BSN Sports, the nation’s largest direct marketer and distributor of sporting goods to the school and league markets and a division of Varsity Brands, announced that it has acquired Rochester-NY based Valenti Sports Inc.
Valenti has been serving the Rochester market since 1993 and provides over 400 area teams with uniforms, balls and other sporting equipment.
“John Valenti and his sons, Joe and Phil, have thrived because Valenti Sports is deeply committed to value, integrity and service,” said Terry Babilla, BSN Sports’ president. “These are the same principles that guide our work at BSN Sports, and we are confident that Valenti’s employees and customers will benefit from access to our unparalleled selection, service and scale. We welcome the entire Valenti team to the BSN family and look forward to a bright future together.”
As part of this transaction, John Valenti will be retiring from full-time responsibilities at Valenti and his sons will succeed him as day-to-day operators.
John Valenti, Valenti’s Founder, added, “We are immensely proud of the business we’ve built over the last 25 years, and are thrilled to join the BSN Sports family. More specifically, BSN’s superior technology and leading brands will enable our sales pros to spend more time supporting coaches and servicing them in a manner that benefits Rochester’s young people. This is the “Heart of the Game” that BSN Sports talks about frequently, and we are 100 percent aligned with their philosophy and approach.”
Valenti continued, “My retirement is thus ideally timed, as I know that Joe and Phil’s leadership along with Jeff Parrinello and Mark Callari – combined with our decision to join BSN Sports – will help ensure our success for decades to come.”
In connection with today’s announcement, BSN Sports will be leasing Valenti’s current facility. Thus, Rochester customers can continue to expect the same family-oriented high level of service. Valenti will be transitioning the current retail store to a team sales showroom and offices in the coming months.
Babilla concluded: “With the addition of Valenti, we have now added more than 250 sales professionals in the last twelve months, including valuable teammates in Texas, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Minnesota, Florida, New York, Alabama, Georgia, Washington, Utah, Kentucky and, now, New York. We will continue to seek out partners that share our values and have a passion for building lifelong customer relationships.”
BSN Sports markets and distributes its products to over 100,000 institutional and team sports customers in colleges and universities, middle and high schools, and recreational programs throughout the United States via catalog, e-commerce, and direct sales. BSN Sports has more than 2,000 employees.
Photo courtesy Valenti Sports
