want a repeat of last year\u2019s \u2018turquoise-is-not-aquamarine\u2019 debacle.\u00a0 By the way, Johnny\u2019s mom just called to say that he had another growth spurt, so make sure and update his order from XL to XXL.\u00a0 When the uniforms arrive, make sure and find good local embroiderers, and verify that all the jersey numbers, last names, and sponsor logos are correct.\u00a0 Also, Timmy\u2019s parents recently got divorced, so he wants the name on his jersey changed to Johnson instead of Peterson\u2026 also, he\u2019s allergic to polyester.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s no wonder that Sports Authority doesn\u2019t even try<\/em> to serve this business \u2013 it\u2019s simply impossible to do out of a stationary warehouse staffed with generalist customer service reps who clock out at night.\u00a0 Local relationships and round-the-clock responsiveness are critical.\u00a0 Distributors connect weekly with the coaches, and often attend the games.\u00a0 It is a high-touch business: one study estimated that, to fulfill the average order, distributors make over 20 phone calls.\u00a0 Many distributors experience burnout or work-life balance issues.<\/p>\n

The team sports market has historically been extremely fragmented, with the majority of the market served by a combination of \u201cone-man bands\u201d and \u201cmom & pop\u201d retailers.\u00a0 Enter BSN Sports.\u00a0 Under the leadership of CEO Adam Blumenfeld, BSN is leading the team sports industry into the Digital Age.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

BSN\u2019s approach was designed explicitly not<\/em> to disrupt the existing relationships between distributors and their local customers, but rather to strengthen<\/em> those relationships, and make them stickier and more profitable.\u00a0 BSN provides its distributors with iPads, as well as access to BSN\u2019s cloud-based ordering platform.\u00a0 The platform includes an online catalog, real-time inventory visibility, order placement & invoicing, shipment tracking and notification, and even an online design studio for each individual team, so that customers can \u201cdemo\u201d different uniforms and logos before making purchase decisions.\u00a0 Individual players can even manage their own uniform specs and payments.\u00a0 BSN maintains close relationships with virtually all major equipment and apparel suppliers \u2013 often with discounted pricing and access to proprietary product offerings \u2013 so that distributors can offer customers a significantly larger catalog, and at superior pricing.\u00a0 BSN manages all of the back-end logistics and quality control, so that individual distributors don\u2019t have to call a Taiwanese factory in the middle of the night if something goes wrong.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The response from both distributors and customers has been remarkable.\u00a0 Over the last several years, BSN has been vacuuming up one-man-band and mom-and-pop distributors across the country, becoming the country\u2019s largest team sports company by a wide margin.\u00a0 BSN \u201cacquires\u201d the distributors for a certain multiple of their prior profits, and in exchange for becoming a BSN employee, the distributor gets access to the BSN platform and a steady salary (with commissions).\u00a0 Typically, within four years of coming on the platform, distributors\u2019 sales increase by 3-4x.\u00a0 Better still, distributors report that, thanks to the reduction in errors, paperwork, and phone calls enabled by the BSN platform, they have better work-life balance.\u00a0 This digital transformation has made BSN the \u201cteam\u201d of choice for team sports distributors.<\/p>\n

Disclosure: The author is an investor in BSN Sports.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This post is about BSN Sports, which introduced a digital platform for selling sporting goods in-bulk to sports leagues and teams.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1114,"featured_media":3548,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[7],"class_list":["post-3527","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-winner"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/assignment\/digital-winners-losers\/","yoast_head":"\nThe Hottest Sporting Goods Company You\u2019ve Never Heard Of - Digital Innovation and Transformation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/the-hottest-sporting-goods-company-youve-never-heard-of\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Hottest Sporting Goods Company You\u2019ve Never Heard Of - 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