LIDS Acquires Tennessee Company
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndianapolis-based LIDS Sports Group has acquired Nashville Sporting Goods. LIDS Chief Executive Officer Ken Kocher says the deal for the wholesale team sports products company solidifies its “regional stronghold” in the industry.
August 6, 2014
News Release
Indianapolis, Ind. — Indianapolis-based LIDS Sports Group today announces the acquisition of wholesale team sports company Nashville Sporting Goods and its production affiliate National Team Embellishment, both headquartered in Nashville, Tenn.
“The acquisition of Nashville Sporting Goods is a perfect fit for Lids Team Sports,” says Ken Kocher, president of Lids Sports Group. “Not only will this expand our team sports presence in our parent company Genesco's backyard, but this acquisition, coupled with our existing national presence, will solidify LIDS Team Sports' regional stronghold in the sportswear and wholesale team sports business. We look forward to sharing our sporting goods expertise and services with existing and new customers across Tennessee and Alabama.
“Included in the acquisition are 11 highly experienced sales professionals located throughout Tennessee and Alabama as well as a first-class production and distribution facility. We are confident that operations of Nashville Sporting Goods will continue uninterrupted and seamlessly for our customers through the transition. We are extremely excited to add Robert Butler and his employees to our team.”
Butler, president of Nashville Sporting Goods, states, “LIDS is a great fit for Nashville Sporting Goods. By joining the LIDS team, we are able to remain true to our mission of 'delivering what we promise,' while adding access to the broad spectrum of inventory, first-class production facility, and the industry's best web based 'flash stores' that already exists within LIDS Team Sports. My team is very excited to help spread the LIDS culture throughout the South.”
LIDS Sports Group, under its LIDS Team Sports division, currently serves all 50 states with all-inclusive sporting goods to a broad range of customers, including colleges and universities, high schools, corporations and youth organizations.
ABOUT LIDS SPORTS GROUP
The LIDS Sports Group, operating within Hat World Inc., is comprised of the LIDS retail headwear stores, the Locker Room by LIDS specialty fan retail chain, the LIDS Clubhouse retail stores, the LIDS Team Sports wholesale team sports business, and the Internet businesses www.lids.com, www.lidsclubhouse.com, www.lidsteamsports.com and www.lids.ca. Operating out of Indianapolis, Indiana, the retail businesses make up more than 1,200 mall-based, airport, street level and factory outlet locations nationwide, and in Canada and Puerto Rico. LIDS retail stores offer officially licensed and branded headwear of collegiate teams, major professional sports teams, as well as other specialty fashion categories in the latest styles and colors. Locker Room by LIDS is a mall-based retailer of sports headwear, apparel, accessories, and novelties which also operates under the Sports Fan-Attic and Sports Avenue retail concepts. Most LIDS and Locker Room by LIDS stores also offer custom embroidery capability. LIDS Clubhouse operates team-specific professional sports and university athletics retail stores and e-commerce sites. LIDS Team Sports is a full-service team uniform and apparel dealer, custom screen printer, embroidery and sporting goods distributor. Hat World Inc. is a subsidiary of Genesco Inc.
Source: LIDS Sports Group