Team Sports Planet (TSP), an Internet-based team dealer headquartered in Philadelphia and International Schools Supplies (ISS), a Princeton, NJ-based organization dedicated to serving the needs of schools around the world, have entered into a multi-year strategic partnership. TSP will market directly to ISS' 110 partner schools their team sports uniforms, apparel and equipment.
“In looking at our international customer base,” said Kari Altman, TSP’s President, “we discovered that several schools, in Africa, Asia and the Middle East in particular, were purchasing through ISS. But some weren’t. It was a real ‘A-Ha’ moment. We gave the folks at ISS a call and, as you might expect –they’re pretty smart up there in Princeton– they got it right away. We’re growing and strengthening a relationship that works well.”
ISS typically partners with major publishing houses (like Houghton Mifflin) Fortune 500 companies (including Apple Inc.) and education-centric suppliers, like Scholastic Inc. Jim Newfrock, ISS's Chief Operating Officer said, “We knew our schools were fielding teams in socccer, volleyball and so on. So a value-add to them –and part of our core mission– is to identify and contract with reliable suppliers. Team Sports Planet fit the bill.”
TSP has begun development of “The ISS Team Store,” a custom, e-commerce web site that will feature team sports products chosen specifically for the international community. It’s not as limited as one might think. “We've sold American football equipment –helmets, shoulder pads and blocking sleds– to schools from Belgium to South Korea,” said Ms. Altman, “I'll admit, at first, I was a little surprised. Not any more. Happens every day.”
In addition, TSP and ISS will engage in joint marketing initiatives in an effort to grow the number of international schools that conduct their purchasing activities through ISS. Finding a reliable supplier of team sports products is a well-known challenge for these schools' administrators. Hundreds of additional schools around the world are prospective ISS partner schools. You can almost hear the iconic music pipe up and Jim McKay's sonorous voice, “Spanning the globe the Wide World of Sports.”
