Jim Spring, founder of Leisure Trends Group (LTG), passed away early Monday morning while battling throat cancer at the age of 75.
According to a statement from Leisure Trends, “With a career spanning 50 years, Spring was universally respected for his business acumen, keen retail wisdom, honesty and humor (and most of all, one of the greatest belly-chuckles the world has ever known!) all of which Spring freely shared with employees, peers and the sports industry through untold articles, columns and speeches.”
Starting his career as the executive editor of SKI magazine, Spring authored three books on retail management and the use of statistical information. He also created the concept of segmenting Americans by their leisure time activities and their attitudes towards those activities.
Spring pioneered retail sales tracking with breakthroughs including the first working universal vendor code and the use of data captured at point-of-sale in retail stores. Spring created this method of tracking sales through his first company, SMART, eventually selling the company to NPD. Following SMART, Spring started Leisure Trends Group in 1989 and eventually completed his career as owner and chairman, mentor and friend, to the company's nearly 50-person team.
Spring ran Leisure Trends with his wife, Joy Spring, until 2010, when they retired from the day-to-day activities to lead LTG's board of directors.
Spring is survived by his wife of 22 years, Joy Spring, and his three children, James Wright Spring, Elizabeth Hayden Spring and Thomas Cody Clarke Spring, his wife Laura, and 2 grandchildren, Sophia and Maxwell Spring.
Memorial arrangements and additional details to be forthcoming.
