Team Insight

But as we reach the mid-point of 2022 – and more than two years into COVID-impacted lives – it's fair to say that the majority of dealers actually persevered, powered forward and kept the lights on, with federal funding in many case (thank you, PPP funds.) Indeed, every team dealer asked about how they survived the pandemic until now has a story to tell — and every story is dierent. e one common denominator is that everybody who survived had to negotiate tough times and had to make tough decisions. Another similarity is that anybody who has survived is a little tougher, much smarter and more compassionate than they were two years ago. e keys to survival for team dealers can be attributed to a strong business acumen, a refusal to give up, a compassionate mindset and undoubtedly a little luck. ese are their stories. SUNSHINE STATE OF MIND "We're lucky to be in Florida. at was the key," says Kevin Licata, manager of Medallion Sporting Goods, in Jupiter, FL, explaining that they were still forced to close their doors for seven weeks. To cut costs, they didn't do any advertising and were able to get PPP money, which paid the rent and kept them aoat. "Aer reopening, it was slow going for a while," he admits. For Licata, the desire to play sports by the local south Florida population was matched by his own desire to open his store in order to sell them what they needed to eventually get back to the games. "Our local youth leagues fought hard to open up in a safe way," says Licata. "And they did just that." But even though Florida was one of the rst states to reopen, it took more than a year for sales to begin to return to normal for Licata and his team. "It wasn't until October, 2021, that sales started booming for us," he reports. SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST In southern Indiana, it was a case of survival of the ttest, according to Allen Krebs, owner of Kratz Sporting Goods in Clarksville, IN. "We had two rounds of PPP money and we 12 Tales From the Team Dealer Front Lines. By Mike May SPECIAL REPORT: PANDEMIC SURVIVAL GUIDE 28 • Team Insight ~ May/June 2022 teaminsightmag.com more than two years into COVID-impacted lives – it's fair to say that the majority of dealers actually persevered, powered forward and kept the lights on, with federal funding in many case (thank you, PPP funds.) they survived the pandemic until now has a story to tell — and every story is dierent. e one common denominator is that everybody who survived had to negotiate tough times and had to make tough decisions. Another similarity is that anybody who has survived is a little tougher, much smarter and more compassionate than they were two years ago. be attributed to a strong business acumen, a refusal to give up, a compassionate mindset and undoubtedly a little luck. ese are their stories. SUNSHINE STATE OF MIND key," says Kevin Licata, manager of Medallion Sporting Goods, in Jupiter, FL, explaining that they were still forced to close their doors for seven weeks. To cut costs, they didn't do any advertising and were able to get PPP money, which paid the rent and kept them aoat. "Aer reopening, it was slow going for a while," he admits. local south Florida population was matched by his own desire to open his store in order to sell them what they needed to eventually get back to the games. open up in a safe way," says Licata. "And they did just that." PANDEMIC SURVIVAL GUIDE Team dealers talk about how they survived COVID-19 (so far) A s we reect on the past two years in the world of team sports, every team dealer and sporting goods retailer has his or her own story to tell about how they and their employees coped with COVID-19 and its subsequent lockdowns, disrupted seasons, supply chain challenges and their own health and safety issues — and how they have attempted to navigate getting back to "business as usual." Of course, many would argue that business as usual is unattainable because of all the many changes that are now a permanent part of our daily business and personal lives. Some dealers and retailers closed their doors, a few sold their businesses and many decided it was time to retire. No two reasons were alike.

• Cover