A retailing career can be perilous. Just ask Sportmart Inc. President Mark Scott. Two years ago he joined the Wheeling-based sporting goods retailer to tighten the focus of its merchandise and pump up its private-label offerings.
He did that and more. He expanded private label from 1 percent to 8 percent of sales and introduced a frequent buyers plan called “Play By Play.” He also started using Sportmart’s database to further refine its marketing pitches to customers. “The model we created was much more profitable. We just didn’t have the luxury of time,” Scott said recently.
But Gart Sports Co.’s plan to acquire Sportmart in January likely means Scott, 44, is out of a job. Gart CEO Doug Morton has been named chief executive of the new company, which will be based in Denver. Morton also holds the title of president, leaving little room at the top. “I don’t know if they want me. And I don’t know if I want to move to Denver,” Scott said.
Either way, it will mean another upheaval for Scott, his wife and two young children. Before joining Sportmart in 1995, he spent three years at Bombay Co., the furniture and home decor retailer in Ft. Worth, Texas. He left after the president who hired him was ousted in a management shakeup.
Prior to that, Scott was Gucci’s senior vice president for merchandise and stores in the U.S. It was a great job, especially the three months a year he spent in Gucci’s native Florence. But Scott got restless when the Gucci family decided to downsize their U.S. business to recapture a super-upscale image.
He left before Gucci went public–a costly decision for him. A Gucci executive whom Scott had hired had a cool $30 million in stock when the offering was over. “I’d be hitting golf balls right now,” he said wistfully.
If Scott doesn’t join Gart, he’s uncertain what he’ll be doing. He vows to stay away from companies run by families, which was the case with his last three employers. Unless, of course, it’s his own. Scott says he’s mulling an offer from his wife to help her run her women’s sportswear business.
Less is more: Those same-store sales figures released by retailers every month provide valuable clues to the health of individual companies and the industry as a whole. Just this week, disappointing September results put to rest retailers’ hopes for the first strong fall season in recent memory.
But a survey of top retail executives shows most wish the monthly reports would just go away, says New York search firm Thorndike Deland Associates.
Some 78 percent of 228 senior-level execs said they believe sales numbers should only be released quarterly to provide a more accurate fiscal picture of a company.
Retail numbers fans needn’t worry, says Joseph Carideo, partner with Thorndike Deland. Wall Street analysts and investors eagerly await the monthly numbers and won’t easily be persuaded to go without, he believes. “Once a company starts down the track of providing monthlies, it’s difficult to get off it.”
Costly goodies: There’s nothing like the fall arrival of the Neiman Marcus Christmas catalog to get those holiday shopping anxieties going.
Among the more outlandish offerings for 1997: an authentically detailed 1950s-style diner complete with booths, counters and bar stools. Asking price: $195,000.
Of course, that’s a bargain compared with the 150-carat, colored diamond necklace for $620,000. If you’re interested, don’t procrastinate–there’s only one of them. As of Friday, it was still available. For updated info, call Neiman’s at 1-800-825-8000, extension 6303.