Team Insight

END ZONE 35 • Team Insight ~ November/December 2022 teaminsightmag.com Alli Adds Sportstop Alli Sports Group, the alliance of independent teams dealers primarily in the Southeast, has added Sportstop, Little Rock, AK, to its member- ship group. Sportstop will be covering Arkansas and part of Mississippi. "e Alli Sports Group is thrilled to add Sportstop as our newest member," says Rhett Johnson, of Johnson-Lambe, one of the founding members of Alli Sports Group. "James Rogers and his team will be a great addition to the Alli family and we look forward to growing better together. Our growth goal has always been to only find partners that share our vision, make us better and will allow us to make them better. James and Sportstop are a perfect fit." Play It Again Partners With Rawlings/Easton Play It Again Sports has entered into a partnership with Rawlings Sporting Goods and Easton to become the Official Resale Partner of Rawlings and Easton. With more than 280 franchises in North America, Play It Again Sports will provide a resale option for Rawlings and Easton products. According to an announcement of the partnership, Play It Again Sports and Rawlings/Easton will work together to help players "extend the life of their equipment, reduce environmental impact and provide value to baseball and soball players in their local communities across North America." As a "premier sustainability partner" of Play It Again Sports, Rawlings/Easton will sponsor Play It Again Sports buy/drive events and National Recycling Day promotions incentivizing consumers to sell their Rawlings and Easton gear for cash. Rawlings/Easton and Play It Again Sports will also partner to create content the companies will distribute on Rawlings' and Easton's YouTube and social channels and promoted by Play It Again Sports via local stores, social media, web- site and national PR messaging. Founder Sport Names Stevens Senior Director Founder Sport Group has hired Samantha Stevens as senior director–licensing and business development. Stevens will be responsible for licensing, new and existing, and retail partnerships in this newly created role and for growing the company's Licensed Sales division via Founder Sport Group's collegiate licensed brands ProSphere, Gameday Greats and Badger Sportswear. Stevens joins the company from GFX, a DTC collegiate com- merce business, where she forged commercial paths for the tech company in the sports, media and entertainment licensing industries. Before that, Stevens was the direc- tor of licensing at Michigan State University, focused on growing revenue to support student schol- arships and programming. She also served on the Board of Directors for the International Collegiate Licensing Association (ICLA) from 2013 to 2021 and as president from July 2019 through June 2020. Steven's also worked in trademarks, licensing, athletics, and marketing at Miami University, Appalachian State University and Wright State University. A4 Apparel Acquires LabFit, Names Levine President A4, the Los Angeles-based team and corporate apparel manu- facturer, has acquired LabFit Sublimation and at the same time has hired former Alleson Athletic executive Todd Levine as president. LabFit, based in Orange County, CA, was founded by Levine earlier this year as a performance brand focused on sublimated team wear and uniforms. "I am thrilled to work with Mark and the A4 team," says Levine. "The integrity, service and values at A4 are 100 percent aligned with my past experiences in the industry and I look forward to being part of the company's strategic plans to rise to new heights." "Todd's addition to our manage- ment team completes a strategic move that will ensure our inde- pendence and continued growth," adds Mark Mertens, who will remain as chairman and CEO of A4. "I have known Todd for many years. We were strong competitors who always respected each other." Outdoor Cap Names Pratt Head Of Commerce Outdoor Cap has named Andi Pratt as head of commerce. Pratt brings more than 19 years of CPG and retail sales and marketing experience to Outdoor Cap, in- cluding stints at Nestle, Coca-Cola and Oak Ridge Winery. Pratt will lead Outdoor Cap's sales, licensing and service divisions. GroupeSTAHL Hires New CFO GroupeSTAHL has added Derek Nugent, a 16-year veteran in fi- nance and accounting working in the technology, automotive, man- ufacturing, and defense sectors, as chief financial officer. Most recently, he was the CFO at Firmo, an au- tomotive manufacturing company specializing in automotive interiors. As CFO for GroupeSTAHL, Nugent will assess the company's business plan while identifying emerging opportunities. n PERSONNEL MOVES New Product: Phenom's Scooby Doo A unique new football product from Phenom is obviously aimed at a new generation of youth football players. ey can now pile into the Mystery Machine with officially licensed Scooby-Doo football cleats featuring the Scooby-Doo & Mystery Machine logos and patterns. With feet so quick, they will have the competition saying "yoinks."

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