Play It Again Sam Sporting Goods Stockton Ca

When Mark Zimmerman looked into ownership Sarasota's Play Information technology Again Sports, he knew it was a chain of sporting goods stores specializing in selling used and new sporting equipment.

What the 61-year-sometime native of New Rochelle, New York, was unfamiliar with was the origin of the name.

Play It Again Sports. Play it again, Sam, a misquotation of the line "Play information technology, Sam" from the movie "Casablanca."

Zimmerman'south independently owned store isn't exactly a gym joint, but considering of COVID-19, many gym patrons take turned to him for help.

And sales at Play It Again Sports have reflected this need.

"For the year, I'1000 upwardly double-digits," Zimmerman said. "I'k bitterly sweet well-nigh how good the business is due to the pandemic. Simply that doesn't mean I want this pandemic to continue. I want to be normal, also."

For surface area sports enthusiasts in need of stuff, there'south Dick's Sporting Appurtenances, the nation's largest sporting goods retailer with approximately 850 stores and 30,000 employees, and Play It Again Sports, started in 1983 in Minneapolis and now with more than 450 stores in the United states and Canada.

Zimmerman was on the back end of a 37-year career as a commune manager for CVS Chemist's in the New York, New Jersey and Connecticut expanse. Only the company reorganized in 2017, a shuffle which greatly increased his piece of work load.

"More work for the aforementioned pay," Zimmerman said. CVS eventually severanced him and the motility caught him past surprise. "I would take retired with them."

But with three children in college and not nevertheless ready to sit down at home, Zimmerman looked into buying into a variety of businesses. His dearest of sports zeroed in the erstwhile high school baseball player and track star in 2018 on the Play It Again Sports franchise for sale in Sarasota.

Zimmerman visited a couple of stores, 1 existence the Sarasota location, which had seen its sales tumble. The owner operated 26 other Play It Again Sports franchises around Florida, but hadn't been in his Sarasota location in 10 years.

"I knew it wasn't very profitable," Zimmerman said. Yet, he saw the potential in it, and later on getting approval from the Winmark Corporaton, the franchiser of Play It Again Sports, Zimmerman forked over about $200,000. The Sarasota location was his.

"I was nervously excited," he said. He renovated the store, but without much bachelor inventory, Zimmerman began listening to the requests of his customers.

So he started selling discs for disc golf. Zimmerman brought in more than bikes and more fitness equipment. He got the necessary space by ridding the store of cumbersome hockey equipment.

But six months afterward Zimmerman took over, Dick'south opened a shop at The Mall at Academy Town Heart. And for the commencement month at Play It Once again Sports, sales tanked.

"I was like, 'Oh, my God. What's going on here?' " Zimmerman said. "But after a month and a half, it started going back up again and it hasn't stopped."

That's because COVID-19 has been skillful for Zimmerman's concern. Bike sales are upwards more than than 100 pct. He's operating with a ratio of 60 percentage new gear and 40 pct used due to no one coming in with their used equipment.

In March, when area gyms shut down, fitness junkies descended upon Zimmerman'due south store for equipment. "There are fitness junkies out there like you can't believe," he said.

Sales of dumbbells, benches, weight confined and plate weights exploded. People came to Zimmerman for inline skates, bikes and golf equipment. "It fabricated upward for the other stuff I was not selling."

He was forced to close in April, simply since reopening on May 3, Zimmerman hasn't been complaining, salvage for one thing.

His vendors can't become him the equipment fast enough. Zimmerman ordered 27,000 pounds of weights. Ten weeks later, he got only 8,500.

"And I can't tell the customer when he tin can get information technology," he said. As a result, Zimmerman will post on Facebook when an order of equipment arrives.

"Then information technology'south get-go come up, offset served," he said. "I wish I had carte blanche to exist able to get whatsoever I wanted, when I wanted it."

Someday the virus will pass. Merely Zimmerman thinks the sale of sure equipment won't as part of the post-COVID-19 world.

"I think, quite frankly, (information technology will final) until the end of time. I don't think it will terminate."

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Source: https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/sports/2020/08/10/covid-19-sarasota-play-it-again-sports/3332346001/

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