"Support" Your Local Retailer?: The Unseen Effects of Big Box Stores

Today is my father's 79th birthday. In honor of him, I would like to recount a story which is, to my way of thinking, his kind of humor. I can easily see him relating this story over dinner with our family when I was younger- much younger.

The tale begins with my athletic pursuits. I play a racquet sport. So I wear athletic supporters. Depending on how often you play, and how many you have, they last for varying amounts of time. I play a lot. Even with 6-7 supporters, the constant washing and drying eventually leaves them limp, the elastic overheated and stretched.

In the past, I would go to a local sporting goods store near my racquet club to buy more. The last time I did so, perhaps 5 years ago, they had a decent selection of styles and sizes. When I returned last month to buy several supporters, I was told they had none. Zero. Zippo.

"It's baseball season. We don't have any! Come back later and maybe we'll have some."

Okay. So I returned this week. They had one. One supporter in my size, although not the style I prefer. Upon asking them to order more, I was told,

"We only have one. We may not carry them anymore. Nobody comes in to buy them anymore."

I opined to the owner, apparently the son of the esteemed founder, that maybe he had it backwards. Maybe nobody came to buy supporters from him, because he had no inventory. His blank look told me I was wasting my time. But, for good measure, I uttered a prophetic,

"It's ok. Whatever you want. If you want to send me to Sports Authority, I'll go there."

Next, I visited my local sporting goods retailer, down the street from my home. Bob T's shop is the sort you remember from your childhood. Bob is a kindly, terrific guy. Like an old shoe. Perfect for the business of local sporting goods sales. He takes used ice skates on consignment. He provides the local high school uniforms, and various staples for children's and youth sports. I like to give him business when I can. So when a friend reminded me of Bob T's place, I went there the very next day. In search of supporters.

"No, sorry. We don't have any. Come back in a few weeks. We are backordered. Everything we have has cups."

When I remarked that I wanted to give them a chance, before going to Sports Authority, the woman at the counter smiled and simply repeated the facts of their inventory problem, how they'd be closed for a week, etc. Apparently, no worries over sending me to Sports Authority, either.

So, now, I've tried two friendly, local, family-owned sporting goods stores. Neither has an inventory of the rather basic piece of athletic clothing, a man's athletic supporter. Mind you, I live on the east coast of the US. Not Tibet, nor Nigeria, nor Croatia. I would have thought this search would be easier.

Today, I ran some errands. On my list was to visit another local shop. This one is a swim shop located about five miles from me. If Speedo makes it, they carry it. But before then, I found myself up on a local state highway, amidst the big box stores. So after concluding my business at ToysRUs, I decided to head for.......

Sports Authority!

As I was musing about driving to the swim shop, it occurred to me that there is a bit of a mystery in this story. Where are the nation's athletic supporters? Who has taken them, and why?

Surely, our nation's, nay, the world's athletic supporter manufacturer's and distributors cannot be leaving men "hanging out," or, well, you know what I mean.....

I formed a hypothesis on my short drive up Route 10 to Sports Authority. Perhaps SA has monopolized the provision of athletic supporters. If they had none, then, truly, there was a mystery. But if Sports Authority had supporters, that would suggest that vendors now found it difficult to bother with smaller retailers, when SA probably accounted for so much more volume.

I entered the huge store, got directions, and walked to the display of men's athletic supporters.

WOW! Mecca! The missing athletic supporters.....they were all there...at Sports Authority! All along!

They had it all. They had brands I hadn't seen in years. In all sizes and styles. Styles I was told at the small shops could not be had anymore. Bike, for one. And for the most popular style, SA sells them 2-for-1, at about half the price of the off-brand Martin supporter I bought at the first local sporting goods shop.

Now I see what has occurred with the entry of Sports Authority into my local market. I would guess it's similar for many other big box retailers in their respective product spaces. SA seems to have become a giant sponge for inventory of basic sporting goods. Your local sporting goods shop can't even get inventory on basic goods anymore. The manufacturers and distributors probably cannot afford to short Sports Authority, so they simply don't respond to requests from the small retailers.

I think that most manufacturers and distributors direct their product and inventory flow to SA not just for the volume, but for the relative lack of volatility of their demand.

Think about it. Sports Authority must be the size of about 10 local sporting goods shops. They concentrate the volume of all sorts of equipment, and by virtue of accounting for it in one store, reduce order volatility immensely. That has to be valuable for the vendors and distributors. By being so large, SA draws a huge flow of local shoppers. Their prices and assortments of basic goods are better than the local shops, so the circle becomes virtuous for SA.

The result, I believe, is that distributors don't even bother filling orders for a lot of basics in the small quantities that local sporting goods shops order. Where's the benefit? The volume must be microscopic, next to that of Sports Authority. The cost of sending small lots, and handling the varying order sizes and frequency, can't be profitable, relative to handling a constant flow of product for Sports Authority.

So, there you have it. Athletic supporters galore! They were always "there." Just not in the usual places I had learned to look. In only about five years, Sports Authority's one store in my area has altered the entire complexion of buying basic sports clothing. They so dominate the market that you literally cannot find an athletic supporter anywhere else within 10 miles of their store.

So I don't live in Croatia after all. I just have come to the realization of what big box retailing does to even those small retailers who find niches that allow them to hang on in the face of outfits like Sports Authority. The supply of basic goods dries up for the small guys. They don't even get deliveries of products like athletic supporters anymore.

Welcome to the new world of retailing.