TAMPA — Genesco Inc., a Nashville specialty retailer that owns ball cap shops Lids, Hat Shack and Hat World, has acquired Sports Fan-Attic, a 37-store chain that carries a far broader selection of team fan wear.
The price paid for the Tampa chain controlled by brothers Jim and Bob Durda was not disclosed. Founded in 1994, Sports Fan-Attic grew into a company that generated annual sales of $30 million this year, mostly in regional mall stores in seven states.
Another matter is where Sports Fan-Attic — which caters to college and pro sports fans with licensed apparel including memorabilia and game jerseys — fits in at Genesco's Hat World unit, which sticks mostly to hats in small stores and often in airport or street-level kiosks.
Sports Fan-Attic becomes the third full-line regional independent team sports retailer Genesco has acquired this year and put under control of Indianapolis-based Hat World — the others being Impact Sports in Madison, Wis., and Great Plains Sports in St. Paul, Minn. There will be more.
"Sports Fan-Attic has built an impressive consumer franchise and maintained solid results even in the current economic climate," said Robert Dennis, Genesco chief executive. "Our ambition is to build a national chain with the scale advantages Hat World brings today" to ball caps.
Often that means combining warehouse and corporate functions, but Genesco declined to comment on that.
"We intend to keep the vast majority of Sports Fan-Attic employees," said Clair McCall, a Genesco spokeswoman. Neither of the Durda brothers could be reached after the sale was completed Wednesday.
With revenue of $1.5 billion in 2008 and 2,240 stores, Genesco is a big player in footwear and apparel sold mainly in malls. In addition to the 850 hat shops, Genesco designs, sells and sources the manufacturing of Johnston & Murphy and Dockers brand shoes and owns more than 1,100 Journeys stores.
Mark Albright can be reached at albright@sptimes.com or (727) 893-8252.
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