In Part 3 of our special family business coverage, we bring you three more of the team market’s most venerated dealers. Here, they discuss their legacy, future plans and challenges and consider the prospects of family-owned and family-run businesses in the team market hopefully for generations to come.

Greeley, CO; Sterling, CO; Athens, GA

Garretson’s Sport Center

Owners: Zeke, Todd, Cheri and Tyler Garretson. The business has always been family-owned and is now in its third generation of ownership (Zeke, founder; son Todd and wife Cheri, and their son, Tyler). “Zeke is 90 years old and still comes in every day from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. to work, make deliveries, help on the floor and handle anything else we need done,” says Todd Garretson.a

History:“The business was established in 1965 by my dad, Zeke Garretson, in Sterling, CO,” explains Todd. “He was a teacher and head coach at several schools when he purchased Bill’s Sporting Goods in 1965. He and my mother, Maurine Garretson (still living), ran it by themselves for several years, gradually added employees and moved three times to bigger buildings. They sold the business in 1980, took it back over in 1983 in Greeley and started over.

“We moved again to several bigger buildings over the years and have been in the current Greeley location for 26 years. We’ve also been back in Sterling for over four years (with two employees), and in Athens, GA, for over four years. Tyler started the Athens location himself, has five employees and has moved twice to bigger buildings. We operate a full-line retail store with 20 employees and we also have six team people that call on schools, rec departments and businesses. In both Colorado and Georgia, we do our own screening, embroidery, laser, chenille and DTF lettering.”

Most Gratifying Aspects: “The sense of accomplishment, adding to the community with the employment of people, sponsorships and donations, and seeing hard work pay off.”

Challenges: “People. We have great people, but it always takes time to get the right mix and create a team atmosphere. We try to blend business with family. That’s harder to do the bigger you get, but we realize that besides God, our people are what make our business successful. Other than that, competition is always increasing from online, big-box stores (we are the largest family-owned sporting goods store in Colorado, not counting Scheels), and of course BSN and Game One on the team side.”

Looking Ahead:  “As of now, Cheri and I will continue to work full-time in the Greeley store. Our plan is for Tyler to gradually assume half or more control in the next 10 years. We will all be involved as long as we have good health.”

The Future of Family-Owned Team Businesses: “I think, as the saying goes, only the strong will survive. It’s harder to not only compete, but to keep generations of the same family involved. I believe there is, and will continue to be, a strong core of family team businesses, but everyone will have to keep working hard and adapting to new ideas and efficiencies.”

Sioux Falls, SD  (Includes Dakota Sports, Hauff Sports, Dauby’s and Dakota Lettering)

MRG Hauff LLC

Owners: The business is currently owned and operated by the Gorsetts and the Hauffs and has been family-owned since Hauff Sports and Daubys were founded in 1933 and 1934, respectively.

History: Hauff Sports was founded in 1933 by Dwight Hauff and Evelyn Peterson. Daubys was founded in 1934 by Herbert C. “Dauby” Daubenberger. Dwight opened Dakota Sports in Sioux Falls in 1967. Dakota Lettering was started in 1978 as the printing division of Dakota Sports. By 2013, Hauff Sports, Dakota Sports and Dakota Lettering had merged under Hauff Mid-America Sports. In 2019, Mike and Jess Gorsett bought Daubys and combined it with MRG Sports and Promo, which they’d started several years earlier. In 2024, the Hauffs and Gorsetts merged the companies to form MRG Hauff LLC.

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Most Gratifying Aspects: “Being a part of the community and helping coaches and business owners improve their buying experiences is very gratifying,” says co-owner Curt Hauff, co-owner.

Challenges: “The biggest challenge is to stay competitive against national companies that have large staffs and budgets.”

Looking Ahead: “Continued innovation and change are currently high up on the list. We plan to continue being a family-owned business and are looking for discussions with other family-owned businesses to bring them onboard, rather than have them close up or sell to a conglomerate.”

The Future of Family-Owned Team Businesses:  “It seems that family-owned businesses are becoming less common as larger corporations are buying up smaller competitors. The barrier to entry in the sporting goods business is fairly strong, as it’s difficult to get open with many vendors, and if you do get open, obtaining favorable pricing, with limited purchasing power, is even more rare.”

New York, NY

Frank’s Sport Shop

Owner: Ron Stein

History: “Frank’s Sport Shop was founded in1921, or possibly 1922, a question we still debate, since my grandfather, Frank Stein, the patriarch of the family business, passed away in 1984,” notes Ron Stein. “The business began in the Bowery on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. In the mid-20s it moved uptown to its current location in the Bronx, where it has remained for more than 95 years. Soon after moving to the new location, a brick was thrown through the store’s window with a note to go back to the Bowery. A nice welcome to the neighborhood.

“My father, Moe (Moses) Stein, began working part-time at the store in his teens and even while he was in the Army, stationed in South Carolina, would often come back when allowed to work the occasional weekend. I probably started younger than my father — I remember being five or six and standing next to my grandfather at the cash register helping count out the change to the customers. By the time I was in high school I was working every Saturday and most days off from school. Throughout college I continued to work during school breaks and summers, and then grad school was done part-time so I was still able to work every day. My father and I worked side by side for close to 50 years until his death in 2022 at the age of 93.

“Now the question is, was it a good relationship? The answer, unfortunately, is not for a majority of the time. When two people, especially family, have never worked for anyone else and both work six to seven days a week, 10 to 12 hours a day, you have issues. My father could sell snow to an Eskimo in the winter, but one also has to remember that in the summer the Eskimo buys a lot more goods, so keeping customers happy for the long haul also needs to be balanced out.

“With my parents’ passing – first my mother, who often would come back to work with my father after he had gone home and had dinner – and then my father two years later, the business was left to me and my two siblings. My brother takes care of some of the legal aspects and my sister comes in on a part-time basis to allow me to see clients and attend trade shows throughout the year.”

Over the years, Frank’s Sport Shop gained national and international attention. The clientele includes baseball superstars, MLB teams, pro athletes, politicians, rappers, famous sports agents, celebrities and sports enthusiasts. “You never know who you will find in the store,” Stein says.

Most Gratifying Aspects: “There is not a day that goes by where customers do not comment on the fact that they have been coming here since they were a child, or that grandparents come in with their grandchildren and tell the children in front of us that their grandparents used to also bring them here,” Stein continues. “So many often simply say thank you for still being here. I have traveled to many parts of the world and often someone will recognize me and say, ‘Frank’s,’ or in the Dominican Republic or other parts of Latin America as I am referred to, ‘hey, Loco.’” [A family trip to the Dominican Republic led Ron to discover winter baseball and soon Frank’s was working with all the teams and other influential people there, along with many others in Mexico and Puerto Rico.]

“Other gratifying aspects are being able to give a small child a baseball or help grow small grassroots programs, as we did with Harlem RBI many years ago. My relationship with all of the Major League baseball teams (well, 29 of 30—the 30th is just a matter of time) is often quite meaningful to me and I appreciate every one of those equipment managers and their staffs, both on the major league and minor league levels. You have no idea how many balls these guys are juggling.”

Challenges: “It’s challenging when a vendor or supplier is no longer privately owned or has someone running the show for them and who does not look beyond their numbers for a quarter. We were the first in the Lower 48 to carry Canada Goose, in 1994. We initially only sold it to stuntmen and big-time producers, including Barry Levinson and Denzel Washington. After a number of years, it did take off and we had a good relationship with them until the family sold out to Bain Capital. You saw the same with Nike and now with Wilson and a few others. The pendulum will swing back at some point, but the question will be who will be left to benefit.

“For this reason, we have begun to manufacture and import some of our own goods, including but not limited to custom batting gloves, USA premium leather belts (worn by most of the MLB teams and, proud to say, will be worn by all of the teams in WBC next spring), sliding mats (again, most MLB teams and many Division 1 colleges use ours), different types of bags and soon some select apparel.

“If you have a quality product at a reasonable price with spectacular service combined with true client relationships, anything is possible. Why does any dealer want to tie up $400 for a possible $500 sale of a bat with one or maybe two turns a year? I prefer buying 10 pairs of pants with that $400, realizing $650-$800 and turning it six to 12 times a year. In addition, the manufacturer who is now dictating how, at what price, and to whom, will soon be selling that bat directly for less than the $400 you paid.”

Looking Ahead: “Frank’s has adjusted to the times and will continue to do so. Originally, like many of the sporting goods stores [that existed] in the 1970s-90s, Frank’s started as an army/navy store in the 1920s, adding clothing – predominately work clothing – guns, ammo and fishing over the next 50 years. In the ’70s, sneakers became a much bigger part of the business, followed by licensed goods in the ’80s and customization of uniforms for both work and sport in the ’90s.

“The one thing we are very proud of is the lines we have and when we started carrying them. Just to name a few — Everlast, Schott, UA and Timberland all came into being by presentations or friendships with the original owners. We were not above taking chances and still do, but only if we think the brand will stand the test of time, minimum 20 years, and we do not chase fads. (In hindsight, maybe we should have jumped on a couple of those fads, LOL.)

“The internet portion of our business, though still quite small compared to the overall business, is growing rapidly and generally does best with our more unique, hard-to-find items.”

The Future of Family-Owned Team Businesses: “As for succession, it is not my decision alone, though I would not allow any of my children – not that they have any desire as things stand today – to enter the business until they proved themselves elsewhere. You learn much more in working for others and seeing things through a whole different window than when it is only one person’s point of view that counts.

“The value of most businesses, taking out the real estate portion, is the value of the relationships they have with their customers and clients. A single transaction is nice, but an income stream from a select clientele is preferable. At the end of the day, it is these relationships, followed by those with your suppliers/vendors, that will make the determination if a business fails or prospers.

“Your staff also plays an integral part in the day-to-day successful operation of a business, and we are fortunate that the average tenure of our staff is over 20 years. We have employees ranging from ages 19 to 80, and from half-a-dozen countries. Customers often come in and seek out certain staff members who they have personally dealt with for many years. The store manager, Louie, is amazing and does whatever needs to be done; my bookkeeper and the one who keeps me in check, Yudy, the same. The oldest employee, Carmine, is nearing 80 and has been instrumental on sourcing. Raj, another key employee, has been here close to 40 years.

“When I go out, assuming it is not by being backed over by a truck in a third world country, I would like people to smile when thinking of me. Can I be an A-hole? For sure, but that is only my initial charm in some business settings! At the end of the day, most realize that is just a little ADD mixed with sarcasm, and that my word is golden and that I can always be reached. It is not [about] the mistakes one makes, but what one does to rectify those mistakes.”
Final Thoughts: “It seems that the story of the family business is becoming rarer by the day. I do think that there is still a place for family-owned/run businesses in the team market. They give a better customer experience than a lot of the corporate models. They can give a more personal touch and make the customer feel like more than just an account number.”