Team Insight

I 'm going to make this really simple, so as we get ready to turn the calendar to 2023 let's make some predictions about the biggest stories we can expect in the year ahead. But first, let's go back to a year ago, to the November/December 2021 issue of Team Insight, to review my projections for the year that was — just to see how well I did. I said that the number one concern among team dealers at this time a year ago was the supply chain dis- ruptions — they were just starting to emerge as a major concern. Dealers at the time told us they much preferred having to chase product rather than sitting on a ware- house full of unsold products, but they perhaps didn't foresee just how difficult the situation would become. Selling was the easy part — delivering was the challenge. In fact, one of the leading team dealers in the country, Rhett Johnson, of Johnson-Lambe, in a virtual discus- sion last month sponsored by the NSGA, hit the nail on the head when he said the supply chain disruption over the last two years had "completely changed how we do our business." e buying patterns team dealers used to follow are completely gone, he said. "Now it's buying all you can get and when you can get it, grab it." e challenge of finding a football helmet, a pair of shoulder pads or a basketball in 2022 proved that we were right on that one. Our next prediction was the continued challenge of not only hiring good people, but finding anyone to hire at all. Dealers still tell us of posting a help wanted ad, get- ting someone to come in for an interview, offering them the job and then never hearing from them again. Even with unemployment at near-historic lows at the end of 2022, the hiring challenge remained the number two concern in team sports the past year. Another one we got right. Finally, we pointed out that the team business was not immune to the inflationary challenges just starting to loom on the horizon of America's economy a year ago. e once-unheard of practice of vendors shipping out catalogs with "fluid" pricing became the norm in 2022. It was not unusual for an equipment supplier to raise prices three or four times in the past year to offset raw material, shipping and credit increases. So, three for three in our late 2021 predictions for 2022. It was, indeed, a challenging year for the team business, but once again dealers proved resilient. As Johnson also said in that NSGA event, dealers changed their buying habits by ordering early and getting creative with their vendors. In addition, strategies were put in place to streamline internal processes. And schools, clubs and rec programs realized that rising costs were unavoidable and they were just happy to get their uniforms and balls delivered in time, no matter the cost. So we did pretty well with our crystal ball for 2022. Now on to our predictions for 2023. at's easy, more of the same — perhaps with more predictions to come next issue. See you next year. n DUSTING OFF THE OLD CRYSTAL BALL We were three- for-three in our late 2021 predictions for 2022. It was, indeed, a challenging year for the team business, but once again dealers proved resilient. TEAM TALK / MICHAEL JACOBSEN 7 • Team Insight ~ November/December 2022 teaminsightmag.com STAHLS.COM | 800.4.STAHLS PLACE, PRESS, & PROFIT stahls.com/pc-letters-numbers PERSONALIZE LIKE THE PROS STAHLS' PRE-CUT LETTERS & NUMBERS TI1122 • Apply with only a heat press • Best choice for on-demand & walk-in orders • Low cost, high quality FASTEST AND MOST AFFORDABLE WAY TO PERSONALIZE TEAM UNIFORMS

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