Team Insight

January / February 2020

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I t was back in 1992 and the sporting goods magazine I was editor of at the time was doing a feature on the Future of Sports. I can't recall everything I wrote in that article, but I do know that we highlighted the game-changing potential of a young golfer named Tiger Woods, who was to make his PGA Tour debut that year. The rest, as they say, is history. So I got that one right. And with that one success story as a backdrop, in this issue we look forward once again to the future of team sports in a new decade. It is sure to be 10 years unlike any other, with the games we play and the products we sell – along with how we sell them – promising to be vastly different by 2030. Just think back 10 years and realize that no one could have predicted how technology would changed the team sports game, or how a large, well-funded company could disrupt how the products are bought and sold by purchasing so many independent team dealers (that's BSN Sports, in case you weren't paying attention). Or that four buying groups would become two. We make a bunch of predictions in our 2020s A-to-Z feature on page 16, so turn there for our view of the team sports busi- ness in the next decade. Here I am going to keep it simpler and give you what I am confident will be the three major story lines for team sports in 2020. 1. The number one story in 2020 will be the ongoing competition between the powerhouse that has become BSN Sports and, to a lesser extent, Trivest, and the buying groups, led by Sports Inc. and Nation's Best Sports. The battle will only become more pitched — indeed, the very future of the independent team dealer hangs in the balance. BSN Sports will acquire more small team dealers on its way to its goal of having 2000 sales pros in every zip code in America, while the buying groups will undoubtedly counter with novel ideas and partnerships – like that of Sports Inc. and OrderMyGear -- that will give their members the tools they need to compete as independents. 2. Dominating the vendor news will be the significant investments the major apparel companies are making in technology, including uniform builders, real-time inventory, sublimation and shorter delivery times. Consolidation among them – resulting in major players such as Founder Sport Group and the Augusta Sportswear companies – is providing these vendors with the resources they need to take their games to the next level. Many smaller, nimble players will also give team dealers the product and service their customers are demanding in this Amazon world. 3. Unfortunately, safety concerns and declining participation numbers in football will remain in the headlines. Investments in product and research, along with the willingness to adapt to these changing times in the form of flag football and other seemingly safer versions of the game, are a step in the right direction of assuring the future of this key team sport. Let's only hope it works. There are certainly more longer term story lines that will continue to fill our pages — the rise of specialty sports, new decoration techniques, more consolidation, even the rise of e-sports. The only certainty is that we will continue to be here to report on and analyze their impact for our readers in the pages of Team Insight and online at teaminsightmag.com and our hot new newsletter, TeamInsightExtra. My final prediction: We are going to be a busy editorial staff this year. Maybe we'll find the next Tiger Woods, maybe we won't. Either way, it won't be for lack of trying. n We Got Tiger Right. What's Next? The only certainty is that we will continue to be here to report on and analyze the impact of major trends for our readers in the pages of Team Insight. MICHAEL JACOBSEN STAHLS.COM | 800.4.STAHLS Save time & heat apply bit.ly/stahls-pre-ss SIMULATED STITCHING IMPROVED STAHLS'® PRE-SPACED SIMSTITCH® LETTERS & NUMBERS TI0120 • Made from authentic Perma-TWILL® • Laser cut with simulated zig-zag stitch • Applies with only a heat press LETTERS & NUMBERS ARRIVE PRE-SPACED AND READY TO HEAT APPLY

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