BSN Sports, a division of Varsity Brands, has completed the acquisition of a portion of the assets of Hibbett Team Sales Inc. (HTS), based in Birmingham, AL.
The team dealer subsidiary of Hibbett Sporting Goods Inc. distributes team apparel and equipment in Alabama and parts of Georgia and the Florida Panhandle, serving team customers since 1975. . The operations of Team are independent of the operations of our retail stores.
“We are thrilled to welcome Frank Powell and his talented team to the BSN SPORTS family,” said Terry Babilla, president, BSN Sports. “HTS members will contribute a talented team of sports professionals to our growing organization. Their culture of great customer service and customer first commitment is a perfect fit with our approach to the team sports and community marketplaces. Together with our 800-plus sales professionals nationwide, this combination creates an incomparable one stop shop and we look forward to a bright future together.”
Frank Powell, VP of Hibbett Team Sales, said, “Since Hibbett Sporting Goods was founded, the focus has been on excellent customer service. Many things have changed in the last 72 years, but the commitment to serving the customer and providing quality products has not changed. Hibbett Team Sales members joining BSN Sports will have access to BSN’s immense resources and innovative technology that will allow us to serve our customer better than ever. We are excited to see how we grow together.”
Jeff Rosenthal, president and CEO of Hibbett Sports, said, “Joining BSN Sports will provide the Hibbett Team Sales employees with the tools, infrastructure, and support needed to grow the business and continue their success in the future. I wish the entire team all the best.”
Babilla concluded, “With the addition of HTS personnel, we have added over 200 sales professionals in the last twelve months, including valuable teammates in Utah, Washington, Maryland, California, New Mexico, Ohio, Kentucky and Texas. We will continue to seek out partners that share our values and have a passion for building lifelong customer relationships.”
BSN Sports, acquired by Varsity Brands in 2015, continues to rapidly consolidate the team channel. Just this year, it has acquired Academy Sports in Salt Lake City in June, Athlete’s World/Stadium Sports in West Texas in May, Newberry Sporting Goods in Ohio in April, Newberry Sporting Goods in Ohio and Lowe’s Sporting Goods In Kentucky in March, the team division of Erie Sport Store In Pennsylvania in February and Marlow Sports in Maryland in January.
BSN has also been making investments in its executive team. In February, BSN hired Jared Drinkwater, who formerly headed marketing at Pizza Hut, as VP of marketing. He succeeded Kurt Hagen, who assumed new leadership responsibilities as chief innovation officer.
Photo courtesy Hibbett Team Sales
