sportstyle

more expensive, and this is all connected to rising oil prices. "It's just a matter of time before everything is affected." e result has been volatile product pricing, limited production space and extended production lead times. "e issue also impacts development and R&D for new product, meaning that we have to be focused on securing production space for existing products in our line," Meller says. "We're not actively looking at product expansion the way we normally do." Meller views the whole situation as being like a flywheel in which everything spins into everything else and there is no fast or easy fix. "Everything is interconnected and that compounds the problems. I'm not very optimistic in any timeline that targets 12 to 18 months [for a return to normal operations]. at's very unrealistic," he says. In fact, Champion Sports manufactures in nine coun- tries and is seeing a reduced workforce in Europe, but not as bad as in China. He adds, "We'll have record demand going into Q4 and then in February we'll have Chinese New Year, which will back up production lines and manufacturing even more. Couple these issues with Americans buying and consuming at all-time highs in many segments and it's obvious that supply simply cannot meet demand." Associations Step In To Help Sporting goods industry associations are keenly aware of the supply chain issues and are working to provide as much information and assistance to their members as possible, while also reaching out to the federal govern- ment to push for solutions. "e big picture is that the industry is facing a situa- tion that's hard to overstate and it's unprecedented in its complexity. e issues we face are deep, broad, long-lasting and far-reaching," says Tom Cove, president and CEO of the Sports and Fitness Industry Association (SFIA). "Every piece of the supply chain is impacted and we've already hit all the levers we can to alleviate the situation. Because each delay is magnified along the line, it will take a while to get through it all." Over the years, explains Cove, the sporting goods industry has gotten so good at linking the supply chain that it's become very lean. Now that's turned into a dis- advantage. "Going forward, it's obvious that our industry and sports delivery systems have to evolve and respond to consumer demand," he says. "ere may be some lost sales in the near term, but we need to maintain partic- ipation surges despite the supply chain issues. ere's a strong, sustained consumer demand for sporting goods products and that's likely to continue." Cove points out that SFIA is actively leveraging its assets and has redoubled its efforts in trying to get tariff relief for sporting goods products. "We'd like there to be an exclusion or exemption process that will allow our companies to make the case of why they should face lower tariffs," he says. "We're working hard to get those programs reinstated through Congress. is will help reduce costs to consumers and supply chains." SFIA has also given its board of directors a clear direc- tive to pursue every opportunity to mitigate problems. In regard to Vietnam, "We sent letters to the U.S. President and [the leadership in] Vietnam to make more COVID- 19 vaccines available in order to get the country up and running again. is will help Vietnam as well as the sporting goods industry," Cove says. Too, the organization has endorsed the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2021. January/February 2022 • 53 sportstylemag.com • sportstyle

• Cover