Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 6, 1995 TAG: 9504060044
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: B-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KIMBERLY DAVIS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Major League Baseball players may be ready to step up to the plate, but Roanoke-area merchandisers say it could be a slow pitch.
Now that the eight-month walkout by professional players is over, sporting goods retailers, sportswear manufacturers, bookstores and baseball-card shops can survey the damage.
A U.S. district judge issued an injunction last week restoring salary arbitration, free-agent bidding and anti-collusion provisions to the contract between players and team owners. Two days later, the owners accepted the players' offer to return to work, pending a final back-to-work agreement. Opening day is scheduled for April 26.
Ask anyone who sells anything related to America's favorite pastime how the strike affected their company, and most likely they'll say business has suffered.
What and how long it will take for the baseball business to recover is anybody's guess.
"A lot of people wouldn't buy a baseball cap because of protest," said Kim Clark, owner of Greenfields, a Roanoke City Market shop selling baseball paraphernalia.
Clark noticed a downturn because of the strike, but business started to pick up once the end was near. "The money that was lost is lost . We're not going to get that back," he said. "I've already seen some interest since the judge's ruling Friday.
"A few people will continue to protest the actions of the players and owners. Most true baseball fans will be back like they were before."
The strike did not affect the overall earnings of some stores because other sports picked up the slack, or their baseball market wasn't large anyway.
Champ's Sports at Valley View Mall saw no loss of business because of the strike, said Chris Epperly, assistant manager. The baseball goods they sell - gloves, bats, caps and cleats - were not affected.
"We don't really sell that many jerseys, anyway," Epperly said. "People who come in to buy are people that are already playing."
"It's hard to separate baseball from other sports," said Bill Bryant, owner of The Wax Box in Roanoke. "When baseball slowed down, basketball and football picked up." His card shop is doing well, he said, but it might be doing better if the strike had never happened.
"The people are going to have a little disgust for a while. I was going to be mad at the sport forever, but I've been loving it all my life. It's hard not to pay attention," he said.
At CMT Sporting Goods in Roanoke, merchandise buyer Carolyn Clinezell said she hasn't restocked any baseball clothing. "I canceled some of my orders that were in," because most baseball-related items didn't sell, she said.
Clinezell said she hasn't noticed any improvement since the strike ended. "It's a little soon. Once they get back into it and the excitement is up again, I suspect there will be a pickup," she said. If it's any indication of how quickly the public reacts to such events, the demand for ice hockey-related goods is just starting to come back for Tultex Corp., said spokeswoman Kathy Rogers, referring to the hockey players' strike that ended in October. Martinsville-based Tultex's Logo 7 subsidiary makes leisure clothing with team markings.
Although their biggest sellers are NFL- and NBA-licensed apparel, Logo 7 sustained an 11 per cent drop in revenue in last year's final quarter, blaming impacts of the baseball and hockey strikes.
Even bookstores are striking out.
"The baseball books have not sold as well," said Rob Clark, assistant manager at Ram's Head Book Shop in Roanoke. "We sell Baseball Weekly, and that has not been selling well at all."
One of the baseball merchandise sellers hardest hit was The Baseball Card Store in Salem. The strike "affected all of the cards," said owner Freda Easterly. "The public is a little turned off."
A lot of people are moving to other sports, and "very few are remaining true to baseball," she said.
"Business will gradually increase as far as sales, but it would take quite a while to get back to 100 per cent," said Easterly, whose business is down about 75 percent.
"Baseball was something we sold year-round. The other sports, like basketball and football, we sold during the season. Baseball was like our bread and butter," she said.
by CNB