Performance Inc. appointed Jim Thompson, who guided golf specialty retailer Golfsmith International Holdings Inc. through its IPO, as its new CEO. Thompson departed as Golfsmiths CEO in January as the company lowered its guidance for 2007 well below expectations. The company attributed lower earnings to deep discounting in December.
BOSS caught up with Thompson while he was between flights in California, where he was touring Performance stores. In an exclusive interview, he said the similarities between Golfsmith and Performance are profound. Both companies were started as catalogue operations by entrepreneurs who placed a premium on customer service, ethics and employee welfare. The other big similarity is how well the companies are positioned to take advantage of todays multi-channel retail environment.
With more than 80 stores in 15 states and two substantial online stores, Performance Inc. is thought to be closing in on $225 million in sales. That total makes it the nations largest specialty retailer dedicated to cycling. Founder Gary Snook sold controlling interest in the company to Connecticut-based North Castle Partners last year and will stay on as Peformances chairman.
In recent years the company has shed some high-end brands and deepened its relationship with a narrower list of brands, including Pacific Cycles Schwinn, GT and Mongoose as well as Scattante and Nirve.
Thompson has more than 25 years experience in retailing, mostly in consumer electronics with companies like Highland Superstores, CompUSA and Circuit City. He said he has long thought that catalogue companies are the best positioned to serve todays customers. First, because they have the fulfillment and customer service expertise needed to sell online. Second, because catalogues provide an important communication and branding tool to drive people to the Web and brick-and- mortar stores.
“My expertise has been to build specialty sports businesses around this multi-channel platform,” he said. “I am attracted to businesses that have avid followings. People who golf are very passionate. For them, its not a sport, its a lifestyle. The same can be said of cycling.”
Thompson downplayed his experience bringing Golfsmith public. “I did not come here to build a company and take it public,” he said. “My real interest is in the company going from the entrepreneurial phase to the professional phase.”
Still, he said his experience dealing with Wall Street and knowing how investors think has made him a better leader.
Like many in the outdoor industry, Thompson sees gas prices and growing concerns over sustainability working in cyclings favor. He said the company will be focusing on how to make cycling a more significant part of communities and commuting.
“Performance is so well positioned in the market,” he said. “They have an excellent balance from a product standpoint of brands and proprietary offerings. Its a very forward-plan merchandizing team. Theyve understood that in a difficult economy, the consumer is expecting a high degree of value rather than brand.”
Thompson declined to discuss whether Performance will be adding any brands, but said the company is dedicated to meeting the needs of the entire cycling market from affluent enthusiast to families and casual users.
“We are truly a specialty cycling business that is not leaving any core segment of space unserved,” he said.
