 |
|
|
|
Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer
Sports Fan: Lynn Alens, owner of Play It Again Sports in Campbell, left a high-tech job to follow his passion for playing sports.
Public Citizen
New uses for old sports equipment
By Moryt Milo
During the dot-com craze, when start-ups operated on open-ended budgets, Play It Again Sports owner and Campbell resident Lynn Alens was bucking the trend, and offering used and new sporting equipment to the budget-minded.
Alens, 44, who opened his first store in Los Altos, in 1993, and a second store in Campbell, in 1995, says, "The idea of selling used sporting equipment really appealed to me. It's a good concept and why I've been in it as long as I have."
For Alens, finding an appealing business concept and one that jived with his philosophical beliefs began as an itch to leave corporate America.
"I didn't want to retire after 30 or 40 years with a company and say, 'I wish I would have tried this when I had a chance,'" he says.
That chance came while reading a franchise ad for Play It Again Sports in Entrepreneur Magazine. It became his ticket into the world of business ownership.
Play It Again Sports, a franchise started by a Minneapolis woman, Martha Morris, has more than 500 stores nationwide. It's a concept that continues to grow as word of mouth spreads and people discover they can trade, sell or consign their used sporting equipment, instead of throwing it away or letting it collect dust in a closet.
It's also an idea that appeals to families with children, who constantly outgrow their equipment. Families come in and compare used and new gear like baseball gloves when deciding what fits their needs and wallets, Alens says.
The store sells everything from fitness equipment and golf clubs to snowboards, ski equipment and skateboards.
"The store goes through 10,000 pounds of new weights a month, and 1,200-1,300 baseball gloves a year," Alens says,
Unlike franchise stores in cold-weather states, which put away golf clubs and baseball mitts in the winter, California's good weather enables Play It Again Sports to keep inventory for all seasons in stock.
"But we do have a busy season," Alens says. "It's spring. The end of ski season and the beginning of baseball season."
As the idea of trading in used sports equipment for cash, credit or trade takes hold, store space also becomes a premium.
"We only have room for so many large items," Alens says, and cites treadmills as an example.
In fact the store has a customer wish list, with some items never reaching the floor.
For Alens, one of the most rewarding aspects of the business "is seeing a family come in on a budget and walk out with the items they wanted because it's affordable." Plus he says, "We give them a 30 day guarantee, even on the used equipment. No other place does that."
After eight years of building a business on an idea that makes sense for the environment, he feels good about his decision and offers this simple advice: "If you are looking to make a change, think outside the box. Don't think the job you are doing now is the only one you can do."
Know someone who deserves to be in the paper? Nominate a Public Citizen! Send the name of the noteworthy neighbor to Editor, The Campbell Reporter, 116 E. Campbell Ave., #6, Campbell, CA 95008; fax to 364-2588; or email ssanchez@svcn.com.
|
|
|
|
Campbell, California
