Team Insight

TEAM: SOCCER to weather, lower cost of living and better quality of life. Other factors include low barriers to participation on the rec side and more opportunities for very young kids to get involved in the sport. "More parents play soccer, so their kids are now playing. e challenge now is just servicing the business. ere are lots of pas- sionate soccer players and fans, so you need to be on top of every big trend and brand and bring in unique items to retail," Walter says. David Zighelboim, president and owner of Soccer Locker in Miami, FL, is also benefitting from a demographic shi. "Soccer is big in my area. It's a Latin-based community and lots of kids are playing soccer," he explains. "The bread-and-butter of the business is club soccer, but 60 percent of my overall business is tourists from Central America, South America and the Caribbean who come to Miami to shop. Local soccer is basically in the fall, but tourists are year-round." He believes the main barrier to participation in South Florida is too few fields and parks and a lack of soccer complexes. At Soccer Post Arrowhead in Peoria, AZ, manager Taylor Baker is seeing participation grow in the local community and explains that youth clubs and youth leagues comprise the majority of the business. Likewise, Todd Garretson, owner of Greely, CO-based Garretson's Sports Center, believes participation in his area is up by at least five percent. "For us, the soccer business is pretty con- stant because the sport appeals to a wide range of kids. Youth and rec soccer account for our biggest sales overall and most is retail. We do have some high school and travel soccer accounts, but there are more dollars in youth and rec," he points out. Rob Schneider, owner of Valley Athletic Supply in Lansford, PA, observes that par- ticipation in his area has been steady and business is robust, leading to other challenges. "Post-COVID-19, we can't get our hands on enough product. ere is strong demand and our numbers are up year-over-year," he says, pointing out that Valley Athletic is not a huge soccer shop and it basiucally sells to some rec leagues, high school teams and travel teams. "We're more likely to do field paint and balls for the rec leagues and uniforms and fan gear for travel teams. High school is hit or miss." Penalty Kick: Supply Issues Persist Soccer participation may be rising, but dealers are still grappling with supply chain issues and many predict the problems are likely to persist well into 2023. "For the past year the supply chain has been a problem and there's been a shortage of product," laments Soccer Locker's Zighelboim. "We're not getting product on time," with Nike about three months behind schedule and Adidas two-and-a-half months behind. Product was just starting to land even with the World Cup right around the corner. "On one hand, business hasn't been better. e big [sporting goods retailers] can't get product, but I'm a soccer specialty store that's able to react," he says. "I've got a lot of new customers." Zighelboim's strategy is to be nimble and act quickly, shiing orders to other brands when needed. "e supply chain will get better. For the Fall 2023 season (July of next year), the supply issues will be resolved for the manufacturers," he predicts. "Customer service is key for us, but everything is still based on inventory — whoever has the product will make the sales." For Walter, at Lloyd's Soccer, obtaining footwear remains a challenge. "Our marketing is impacted because we have to wait until the product gets here. We have more inventory now, so that's helped," he says. "Apparel is also a concern and we have to order a bit earlier now. We like to get the product in early so if there's a delay, it won't impact us as much." Walter's solution is to "bump up our units, take more risk on the team side than on the retail side and order earlier." He says, "We've seen a five to 20 percent increase in players, so we have to plan on that ahead of time. e issues are brand by brand — every season something's missing. We hope that earlier ordering windows will help, but there are no guarantees that 2023 will be better. We've already placed orders for 2023, 10 months out." He continues, "Soccer is still dominated by just a few brands. If you're a smaller store, you'll struggle to get what you need. It's a battle between inventory planning and servicing customers. Brands want growth and dealers are trying to expand intelligently. You just have to be prepared to respond quickly and chart the progress of the order." At Soccer Post Arrowhead, Baker has had issues with major vendors. "Everyone is fighting over the same product, particularly cleats, which is the majority of our business," she says. We try to stay on top of things and we check the inventory every morning and look at different brands to fill in. I don't see it getting resolved anytime soon — it could take a year or so to get better." e supply situation is also causing head- aches, although to a lesser extent, among non-specialty team dealers. "For us, most of our soccer business is youth and recreational. We've had to scrounge for shoes and shin guards, but clothing and balls aren't as big a deal," reports Garretson, of Garretson's Sports Center. "It hasn't had a big impact on our business because we went to different vendors to make everything work." He says they will either use their Sports Inc. buying group or will go online to look for product and he is optimistic that the issues will ease up aer the first of the year. "Our biggest challenge is inventory and trying to carry a good mix of higher-end products," he adds. Schneider, of Valley Athletic Supply, believes 23 • Team Insight ~ November/December 2022 teaminsightmag.com

• Cover