The SportsOneSource Group has expanded its market research capabilities through the addition of survey and panel data analysis reporting. The new group, led by a new manager of market research analysis, broadens the product and service offerings for the company to include consumer surveys, retailer surveys and qualitative analysis to further enhance the valuable retail point-of-sale data compiled through the companys SportScanINFO service.
“With the addition of these new services our research clients now have far more resources at their fingertips to assess market, brand, category and product trends and develop new opportunities for growth,” said James Hartford, president and CEO of The SportsOneSource Group. “We can now combine solid quantitative data with qualitative insight to develop improved models and expanded services.”
The company recently moved into a new headquarters building in Charlotte, NC and has doubled the size of its staff in the city since the first of the year.
“Adding additional analytical capabilities fuels our next stage of growth as we develop the leading information platform for the active sports lifestyle market,” continued Hartford.
The first broad-based reports will be available in August with the release of the SportsOneSource Retail Trends Report, with early elements of the report highlighted in the July issue of SGB. The report was developed to assess the changing shopping habits of the U.S. consumer and offers insight into dealing with the realities of a challenging economic environment. The August issue of SGB will feature the results of the companys first running specialty retailer survey as The SportsOneSource Group assesses the opportunities for the specialty retailer in a recessionary period. The company will also release its much-anticipated Brand Study Report in November and will add a new component to the study this year to provide additional value to brands.
“The study in the past has always focused on how the consumer feels about specific brands and trends,” said Hartford. “This year, we are also assessing how the retailer feels about those same brands and trends. If the consumer wants your brand and cant find it at retail we need to assess the barriers that prevent you from reaching that consumer.”
The new group is also in the midst of conducting its first annual survey of high school athletic directors and coaches. A summary report of that study will be presented in the July/August issue of Sporting Goods Dealer, the SportsOneSource trade publication which focuses on the team sports market.
