In this FDD Talk post, you’ll learn the following:

• Section I – Background information on the Play It Again Sports franchise opportunity, including relevant news updates

• Section II – Estimated initial investment for a Play It Again Sports franchise, based on Item 7 of the company’s 2018 FDD

• Section III – Initial franchise fee, royalty fee, marketing fee, and other fees for a Play It Again Sports franchise, based on Items 5 and 6 of the company’s 2018 FDD

• Section IV – Number of franchised and company-owned Play It Again Sports outlets at the start of the year and the end of the year for 2015, 2016, and 2017, based on Item 20 of the company’s 2018 FDD

• Section V – Presentation and analysis of Play It Again Sports’ financial performance representations, based on Item 19 of the company’s 2018 FDD, including information on the:

• 2017 average, high, and low gross sales and average gross profit of the 266 franchised Play It Again Sports Stores in the United States and Canada that had been in operation by the same franchisee or owners for the 12-month period ended December 30, 2017, grouped by year opened (2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, and 2011 and prior)

• 2017 average, high, and low gross sales and average gross profit for the first, second, third, and fourth quartiles of the 266 franchised Play It Again Sports Stores in the United States and Canada that had been in operation by the same franchisee or owners for the 12-month period ended December 30, 2017

Section I – Background Information

13 Things You Need to Know About the Play It Again Sports Franchise

Canadian Franchisee Donates Hockey Stick Sales Proceeds to Humboldt Broncos Go Fund Me Page

1.  In early April 2018, tragedy struck when a bus carrying members of the Humboldt Broncos – a Junior Hockey League team from Saskatchewan, Canada – collided with a semi-trailer truck, resulting in the death of 16 people. The remaining people on the bus were severely injured.

2.  A few days after the accident, Ottawa residents began leaving hockey sticks outside of their houses in honor of the players who died. The local Play It Again Sports decided to join the movement and said that proceeds from any hockey sticks sold during that time would be donated to the Humboldt Broncos Go Fund Me Page, which raised money for the players and families affected by the tragedy.

3.  Rob Lavoie of Play It Again Sports Ottawa said, “The hockey community is tight-knit. 90% of the staff that works for us are hockey players. They ride these buses and play on teams like that. It really hits home to all of us here so anything we can do to help is great.”

New Locations

4.  Although Play It Again Sports is the Winmark Corporation’s oldest franchise, it is still going strong and continues to expand across the United States and Canada. Some of the brand’s most recent locations opened during Fall 2017 in Rock Hill, South Carolina; Las Cruces, New Mexico; and Casper, Wyoming.

5.  The Rock Hill store was opened in early September by John R., who previously spent over 20 years in healthcare management. John wanted to become his own boss and set up something he could pass down to his children in the future. He said that he was most excited to interact with local sports programs and schools in his community.

6.  At the end of September, Justin and Alysha Glick opened Play It Again Sports in Las Cruces. Their grand opening week brought together their community and featured giveaways, treats, special guests, and other fun events.

7.  Toward the end of October, Brendan and Michelle Bummer opened a Play It Again Sports store in Casper, Wyoming. Their store is the first for the brand in the entire state.

Stocking Gently-Used Equipment for Nearly Every Major Sport

8.  Each Play It Again Sports franchise does its best to buy and sell sports equipment for every major sport in North America including baseball, softball, football, soccer, hockey, lacrosse, golf, and disc golf. The stores also carry fitness equipment such as weights, elliptical trainers, and yoga mats; snowboards, skis, and other snow sports gear; water skis, wakeboards, surfboards, kayaks, and other equipment for water sports; and bicycles, skateboards, inline skates, and helmets.

9.  Some of the brands that Play It Again Sports looks for include: Bauer, Bowflex, Burton, Everlast, Franklin, Nike, Rawlings, Schwinn, Speedo, Under Armour, and other popular sports brands.

Company History

10.  Play It Again Sports was founded in 1983 by Martha Morris in Uptown, Minneapolis. Morris started the used sporting goods store after she purchased camping and backpacking supplies and realized that she was actually not interested in camping. She had tried to sell her expensive, yet gently-used backpack to a sports shop and was told by an employee that they did not sell used equipment. This inspired Morris, who felt that other people might have used sports equipment they would like to sell.

11.  When Morris decided to franchise the Play It Again Sports concept, she consulted with Ron Olson and Jeffrey Dahlberg of Franchise Business Systems. After witnessing how successful Morris’s business was, Dahlberg and Olson wanted to buy the company instead of just being advisers. Morris sold the Play It Again Sports franchise rights to them in 1988 and she eventually sold her stores to them in 1990.

12.  Olson and Dahlberg immediately established the Play It Again Sports Franchise Corporation, which would eventually become the Winmark Corporation in 2001. Today, Play It Again Sports is one of Winmark Corporation’s flagship brands, along with other used-goods franchise companies: Plato’s Closet, Once Upon A Child, Music Go Round, and Style Encore. There are currently close to 300 Play It Again Sports locations in the United States and Canada.

Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500

13.  Play It Again Sports ranked No. 247 on Entrepreneur’s 2018 Franchise 500 list.

Section II – Estimated Costs

• Please click here for detailed estimates of Play It Again Sports franchise costs, based on Item 7 of the company’s 2018 FDD.

Section III – Initial Franchise Fee, Royalty Fee, Marketing Fee, and Other Fees

• Please click here for detailed information on Play It Again Sports’ initial franchise fee, royalty fee, marketing fee, and other fees, based on Items 5 and 6 of the company’s 2018 FDD.

Section IV – Number of Franchised and Company-Owned Outlets

Franchised

2015

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  301
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  297
• Net Change:  -4

2016

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  297
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  283
• Net Change:  -14

2017

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  283
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  281
• Net Change:  -2

Company-Owned

2015

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  0
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  0
• Net Change:  0

2016

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  0
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  0
• Net Change:  0

2017

• Outlets at the Start of the Year:  0
• Outlets at the End of the Year:  0
• Net Change:  0

Section V – Financial Performance Representations (Item 19, 2018 FDD) and Analysis

• The following is a financial performance representation entitled “Unaudited Statement of Average Annual Sales and Gross Profit.” The gross profit figures do reflect the cost of sales but do not reflect the operating expenses that must be deducted from the gross profit figures to obtain your net income or profit.

• The following statement of average annual gross sales and gross profit includes average gross sales and gross profit during the 12-month period ended December 30, 2017 (Winmark’s fiscal year) as reported by the 266 franchised Play It Again Sports Stores in the United States and Canada that commenced operations during the years 1988 through 2016.

• This statement includes information from only those Play It Again Sports Stores located in the United States and Canada that had been in operation by the same franchisee or owners for the 12-month period ended December 30, 2017. No other Play It Again Sports Stores are included in this statement due to insufficient history of operations (not in operation for the 12-month period ended December 30, 2017 or transferred during this period).

• The financial statements Winmark receives from franchisees for these stores are unaudited, and Winmark does not audit or independently verify, or express an opinion regarding, these statements.

• There were 266 franchised Play It Again Sports Stores which had been in operation by the same franchisee or owners for the 12-month period ended December 30, 2017. All 266 Stores are reflected in the average.

• This financial performance representation does not include information for the 15 Play It Again Sports Stores that opened or transferred in 2017. No Stores closed in 2017 after being opened less than 12 months.

Part 1 – Statement of Average Gross Sales and Gross Profit of the 266 Franchised Play It Again Sports Stores for the Fiscal Year Ended December 30, 2017

Year Opened – 2016