Sports Authority

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Sports Authority Inc.

Type of Company	Sporting goods
Founded	1928
Headquarters	1050 West Hampden Avenue, Englewood, Colorado 80110
Key people	J. Doug Morton, CEO and President Greg Waters, COO David Campisi
Industry	Retail
Products	Apparel, sports equipment, shoes, exercise equipment
Website	http://www.sportsauthority.com/

A location in Eden Prairie, MN

Sports Authority is the nation's largest full line sporting goods retailer. The company is headquartered in Englewood, Colorado. It operates over 400 stores in 45 U.S. states under the Sports Authority name. Total sales for the fiscal year ending January 29, 2005 were $2.44 billion.

The company's e-tailing website (located at sportsauthority.com), is operated by GSI Commerce, Inc. under license and e-commerce agreements. Because the e-commerce website is operated under a company separate from Sports Authority, the website often carries a wider selection than what is available in the stores. Because of the licensing agreement, unfortunately, returns from the website may not be processed in the stores. In addition, a joint venture with ÆON Co., Ltd. operates "Sports Authority" stores in Japan under a licensing agreement.

1 History
2 Store Operations
3 Return Policy
4 Trivia
5 External links

[edit] History

The Gart Sports name had been synonymous with the top tier of sporting goods retailers in the United States for over 70 years. The Gart tradition started in 1928, when Denver Post newspaper carrier Nathan Gart started the company with $50 in fishing rod samples.

In 1971, Gart Sports Company opened it's first "Superstore" with the opening of the world famous "Sportscastle" store in Denver, Colorado at the corner of 10th Avenue and Broadway Avenue. The 1980s proved to be an exciting time for the company, during which the company grew through a series of acquisitions. These mergers included Hagan's Sports Ltd., Dave Cook and Stevens Brown of Salt Lake City.

At the same time that Gart Sports Company opened the Sportscastle, the Hochberg family opened their first Sportmart in Niles, Illinois, and the company grew to 60 stores in nine states. Gart Sports and Sportmart merged in 1998.

Oshman's was opened in 1919 when Jake Oshman opened the first Oshman's Sporting Goods store. By 1965, Jake Oshman had built his business to become the largest sporting goods chain in Texas. The company operated 43 Oshman's SuperSports USA stores and 15 traditional stores when it merged with Gart Sports Company in 2001.

The Sports Authority, Inc. opened its first store in November 1987 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In 1990, with approximately nine stores in six states, the company was acquired by Kmart. Five years later, The Sports Authority had expanded to 136 stores in 26 states, and was spun-off from parent Kmart.

Gart Sports, which also operated Oshman's and Sportmart, completed a merger with Sports Authority on August 4, 2003. At the time of its merger with Gart Sports Company, The Sports Authority was the largest full-line sporting goods retailer in the United States, and had 205 stores in 33 states. The combined company took The Sports Authority name. With the merger, each share of Sports Authority was exchanged with 0.37 shares of Gart Sports which gave investors in each about 50% of the new merchant. The new company is based in Englewood, Colorado, which was home of Gart Sports.

As of May 2006, the remaining stores that were not operating under the Sports Authority name re-branded to the Sports Authority name. There are no longer any stores operating under the name of Gart Sports, Sportmart or Oshman's. Some stores still have some remnants of the name, including some stationary or forms.

[edit] Store Operations

With the merger, the company operates under two different platforms. Commonly, these are known as the "GSO" platform (stores formerly known as Gart/Sportmart/Oshman's) or the "TSA" ("original" Sports Authority stores) platform. Some differences between these stores include the layout or the point of sale system used. At the current time, the stores use a system using the IBM 4683 platform or the NCR Triversity platform. The older IBM system has some drawbacks, including no gift receipt functionality or electronic signature capture devices. Some stores still use impact printers with their IBM systems, while some stores are testing thermal register printers. As of 2006, new stores being built will feature the Triversity POS system.

As there are many different regions of the country, there are different concepts in store design. Many stores in mountain regions will sell an expanded selection of ski and snowboard equipment and clothing, while a store in the Florida area will focus more on warm-weather goods, including swimsuits. Some stores are licensed by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to sell firearms, while some stores have pulled firearms from their stores altogether. This has lead to more opportunities for sales from retailers such as Bass Pro Shops or Sportsman's Warehouse.

Associates are trained using a computer which utilizes Shockwave and video to train associates on selling basics, sexual harassment awareness, proper lifting as well as product knowledge. Often times, vendors such as Under Armour, Columbia, and Burton Snowboards create courses for training associates. In addition, some stores have access to a special training course developed by Nike.

All stores have access to company wide e-mail as well as a company wide intranet site known as Game Plan.

[edit] Return Policy

The store's return policy is 90-day return/exchange with a receipt. All returns will be refunded in the original method of purchase (if a customer uses a Mastercard, then the refund will be processed back to the Mastercard. If the original card is missing or unavailable, credit is issued to a Merchandise Credit.

If a receipt is not available, merchandise credit will be issued for the lowest price sold in the last 30 days. A valid government issued ID will be required for tracking no-receipt returns.

The only exception to the return policy applies to footwear. Footwear may only be returned for 30 days after the original purchase. A original receipt is required as well as the original box. The exception to the box requirement applies to clearance footwear, which is often un-boxed and coiled together. Footwear must be unworn.

[edit] Trivia

Sports Authority is home to the World's Largest Ski and Snowboard sale, known as SNIAGRAB (Bargains Spelled Backwards)
Sports Authority currently operates stores in every US state with the exception of North Dakota,South Dakota,Vermont,Kentucky and West Virginia.
Sports Authority is a major contributor to the National Sports Center for the Disabled.
The company sponsors both the New York Mets and Boston Red Sox.
Sports Authority's logo is featured near the "Green Monster" in Fenway Park in Boston.