National retailer Team Town Sports, under the Sporting Life Group banner, is continuing to expand its footprint across the country.
The concept, which was launched about a year ago, now has four stores open with the latest one in Whitby, Ontario. The retailer’s other stores are located in Calgary, with two, and one in Mississauga.
Fred Lecoq, Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Digital Officer of the Sporting Life Group, said the Whitby store, located at 1751 Victoria Street East, is just over 28,000 square feet.
“The first location we opened in the GTA (Greater Toronto Area) is located in Mississauga, Meadowvale. Looking at our existing database of customers . . . we identified a large cluster of active customers in the East GTA. With the Whitby opening we can now connect with the athletes living on the east side of Toronto,” he said.
“The Whitby demographic is filled with young families whose kids will participate in sports. Whitby also has a long heritage of being an active community with a strong culture of team sports.”
Lecoq said the company does not have any plans to open any new stores in the next three months.
“We’re continuously listening to real estate opportunities and will be quick to react should a right location become available,” he added.
Previously, the company said it plans to eventually open up to 25 stores from coast to coast.
“Through COVID and the lockdown, participation in sports declined but it is now bouncing back and team sports is back on the rise,” said Lecoq. “A second factor to take into consideration is the growing number of new Canadians and the sports they participate in. As such soccer, basketball, volleyball, rugby are on the rise. Lastly, Canadians are multi-sports enthusiasts and it is common that they play several sports at a competitive level. Hockey + baseball / hockey + lacrosse / hockey + football …On top of all the above, we’re seeing more and more girls getting into team sports, inspired by all the recent great accomplishments of women’s sports. Think PWHL – Canada’s women’s national team – WNBA. Team Town Sports is a multi-sports megastore designed for all athletes, men and women.”
Lecoq said the future for the brand will include “hypergrowth and our objective is to create between $300-$350 million in revenue.”
That will happen by fulfilling the unaddressed demand in the GTA following the closing of National Sports. Team Town will become a major player in the team uniform business. It has 13+ sports under one roof.
“Team Town is a mix of a team sports megastore and sport community hub celebrating local athletes / local heroes. Our staff are athletes and know the sports they sell as they play it. We want to be the most trusted outfitter for all team sport athletes coast to coast for the spot they love whether that is in our community hub brick and mortar locations or through our comprehensive online store offering,” added Lecoq.
Team Town Sports is part of the Sporting Life Group which also owns and operates Golf Town and Sporting Life. Both banners finished a very strong fiscal year, said Lecoq.
In a previous Retail Insider story, Chad McKinnon, President of the Sporting Life Group, said: “By making it a place where all customers can access the equipment they need to play and train for the team sports they love, Team Town Sports represents the reinvention of the sports retail experience. Our goal is to meet the needs of a diverse Canadian population with a model that feels welcoming and inclusive. Our latest concept will feature all team sports under one roof, allowing us to connect with our customers through a shared passion for sports.
“It’s really about a couple of things. One is the white space in the market today. There’s a real opening for a premium sports offering to all Canadian athletes across team sports. Lots of good independents do things for sports individually but nobody’s really rolled it up under one roof, under one big box for everything for team sports. And we want to be good, better, best in our assortment. We’ve been very welcoming and inviting to Canadians. Super inclusive since day one. So we’ve had a very strong female component to what we’re doing and it also complements what we’re building strategically with the Sporting Life Group in terms of our village.
“It complements Golf Town. It complements Sporting Life. Because there’s very little crossover between the assortment. So super complementary to what we’re already doing very well today.”
