Re: Manufacturer accounts

I own a tennis pro shop in Washington state and have not had any trouble
opening accounts with any of the companies I have approached. I only carry
the three top racquet lines, Wilson, Prince and Head as well as Ektelon for
racquetball. Wilson HyperCarbons are the top sellers, followed by Prince
Triple Threat. Head has dropped off dramatically this year. I carry Prince,
Wilson and Head shoes (only top of the line). The Wilson DST sells best for
the ladies and the Head C-Tech 6000 sells best for men. We only carry basic
tennis skirts & shorts. Men's apparel doesn't sell well and ladies seem to
only buy when things are marked down. I have tried carrying Tail, Kaelin,
Marcia, Head, Prince, Wilson, Natty, among others ... all are spendy and with
the exception of when they first arrive, most items must be marked down
drastically to sell.

We make the most money on stringing and have one of the few shops that
provide quality string jobs so we're busy in that area. We carry Gamma,
Wilson, Prince, Head, Gosen and Technifibre strings. TNT, Live Wire, NXT and
Wilson Syn Gut are our best sellers.

Nike, Reebok and Adidas require large minimums and are carried at most mall
stores. Nike Town kills any sales you might get from them and they change
their shoes so often, you end up with closeouts before you get the stock put
away.

Fila hasn't had much for tennis that would sell for a long time.

The biggest problem we all face are the internet Warehouse stores who are
selling all the racquets just above cost and strings at cost. I don't see
much future for local pro shops if this trend continues. I find people want
to come in and demo my racquets then purchase over the internet. The racquet
manufacturers talk a good line about preventing the new merchandise from
being sold below the "advertised" prices, but they have not stopped places
like Tennis Warehouse.

I'm curious who you approached that would not allow you to carry their
merchandise.

Hope this helps.


Received on Thu Apr 27 2000 - 14:48:23 CDT