While the Canadian market is reportedly tough of late, one large industry customer had a banner fourth quarter and year.
Sport Chek, a large sporting goods retailer with 189 company-owned stores, reported a 9.4% increase in comp store sales in Q4.
For all of 2014, comp store sales rose 10.6%. For the year, executives said wearable technology was a particularly strong category.
Sport Chek carries a wide range of industry brands including surf, skate and snow brands, in addition to more traditional athletic labels. It is somewhat like a Dick’s Sporting Goods, but with a wider range of industry brands.
Sport Chek continues to move advertising dollars from print circulars to online. In December, the retailer partnered with Facebook to create seven-second video ads that drove high double digit sell-through compared to products that did not have the video support.
Growing the Sport Chek chain is a key initiative of parent company Canadian Tire Corp, which acquired Sport Chek and its owner, FGL Sports, in 2011.
A growth plan presented in May 2012 called for FGL to rationalize its varied banners to focus on growing Sport Chek. The plan calls for 100 new Sport Chek stores to open over a five-year period and the addition of 1.4 million square feet of selling space.
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