Business: Pro Image Sports
Address: 120 Water St., Naperville
Phone/Website: 331-401-5137, and www.proimagesports.com
Owners: Lauren Wierzbinski, 40, and husband Michael Wierzbinski, 41, of Naperville
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Years in business: Opened in November
What does your business do? “We provide all licensed professional and collegiate fan apparel. Hats, jerseys, sweatshirts. We pick what we think will serve our community,” Lauren said.
Why are you doing this? “We are sports fanatics. We have three young boys who love sports. … There was nothing in the community where you can go and pick up a (team) sweatshirt or support your kids going off to college. … There’s nowhere (else) you can go and find these fun items. … We are independently owned and operated. We’re a franchise. The company is based in Utah.”
Pro Image Sports was founded in 1985 in Salt Lake City by brothers Chad and Kevin Olsen, and has 160 franchised stores, according to the website.
What did you do before this? “(Michael) does his corporate job, sells advertising for a company. I used to be a teacher. … I’m basically running the store. We have four part-time employees.”
What sets you apart? “We have a really large youth or kids’ section.”
What does a customer say? “I’m here to buy mini (Detroit) Lions helmets for my husband Bob and my son Evan. I love this place. It has everything you need,” Trina Lueckhoff, of Napervile, said.
How’s business going? “Great. We worked really hard to open for the holiday season. It was important for us. December was amazing.”
Are items seasonal, more baseball in summer? “Yes. In the spring for March Madness we’ll have more collegiate items coming in.”
Where do you find all these items? “What’s great about Pro Image corporate is they’ve been in business so long, they have contracts with Mitchell & Ness, New Era, Fanatics and the ’47 Brand. They help us build that relationship, maintain it and we’re able to buy specifically for our store.”
How do you decide what to sell? “Sometimes it’s trial and error. We’re realizing what teams are popular.”
Which teams are popular? “Obviously, we have a lot of home town teams. Chicago is a huge sports city. But then we have a lot of people from Ohio or Michigan. You have the big teams that are always in the playoffs. … Things change over time. We’re figuring it out.”
What’s hot? “Younger kids have their teams that they love. For some of the kids, it’s not the team, it’s the player. All the players have personalities now. Justin Jefferson (of the Vikings) and Tyreek Hill (of the Dolphins) are our biggest selling jerseys for the kids.”
How do people know you are here? “Word of mouth has been really good. High school kids. We are trying for a big social media presence on Facebook and Instagram. The (Naperville Area) Chamber of Commerce has been huge. The Marquette Group, which manages Water Street, will spotlight us. Very helpful for a new business.”
Are football items selling with the playoffs? “Yes. We are offering a 10% discount on all playoff teams’ apparel through the Super Bowl.”
What challenges do you face? “You have the highs and lows of your team winning or losing. Players can get hurt or traded. It’s the ins and outs of the sporting world.”
How about other stores? “Locally, there isn’t anything that has so many options. … You have Dick’s and Target, but most of their stuff is so generic and you don’t know if you can get your size. … We’re trying to find unique items you can’t find in local stores. We have the fan chains. … We have rubber Lokai bracelets that kids love. … We have team toothbrushes, our number one stocking stuffer. Grandmas bought a lot of these.”
What about hats? “We try to have logos you don’t see very often. Teams you don’t see very often. We try to have a variety. A ton of baseball (caps). … People love the minor league hats. They’re fun and funky.”
What do you like best about this job? “I like the interaction, especially when the kids come in. … You see their eyes light up.”
Any favorite stories? “A group of junior high boys came in. Their shoes were so muddy. They didn’t want to make our floor muddy. So, they offered to take off their shoes and hung out in their stocking feet for 20 minutes.”
What’s your advice for someone starting a business? “Do your research. Know as much as you can before you open. Have a great support system. Corporate is amazing. So are our family and friends.”
If you know of a business you’d like to see to profiled in Down to Business, contact Steve Metsch at [email protected].
Steve Metsch is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
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