Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/937194
Bases Loaded is a Baseball and Softball Retail Giant. February 2018 ~ Sports Insight • 31 sportsinsightmag.com A Special Store T here is no shortage of specialty retailers for running, tennis, golf and soccer, but there are very few retail destinations that cater specifically to the diamond sports of baseball and softball. The very successful exception is Bases Loaded in Rancho Cordova, CA. It's the home of one of the largest retail locations in America devoted to baseball and softball and its business model almost makes it a brick-and- mortar version of an online store — it is open seven days a week, its shelves are stocked with every possible base- ball and softball product and it boasts more than 15,000 SKUs. And it has been doing it well for a very long time. "We have been in business since 1997," boasts Dan Wells, CEO and owner of Bases Loaded. "We will be celebrating our 21st year on April 1, 2018." Business has always been steady and strong for Bases Loaded, though it's been brisk for the last six years. "Since 2011, we have been growing at a rate above 25 percent," he says. This growth required the opening of its 30,000-square-foot facility two years ago and in 2017 it was honored for the third time in a row on the INC 5000 list of Fastest Growing Companies in America. In addition to the superstore, custom- ers can shop at ebasesloaded.com and receive the same expert service and if they spend more than $35 there's free next-day delivery in California and free two-day delivery for customers in Nevada, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Arizona, Idaho, and parts of Colorado. And, Wells says, in 2018 there will be same-day delivery seven days a week for customers within 45 miles of the retail loca- tion in Rancho Cordova. Having shipped more than 100,000 packages in 2017, the company knows the shipping business as well as the business of selling diamond sports. He expects the momentum to continue into 2018 and beyond. "We are prepped for an incredible year," Wells says. "We are staffing up with five to seven new hires and an incredible selection of inventory." O bases loaded 2w