Sports Corner Ends 17-Year Run Jan.31
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| Sports Corner owner Ron Hansen will close the downtown North Adams store permanently on Jan. 31. |
Always On His Mind
"I'll miss it a little bit," said Hansen during a late afternoon Jan. 30 interview at the store. "But I did retail even before I came here and [the business] is always on your mind no matter where you are. Now I'll be able to go home, and take a walk or go snow-shoeing without having to think about this."
Hansen emphasized that the Steeple City Plaza opening of the Olympia sports store was not a business-busting catalyst. Sports Corner was turning a profit, he said.
His decision to close came after he tried unsuccessfully to sell the store for about a year, and then tried - equally unsuccessfully- to convince store manager Ben Bailey to buy the business. Hansen is employed by the state Department of Public Health and also sells time shares. His children are grown and the store had become a bit of a burden, he said.
A New Generation
"I have the other jobs and I'm just too busy," he said. "I wanted to get away from this and do something different. I did try to get Ben to buy it, but being an entrepreneur...there's no guarantee. The only guarantee is yourself."
Hansen said he enjoyed being a part of the city's downtown business population. He has observed a transition of generation and noted that people he first met as teen-aged youth have come into the store as adults with children of their own.
"I've enjoyed that," he said.
A Little Less Pie
Over the years, the store evolved from a sports clothing store to a store that offered sporting items such as snowboards, bicycles, and paintball equipment, he said. Among his strategies for remaining competitive was to offer bicycle repairs, snowboard tune-ups and similar services, he said.
But the ability of small, independent stores to keep pace with on-line venues and big chain-type stores is waning, Hansen acknowledged.
"Even though you can still make it, every year a little bit more of the pie gets taken away," he said.
Hansen said he continues to own many accounts and is interested in helping his son, a student at St. Michael's College in Winooski, Vt., launch an on-line sporting goods venture.
Left For Sale
As of late afternoon Jan. 30, Hansen's inventory included a bicycle, five pairs of ladies figure skates, several winterwear jackets, swimsuits, snowboard helmets, several pair of soccer shorts, and a significant amount of baseball gear. All remaining inventory is offered at reduced prices.
Hansen said that if a league were interested in the baseball inventory, he would consider selling the equipment as a bundle for one price.
"I enjoy working but trying to hold two and three jobs is too much," he said. "And who knows where the kids will end up? You'd like to find the time to visit your kids."
Hansen's daughter Erica is an executive chef at the Firefly restaurant in Lenox. Hansen and his wife live in Williamstown.
Hansen said the store will close for good at 5:30 p.m. Jan. 31. The space is owned by Scarafoni Associates Realty.
