The SportsOneSource Group and Sporting Goods Business, two of the leading information resources serving the sporting goods retail market, have announced that they will join forces, offering the industry a single comprehensive source for trade news, analysis, career services, and market research needs. The announcement was made by Michael Marchesano, president and CEO, VNU Business Media, and James Hartford, president and CEO of The SportsOneSource Group.
Terms of the deal, which will become effective on September 1, 2006, were not announced. Mr. Hartford will manage the overall business under the umbrella of The SportsOneSource Group.
SportsOneSource will acquire the rights and registered trademarks, where applicable, for all properties currently under the Sporting Goods Business umbrella, including the Sporting Goods Business, Sports Trend, Sporting Goods Dealer, Outdoor Business, Hunting Business, and Golf Retailer trade magazines, as well as Inside Sporting Goods. SOS also acquires the rights to the Elite Running Conference, OB Outlook, and SGB Forum events and any corresponding VNU-owned publishing, online and event rights to the trademarks, as well as all content, customer databases, and archives.
“When I first started in this industry more than 22 years ago, Sporting Goods Business was the most reliable and widely-read information resource in the market, a position it still holds today,” said Hartford. “Both retailers and vendors will immediately start to see real benefit from this merger. The combination of SGBs best-of-class print and event portfolio with the other the industry leading media and research properties already under the SportsOneSource umbrella such as SportScanINFO, Sports Executive Weekly, The B.O.S.S. Report, Performance Sports Retailer, and Specialty Market Retailer will provide the markets we serve with an unmatched knowledge base.”
Sporting Goods Business, which is one of the most widely-recognized brand names in the sporting goods business, will become the centerpiece of the SportsOneSource Media Services division, joining Sports Executive Weekly, The B.O.S.S. Report, and the recently launched Specialty Market Retailer and Performance Sports Retailer magazines. “The addition of Sporting Goods Business, coupled with more that 100 years of brand equity associated with Sporting Goods Dealer, exponentially increases the overall value of The SportsOneSource Group to the market,” said Hartford.
SGB offers information to a full range of sports specialty stores from full-line stores to leading sports specialty stores and independents. SGBs Annual Top 100 Retail issue and annual Brands Survey have become industry standards on data. SportsOneSources SportScanINFO POS data reporting service is the only platform of its kind servicing the full spectrum of sporting goods products, channels, and categories. Combined, this suite of research products will offer even more value for business executives, Wall Street analysts, investors, and consumer media they already rely on each day.
The SportsOneSource Group currently provides business information through five business divisions that focus on Media Services, Market Research, Career Services, Events, and Directories. Products and services are delivered both off-line and online and are easily accessible through www.SportsOneSource.com, the leading online information source for the sporting goods industry.
“This is an exciting development for VNU,” said Marchesano. “The future of business-to-business communication lies in using all forms of media in conjunction with data and personal interaction, in order to offer complete information and marketing solutions. By combining the assets of SGB and SportsOneSource, we are accelerating that transformation.”
“VNU has been a strong partner in the continued growth and development of the SportsOneSource platform,” Hartford said. “This transaction is yet another example of how the two companies are working together to more effectively service the sporting goods industry.”
SportsOneSource, LLC dba The SportsOneSource Group is a leading resource for business information, market research, trade news, and career services delivered through print, the Internet, and events. SportsOneSource provides POS Data Reporting services through SportScanINFO, the only online platform that provides POS data for hardgoods and softgoods categories in the athletic and outdoor markets on a weekly basis. The company also produces the Sports Executive Weekly and The B.O.S.S. Report newsletters, which provide timely and comprehensive insight and analysis of the trade news of the week, and manages the SportsJobSource.com, career services Web site. SOS also produces Performance Sports Retailer, a print publication that services the running specialty market, and Specialty Market Retailer, a new print publication servicing the outdoor and snow sports market.
