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Trading Intelligence
Shop name: Greaves Sports
Location: Glasgow and Edinburgh
Owner: Greaves Family, Glasgow
Opened: Moved into Greaves family ownership in 1930s after trading as Clydesdale Rubber Company since 1870
Affiliation: Intersport
Number of staff: 130
Speciality
Soccer, golf, running, rugby, racquet sports, cricket and custom-fitting products. Greaves also hosts a popular polyclinic that features a podiatric biomechanic clinic, chiropractic clinic, sports massage, physiotherapy and sports psychology.
Not a lot of people know this about my shop, but ...
Frank Sinatra and Bing Crosby bought golf clubs from Greaves in the 1960s. The Gordon Street store has welcomed household names such as Eminem, Rod Stewart and Samuel L Jackson.
How is business at the moment?
Business is good. We don't do recessions here. We've invested heavily in the shops over the past couple of years and we have branched out into quality fashion wear in addition to our sports equipment and apparel, with brands like Prada, Hugo Boss and Stella McCartney Adidas. It's paying off. Our involvement with top-level sports organisations and clubs like Scottish Rugby, Glasgow Warriors, Edinburgh Rugby and Partick Thistle FC has helped grow market share and has resulted in a new breed of loyal customers.
What has been the greatest success for your shop over the past 12 months?
Our official retail partnership with Scottish Rugby has been a huge success, and we are now recognised widely as a key provider of rugby equipment and apparel.
What recent supplier initiative has been successful recently?
We collaborated on a Puma media day with four of their soccer players. Having a strong PR function, we were able to set up a media competition for kids to win a day training with the pros, we had over a dozen key sports writers turn up to interview the players, and the resulting exposure for Greaves Sports and Puma was nationwide, including on Sky Sports.
What will be the biggest challenge for your shop over the next 12 months?
Growing our share of the online market. Another major challenge is the same as faced by many other independent retailers: the increasing number of out-of-town malls that continue to extract life from Britain's city centres and high streets. We work hard to add value to Glasgow city centre by providing a high-end shopping environment for visitors and locals. Does an Americanised outlet seven miles out add much life to a local economy?
