TIA Honors Top Pro, Specialty, Chain Retailers
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jolyn deBoer
PO Box 7845
Hilton Head Island,
843-686-3036
Jolyn@TennisIndustry.org
12/15/04 - The winners of the inaugural Tennis Industry Association Retailer Awards were recently announced and include the top 10 pro shops, top 10 specialty shops, and chain store of the year.
“We’re pleased to honor the pro and specialty retailers who are not only doing a fantastic job with their own businesses, but also are helping this sport to grow,” says TIA President Jim Baugh. “The response from the industry about these awards has been huge. While we are honoring 20 shops here, it was clear from the nominations that there are many more who are highly successful and doing great things for this sport.”
Retailer Award winners, who will receive a plaque from the TIA, were selected by representatives from various manufacturers and associations. Selection criteria included technical expertise and product knowledge, merchandising excellence, how and how frequently they “give back” to the sport, and whether the retailer is the “go to” shop when it comes to tennis in their area.
For the purposes of the awards, pro shops are defined as a tennis shop at a club or facility with courts. Specialty shops are defined as free-standing tennis shops not at a club and not with courts (although they may have a hitting lane). Specialty shops can have products from no more than two other sports and tennis must be at least 35 percent of all sales.
The TIA’s chain store of the year, selected by a panel of hardgood and softgood manufacturers, is The Sports Authority/Gart Sports.
The top 10 pro shops:
• BallenIsle Country Club, Palm Beach Gardens, Fla.
• Bath & Racquet Club, Sarasota, Fla.
• Boca West, Boca Raton, Fla.
• Brookhaven Racquet Club, Brookhaven, Miss.
• Indianapolis Racquet Club, Indianapolis, Ind.
• Midland Tennis Club, Midland, Mich.
• Midtown Tennis Club, Chicago
• San Francisco Tennis Club, San Francisco
• T Bar M Racquet Club, Dallas
• Tennis Professionals, Port Chester, N.Y.
The top 10 specialty shops:
• All About Tennis, Scottsdale, Ariz.
• Chicago Tennis & Golf, Chicago
• Courtside Sports, Mocksville, N.C.
• Hank Lloyd’s Tennis, Capistrano Beach, Calif.
• Player’s Choice, Birmingham, Ala.
• Rocky Mountain Racquet Specialists, Boulder, Colo.
• Swetka’s, Mountain View, Calif.
• Tennis & Golf Co., Royal Oak, Mich.
• Tennis Express, Houston
• Your Serve Tennis, Marietta, Ga.
The Tennis Industry Association is THE unifying force in the tennis industry providing programs, products, and services to promote the economic vitality of TENNIS. Core TIA initiatives include the Annual TIA/USTA Tennis Participation Survey, Consumer and Trade Research, Tennis Welcome Centers, Cardio Tennis, 50-50 Coop, Growing Tennis programs, TennisConnect.org, TennisWire.org. and others. For more information, please visit TennisIndustry.org or call the TIA at 843 686 3036.
