A veteran of the St. Louis sporting goods industry is preparing to launch its presence in Springfield, and it has picked one of the area's most visible locations.
Johnny Mac's Sporting Goods has been a family-owned company since John McArthur opened his first store on Route 66 in 1967. While the company has grown to seven stores, only one - in Lansing, Mich. - is outside the St. Louis metro area.
But now the company is looking to expand its geographic footprint into southwest Missouri, making an undisclosed investment in a roughly 20,000-square-foot space that once housed Office Max in Springfield's Primrose Marketplace.
General Manager Adam Burns said Johnny Mac's tested the Springfield market with a Rawlings factory sale earlier this year, and the success of that sale led the company to accelerate its plans. The company has hired 30 of the approximately 35 employees it intends to add, and Burns said the anticipated opening date is Jan. 1.
The retailer carries sports equipment and licensed team apparel, and does uniform business with teams, schools and companies.
Plans for the Primrose space include an indoor batting cage for testing baseball equipment, a specialty uniform section for team sports, and dedicated areas for equipment from Rawlings and Under Armour.
Burns said the demographics of Primrose Marketplace clientele fits the company's targets. Kimco Realty Corp., which owns both Primrose Marketplace and the shopping center across Glenstone Avenue that includes K-Mart and Barnes & Noble, claims on its site, www.kimcorealty.com, that more than 130,000 people live within five miles of the shopping center and they have average household incomes of nearly $60,000.
"I have never seen a center draw from a farther area, and draw as many people, as that one," Burns said, noting that he is aware that both the Best Buy and PetSmart stores in Springfield are considered among the top performers for their companies. "If you're going to do retail business in Springfield, you need to either be near the (Battlefield Mall) or in Primrose."
This installment of Springfield Business Journal’s Architects & Engineers Project Report showcases 26 endeavors by area design and engineering professionals.
