Team Insight

didn't have to lay anybody o," Krebs reports. "We did close our store for three or four weeks and we then brought people back part-time to clean the store, work on inventory and get things back in order." Krebs says he then had to get creative to generate revenue. "Sales denitely dipped, so we started making and selling customized masks, mostly to busi- nesses," says Krebs. "We sold close to 40,000 masks, which kept us aoat. We also used our website, e-commerce and social media to generate interest in product. We advertised curbside pick-up and it worked." When the weather started getting warmer in Indiana in 2020, the desire to get outside to play ball, kick a ball, hit a ball, chase a ball, and throw a ball was paramount. "e summer of 2020 was good for travel baseball and soball," Krebs reports. "It was a roller coaster year for us — and for everybody in the sporting goods industry." Even though Clarksville is a small town in southern Indiana, outside, non-pandemic related forces impacted its outlook on life and business and its close proximity to Louisville, KY, was a matter of grave concern to Krebs. "We watched the riots in Louisville and we were hoping that the riots would not cross the Ohio River into southern Indiana," says Krebs. "Fortunately, they did not." A NIGHTMARE IN DELAWARE In Wilmington, DE, it's been a nightmare for Bob Hart, owner of Al's Sporting Goods in that mid-Atlantic city. According to Hart, the social unrest that impacted New York City and Philadelphia actually spilled over into Wilmington, where it directly impacted his storefront. "We were looted for $500,000 worth of fash- ion footwear and clothing on May 31, 2020," Hart recalls. "We're still negatively impacted by that loss. e pictures I have from that day are terrible. Fortunately, I had racks of youth bats and cases of Oakley sunglasses that were not taken. e looters just wanted the fashion shoes and apparel." Hart says that his business was kept alive aer two rounds of PPP money and that Al's was able to reopen for business 51 days aer the looting took place, supported by the local community. "We put out 1000 pairs of shoes without shoe boxes and they all sold," says Hart. Even when the business was closed, there were employees in the team section working on completing some youth baseball orders. "We actually delivered uniforms to some local youth baseball leagues in 2020 that never actually played a game that year," Hart says. Even better, he adds, those youth leagues paid the invoice. Fortunately, Hart reports that the past 12 months have been much better for Al's Sporting Goods. "We had a terric football season last fall and baseball is doing great for us right now." DEMAND AND NO SUPPLY In Coshocton, OH, Scott Nelson of Local Team Sports realizes that coaches are nally beginning to understand the negative side eects of the supply chain backlog. "For the rst time in my history in the busi- ness, coaches are coming to me and asking me what's available rather than telling me what they want and need," says Nelson. "And, they are happy with what I have in inventory." Another lingering reality of the Pandemic is a lack of face-to-face access to coaches on school campuses. "To this day, I nd it hard and challenging getting into schools, even my high school alma mater, which has been a longtime customer of mine," says Nelson. "For budgetary reasons, some coaches have been forced to go back into the classroom, security concerns have caused schools to go on lockdowns and COVID precautions are limiting access to schools and coaches. As a result, I've had to schedule more Zoom calls to reach coaches." WORKING BEHIND CLOSED DOORS In Terre Haute, IN, Coaches Corner closed its doors for ve weeks, but work continued behind those doors. "We knew the lockdown would eventu- ally come to an end, so we had to get local rec baseball and travel baseball and soball uniforms ready for eventual delivery," says store manager Doc Claussen. "Having that baseball and soball business saved us during the lockdown." In the late spring and throughout the summer of 2020, Indiana was a hotbed for travel baseball and soball tournaments as elds remained open and teams were traveling from Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, Tennessee and Kansas to Indiana to play games. "Teams were coming from all parts of the Midwest to play baseball in the summer of 2020," he recalls. Claussen remembers that summer because he was busy every day accepting orders, fulll- ing orders, delivering orders and working as an umpire for many of those baseball games. "I umpired more games that summer than any in recent memory," he says. "I actually turned down more umpire assignments than I did. It was a busy summer and none of the teaminsightmag.com May/June 2022 ~ Team Insight • 29 1. "You have to adapt to current conditions and change to whatever you need to do to make money, whether that's using technology or new products to sell. Being stagnant will result in failure. We were not stagnant." Allen Krebs, Owner, Kratz Sporting Goods 2. "We must always look for new clients and new things to sell to them." Bob Hart, Owner, Al's Sporting Goods 3. "If you can weather the storm and adapt, it won't be easy, but you will survive." Doc Claussen, Store Manager, Coaches Corner 4. "It's important to be humble and to do the best with what you've got." Stanley Costales, Jr., Owner, Sports Line 5. "If you don't have debt, you can survive for a long time." Mike Weir, Owner, Red Weir Athletic Supplies 5 KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM SURVIVORS

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