Houston, TX-based Tennis Express announced that Brad Blume, company founder, re-acquired full ownership in the retail and online business from Signa Sports United (SSU).
Blume had previously sold a majority interest in Tennis Express to SSU but had remained president of Tennis Express and a minority shareholder.
Given the recent financial challenges SSU faced, both SSU and Blume agreed that it would be in the best interest of the company for Blume to re-acquire Tennis Express.
The ownership change was handled privately and went into effect on November 10. Terms were not disclosed.
On October 20, Signa Sports said that due to the loss of a major funding commitment from its parent company, its subsidiary, Tennis-Point GmbH, had filed for insolvency, and the company is preparing for insolvency proceedings in the coming days.
“Recently, several news outlets mistakenly reported that Tennis Express was still part of SSU and was involved in bankruptcy proceedings,” Blume said. “Of course, this is completely inaccurate. I am the sole owner of Tennis Express and have re-established our long-standing partnerships with our vendors.”
“We are looking forward to a strong holiday season and a robust 2024 as we build on the entrepreneurial spirit that has successfully helped Tennis Express become one of the world’s largest tennis retailers,” said Blume. “Customer satisfaction remains our number one priority, and we strive to deliver a WOW experience to each customer.”
Tennis Express operates a store at 10771 Westpark Drive in Houston and sells through TennisExpress.com. Beyond tennis, the retailer offers pickleball and padel gear.
Tennis Express headquarters, warehouse and superstore occupy 90,000 square-foot building that “has become a destination” for recreational, junior, collegiate players and ATP and WTA tour professionals. A full-sized indoor tennis court hosts seasonal events, including merchandise trunk sales, clinics, coaches and captain meetings, and branded demo days.
