After establishing a foothold in the Midwest team dealer market in April with the acquisition of Kesslers Team Sports, the countrys largest team dealer at the time, it only made sense for Collegiate Pacific to turn their attention to the other regions of the country to secure beachheads to expand their business at the institutional level.
That next move came last week as BOO inked a deal to acquire Dixie Sporting Goods. Terms were not disclosed. Closing is expected within 60 days. Dixie travels 40 road men over five states and is expected to add $15 million in sales to BOOs fiscal 2005 top-line.
Dixie CEO Ken Caravati has been in a bit of an acquisition mode himself, merging with Bocock-Stroud in 1999, which gave the entity a strong base in both Virginia and North Carolina.
“Ken and Michael Caravati – longtime owners and operators of Dixie – will be enormous assets to Collegiate as we build upon their past success,” said Michael J. Blumenfeld, CEO of Collegiate Pacific. Dixie was founded by Michael and Kens father, Charlie, and their uncle Hank in Richmond, VA in 1952. Bocock was founded in 1921 by two college coaches.
This latest deal now gives Collegiate a firm grip on team dealer operations in 14 states.
In related news, BOO has been named by FORTUNE Small Business Magazine to its 2004 list of America's Fastest Growing Small Companies, coming in at #24 on the FSB 100 list. It was the highest ranking for a sorting goods company on the 2004 list. The criteria for the ranking includes earnings growth, revenue gr