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The PDC has been available for retailers now for the past several months. How’s it going?

Terry Schalow: I’d candidly describe the first few months of the PDC as both encouraging and challenging. Keep in mind that the RIA is not a software company. We’re a trade association that is launching a complex new software platform. We’re investing in it because we’re convinced that the tool will streamline product data management for our members. Any software launch includes a steep learning curve, and the PDC is no different, but we’re encouraged by the progress we’ve made.

What are your members saying about it?

The positive feedback from the 100 or so retail members who’ve signed up to access the PDC consistently tell us that the user interface is simple, intuitive, and has rich features. Retailers can filter product searches easily and in multiple ways. They also like that it’s easy to select, save, and edit seasonal collections, share them with colleagues, and export directly to templates for every major POS and third-party provider.

Have there been any issues/negative feedback?

The complexity of standardizing brand product data has been our biggest challenge. Navigating each brand’s unique data format, and ensuring that seasonal data exports to third-party templates are accurate every time, has been an ongoing challenge. Our retail users have let us know when they see inaccuracies, and that’s our focus. For the PDC to work for everyone, it’s absolutely imperative that data exports are accurate and can seamlessly upload to their 3rd party platforms.

The good news is that we’ve made significant strides in resolving these issues. In fact, we’ve been able to make the data transformation process much easier and faster than originally planned. To that point, we’re actively working with our top brands to ensure that the PDC includes the seasonal data our retailers require. That includes Spring ‘25, and, as our brands make it available, Fall ‘25.  

You’ve published in your Pulse Newsletter that the PDC will be free of charge to members through the balance of the year. How are you paying for it?

We’ve explained to our members that the PDC investment is similar to launching a new store: a significant portion of cash reserves have been dedicated to the build out, with the understanding that it would be months before any revenue was generated. Of course this is a stress on cash flow, but the expenses were expected and budgeted. And we’ll continue to manage the budget appropriately as we move toward generating revenue to support the PDC in 2025.

What does the 2025 pay plan look like?

Going forward, RIA membership will mean automatic PDC access. We originally projected a subscription model, based on retailer feedback, that would have a rate of $50-$60 per month. But I’m pleased to say that we are now aiming to charge substantially less than we first projected. I mentioned earlier that our data standardization process is more efficient than we had originally anticipated. So it looks like we’ll be able to cover PDC expenses through modest increases in 2025 annual membership dues that translate to a substantially reduced cost. And of course this eliminates the need to subscribe.

So it looks like you’re still pretty bullish on the PDC delivering on the promise?

Absolutely. It’s taken far longer than we anticipated to move the PDC into a place where our members can confidently use it to manage their seasonal product data. But we remain committed. This is an exceptional member benefit that is literally groundbreaking. No other trade association in the sporting goods industry has anything like it, and none have attempted it. But we’re building this for the long-term, and we appreciate our members’ patience as we refine the platform.