WHERE IS THE PROFIT IN A TENNIS PRO SHOP?

Where do you make money in a Tennis Pro Shop?
Thank you to Bradinsimms for the question.
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[@info781]

I would love to see a tennis store with a singles court out back, where you could rent a ball machine and demo everything right there. There are very few tennis stores like this anymore.

[@ionutdragomir6070]

This is exactly what I'm trying to set up here in London. A stringing van that strings the racket(s) you want to demo at your favourite location or come to our court for a better price. How that's sound? 😌😇🎾

[@randeepbahia3216]

@@ionutdragomir6070 interesting.

[@jonathanl4568]

Pga superstore! Quite commercial and big box. But they have a full court and a practice wall, with free demos

[@info781]

@@jonathanl4568 thanks they just opened one in Tampa, will check it.

[@kingkongrules95]

Tennis warehouse

[@thomasmedeiros5722]

I have been in the ski business for 45 years and appreciate this video. You did a excellent presentation. I would like to mention that the cost of keeping an inventory with the necessary sizes cuts into profit. You didn’t mention the cost of overhead cost like rent, insurance and payroll has to be paid out of the money you make over the wholesale cost. How much money do you have invested in inventory and how much does it cost you when products sit on the shelf for any length of time. Once inventory is delivered how long before you have to pay the distributor. After all your business cost are subtracted what is your percentage of actual profit. We have a joke in the ski business. If you want to make a small fortune in the ski business you got to start with a big fortune. Wish you the best ! Keep up the excellent videos. People need to remember you can’t put a price on professional service and advice. Love when you tell it like it is.

[@dropshot8840]

Absolutely agree with you. People just look at the 40% or 50% markup and think that Harry is rolling in money. The real bottom line after all expenses has to be sufficient to justify spending all that time in the store. His time is valuable. As well, there is the opportunity cost or the alternate return he could've earned if he had put the money into some other investment. I run a retail store as well. My return on my $150,000 of inventory after all expenses is about 3%. I think I'd do better in a good dividend paying mutual fund, but I love what I do.

[@OneAdam12Adam]

I agree 100 per cent. It's disgusting what these giant corporations do to kill honest small business

[@grantsmith3514]

I was wondering if a ski shop person was watching this. I can remember ski/tennis and golf combo shops in the 70's . Now all the independents are gone. The only game left like this is the local bike shop. I have been ranting lately about all the surge cross country skiing has seen since the pandemic started. I tell people there is almost no retail for it in 99% of California population centers. Yes you can "go online" but nothing can replace a shop with knowledgeable people. I think the snow sports will see this odd retail conundrum eventually at their lift ticket lines.

[@jonathanp639]

Thanks for your transparency. I’ve thought about opening one in a future, not because of the money but because talking about tennis and guiding people to choose the rackets and strings that suit their game is a passion of mine. I wish I could find a place where I could open a store and also have an indoor court at the same time. It would be awesome!

[@Utopia569]

That's a great idea. I wish we had one of those in my small town

[@trujr5295]

that would be awesome. like Nike says Jonathan...Just Do It.

[@a2casius]

What transparency? He got the definition of Margin and Markup completely confused. He keeps saying his markups are around 50% but he actually means it's his margin, making his markups to around 100% !! Confusion was very deliberate.

[@jonathanp639]

@@a2casius you seem to be more toxic than my ex. Most of the comments you have left in this channel are negative… yes people can see them.

[@organicdemo114]

Dealing with retail is tough but can be rewarding also. In a local shop its all about service an honesty and restringing and regriping is the largest part of the business and customization. I feel the newest easy way for any shop to offer customization is stocking the XTP Xtended Tennis Product butt cap .Any shop can now offer to stretch any tennis frame or even pickleball paddles. By removing the factory butt cap and installing the XTP you have made a longer version of the same racquet and cost is minimal. Thx.jk

[@skeche]

Just from watching your videos, I would always buy from your pro shop 110%, you are transparent and honest and just want to help people. Thanks for going out of your way to make these videos.

[@juanchoja]

Having a tennis shop is pure love and dedication, if you have to choose into a career in IT, Finance or some sort of management, it will pay better than having a tennis shop, but the tennis shop will give you the sense of personal accomplishment that you're doing what you really want, you will make a living, not a great living, but if it is for you, you'll be happy.

[@Utopia569]

Harry is right, the selling of clothing killed the sales in my previous store. It was the worst thing to sell and we had to put it on 50% off

[@nicolaisidek]

I like the brutal honesty. Used to work at tennis shop myself so I feel you

[@nightowldickson]

This is one of your best videos yet Harry. Another aspect of this is how an online store would augment your sales. I think a lot of viewers would be willing to support you (apart from coffee) with online purchases with the videos you produce.

[@Bambotb]

Yeps shopify

[@hxhky]

Thank you for the transparency.

[@thertisan3440]

this was a beautiful video harry. I appreciate the honestly and a look into your business

[@bluedestiny]

Awesome, so honest, just giving us more reason to support local shop.

[@harrybob2682]

i think being transparent with your businesses in this way, shows character. Kudos.

[@QQQonigiri]

Great video! I love it when you discuss about tennis business because all over the place and social media is just about pro playing、This is your unique niche!!

[@jkesic2749]

So cool that you share this.

[@Javi_C]

Thank you for the information Harry!

[@warootsaengnark7164]

Hi Harry, Thank you for the info. This video is awesome. I opening an online tennis shop in Thailand and mainly marketing on Technifibre. You're right, apparels and shoes is the easiest items to sale in the tennis shop. There is the most profitable items as well. Now I thinking to stock more products a part of rackets, strings and balls. Have a good one Harry.

[@pierredaher9590]

Thank you very much , that is a great business lesson , and you are a great guy!

[@henrik1743]

Makes sense, my tennis shop I used to go to for my whole childhood when I played just closed down, so sad..

[@sanjaygandhi7962]

What is difference between margin and markup? Both profit margin and markup use revenue and costs as part of their calculations. The main difference between the two is that profit margin refers to sales minus the cost of goods sold while markup to the amount by which the cost of a good is increased in order to get to the final selling price.

[@edlin888]

Thank you for the honesty

[@thelolguy007]

Just recently got back into Tennis earlier this year. Love your channel 👏👏👏

[@rodp5788]

Great video. Thank you for the transparency.

[@CAMADIE]

You should be making a lot of many out of youtube with this channel. Great channel btw!

[@trujr5295]

you're built-in loyalty program Harry is us clicking 'like'. great video.

[@lauraulrich2837]

Super helpful video, thank you so much!! 😊

[@brianraap8543]

Thanks for the video. I always wonder about this stuff.

[@rafanadal9714]

Appreciate your honesty.

[@sol029]

Love the honesty. As a competitive Jr 20-30 years ago I always had at least 6-8 identical frames. None of them ever came from a pro shop. Margins suck. You don't do it for profit alone, you do it for love of the game. I have been stringing my own racquets since I was 14. He must hate me. PS. I love the ping sound.

[@derrick031072]

Very interesting, thanks for posting this video. 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

[@Onix64]

I didn't expect the last one, nice video

[@firstgabion7741]

Thank you very much for sharing with honesty, it's easy to make a jack of nothing for small businesses, I like your tennis pro shop!

[@christiandelapena8623]

Great informative video. Thank you sir.

[@richardmills5360]

Hi Harry, I have to say first off that I love your KZbin channel! I retired at Christmas and took up tennis again after a 26 year absence. I have watched many of your videos, which have eased me back into the game perfectly, so thank you so much! The only downside is, I have picked up so many injuries by rushing back into playing too hard and using equipment and shoes etc that are no longer suitable for someone of my age. Would you be able to do a short video that advises older people on what they do after being out of the game for so long and what products they should consider please? Many thanks and good luck with your store! Rob Collins, Nottingham, England. P.S. I owe you a coffee…so one on the way.

[@julianrolls8102]

Thanks for being so frank. Interesting.

[@Only4hands]

Nice, was going to bargain with the local shops around my town for a free stringing on a new racket..but since watching this video I will happily pay the fee they impose in order to keep their lights on. Thanks for taking the viewer's question and providing a high-level overview of what you do. God bless!

[@OfCourts]

It warms my hearth to see that you changed behavior after watching this video :)

[@billwall9886]

Great video. I really want to support my local shop. I'm glad they always have stringers going. I'd love do know what country club pro shops make

[@andycsun]

Harry, you are an honest guy. I have been watching your videos more than a year now and love almost all of them. I have learned a lot from you. Thank you.

[@henrydo8935]

I love the brutal honesty

[@mikefudge8495]

Hey Harry. Another great video. You posting a video everyday consistently for so long is unbelievable! I was wondering if you could do a video about the price hike Wilson is getting ready to do. Tennis Express is on tv saying Sept 1st Wilson will be raising prices up to $70. I personally use a Blade 98. I know the new Blades are getting ready to come out. Was wondering how much 3 are going to cost now?Also, are other brands going to be following their lead? Thank you for your dedication to Tennis.

[@ducrocqf]

Great info.

[@dadgadfolkmusic200]

Great video as usual, thanks!

[@ALC-bd1pm]

Wow, tennis business 101. 👍👍

[@cybernetennis]

Maybe your best video yet :) cheers

[@leoimr7321]

I love this freaking Chanel

[@JR-vp2xz]

Great video, well done!

[@alanb76]

Thanks for the business lesson. Hope people learn a bit about running a business. The most profitable thing in the store perhaps - but it doesn't generate enough revenue to keep the doors open...

[@DB-CA]

Thanks Harry

[@realityblooms]

I enjoyed watching this man nearly have a breakdown.

[@virtualyme7659]

Kool... thanks ☮️

[@mdmimahdi9180]

Thx for the video!

[@kimmorrison9169]

Thanks, quite informative look at a part of owning a store. I hope you make a decent living. We have ONE dedicated tennis store in the fairly large city where I live and it isn’t in a convenient location at all (in the city-no parking) so I don’t go there.

[@thestuff8023]

Thank you for this. 🙂 You need that kind of margins.

[@GianlucaAbazia]

thanks for the video! What do you think about the relationship about big retailers (like Decathlon) and quality? Do you think the stocks they order are second or downer choices? The price is lower (not so much) for the scale economies of purchases or for the lower quality?

[@tim_yrt]

really liked the bits where you talked about the dampener

[@samanthaannwestray1393]

thanks

[@TimG--]

Nice video mate

[@johnxu4941]

Do you have an online store of your in-store inventory? There are some interesting things I see.

[@HKS-Digital]

I am happy to see that you have started to transition away from having the windows behind you in your videos.

[@rnbyido]

Respect for the honesty.. not much about these days

[@baomichael]

Great 👍🏻 video honest and hilarious 😂

[@richards1243]

Well I hope you make more money online! You deserve it.

I love the way you are so natural and sincere. But let me ask a question: How is it that the balls in the USA are so cheap? In Europe, you pay literally 2$ for 1 ball! One ball. UNO BALL. So can of 3 balls costs around 5-6 dollars, 4 balls around 7-8 dollars, even more for premium balls like Head Tour (up to 10 dollars). Why? USA is not manufacturing balls so why are they so cheap if they all come from China, Vietnam etc.

[@xuguangyu88]

In China a decent can of ball usually sells for over $10

[@nightowldickson]

It's probably to do with shipping costs from Asia to Europe vs Asia to USA?

[@shanep3965]

Some kind of tax maybe?

[@rickminda3351]

20-25% vat in most European countries (Spain in about 10%)

[@dexxydoo]

Bro.. your are awesome!

[@abstractfitness1282]

Great content

[@andrehalim469]

Less cost of money aka opportunity cost. What is the typical inventory turn and how many pct of total inventory turns in a month?

[@hkizzle888]

Love your channel! Just curious where you purchase all the items from? A wholesale distributor? Or buy directly from the manufacturer?

[@kilohu2006]

Interesting how Harry is pretty transparent about the costs of running a tennis shop I recall another shop owner told me when racquets were $200 MAP They cost $25 to manufacture and associated mktg trans distribution lead to $110 cost To the shop Real Profitability was stringing as the employees have to be there anyway I never understood why my LTS was always late stringing racquets He was late for everyone not just me I would always call him prior to pickup He was such a nice guy so he was still in business I ended up stringing myself

[@huypham3602]

I just bought some sticks from brad on eBay lol

[@bobytran9511]

Played at x1.75 speed. So good. Very informative. Cheers

[@kwii22789]

I played at x0.25 speed

[@douglashagan65]

Yeah so I'd say shop location is everything I mean but when the location is really good then the lease price is higher and these lease prices are based on contracts you sign like after agree to at least it's 5 years or two years or a Time if you keep a sign of contract for a certain time frame then they'll give you a certain price so it's a tough business I don't know a lot of shops are shutting down yeah except for the major ones and they're in excellent locations and they built a clientele already of tennis player said that go there on a regular basis they have their clients

[@mahaney030]

I appreciate this video as I was wondering what it would cost to open a shop. How do you deal with people in the area trying to charge $10 for stringing labor costs? It's such a shame that people are charging less than what they should be worth.

[@svlagonda7417]

Great vid

[@quadcondor8619]

Great video

[@abhs1141]

if you do something that you like to make a living, you do something that you are happy with , life becomes happy . That is life is all about . if you work in a finance etc always under presuure from your boss , you may make a little bit more but , you will have a stressful life . you family members are relying on you to make them happy with loves . if you are stress , they wont get much attention from you . I hope you will get more support from all the people here and out there

[@SantiagojoseChacon]

let’s bring a tennis spin shop to chile!

[@tnthomas1954]

Nice video.

[@nilsblum2287]

My backhand is a loss leader…..

[@akbarberlian]

lol that's a good one

[@carlantaya175]

Awesome video. Love the 0 bullshit about anything.

[@douglashagan65]

Right they have the maximum price that you're supposed to sell it at the shop they set that price but the price that you buy it is based on volume the more you buy probably the bigger the discount you get and so they're higher profit margin from the list price they make the list price the company that makes manufacturers the tennis racket they make set the price but the price you pay the retail price is where you have to buy more volume but if you don't sell that racket and high volume you're going to end up taking a loss and that's that's the critical point of surviving in in your type of retail sales

[@sbgtrev]

Can you do more of these tennis business videos? Especially, how do you manage the demoing program? In my country India, no store does it prob because of bad experience

[@tonyr8443]

So to summarize everything, about how much do pro tennis shop like yours make in a year after expenses?

[@aaronjenkins223]

I could.never let someone else put a grip on for me. Im so particular about how the grip feels when holding it certain ways that i usually have to spend about 10 minutes wrapping it, un spooling to a point, adjusting, and repeat until the feelpoints are correct. Worst feeling ever is when you arent payong attention to where you started and the grip feels right, but you are now holding the racket facing the wrong way(in relation to where you want it)

[@leebr2010]

I think this is the first video I've ever seen talking about tennis products margins at retail. Thank you for being so transparent and sharing this information with us.

[@VanGoWanderlust]

I always figured the profit was in the hats. To be honest, that’s why I always get them. It’s usually because I want to help support my local business.

[@paultennis9569]

I am sure your cost and pricing will be going up due to high cost of shipping containers to bring goods into the country. Year started at $3000 into the west coast now upwards to $12,000 to $15,000 the ocean carriers are screwing all importers.

[@beakerbiker3033]

Love the vids, but that shoe wall needs a little love🤪

[@tennismaxvsfederer8412]

i would like to visit your shop,, are u in orange county, ca? thanks

[@weyman4317]

Most rackets and accessories made in China for a pittance but massive mark ups for retailers but they might keep the stock a long time so money tied up long term.Guess the rent and rates are high on shop. Can’t see a future in high streets or shopping centres - only can see it being an online business. Players must take a big chunk in endorsements from racket profits.

[@olgacatalinamedina9512]

In México is 7.00 Dlls a can of tennis balls

[@MrGntlmn]

Thank you for being so honest! I learned a lot watching this and your other videos.

[@youngsuit]

i can't see myself opening a shop personally. if i did it would be just for services like stringing and customization. racquet sales would be so worrying to me.

[@jflow5601]

i like this guy. no BS

[@Bambotb]

Is your store located in a tennis club ? If yes which one

[@simonlim8491]

Very good insights about a pro shop. For dampeners, I bought 5 of them and use them for 8 years. Not gonna buy everytime when new ones are out. I believe restringing is the most profitable with 6 mths intervals (restringing). Harry, maybe you should consider tennis coaching where the money will roll in.

[@jeffhermida4788]

In Massachusetts i dont think there are stand alone tennis pro shops. Most pro shops that do exist in my state are within a tennis club. I also noticed that the inventory is low too. Down in Florida, i went into a stand alone pro shop and it was similar to Tennis Spin. Tons of high performance rackets on hand and also staff is well knowledgeable. I exclusively order all my gear on-line. Would love to support pro shops but unfortunately there arent any like Tennis Spin in my area.

[@str33tspirit]

Tennis and squash in Belmont is one already. Tennis and ski in Newton and Boston. Might not be completely stand alone but still very geared towards tennis.

[@jeffhermida4788]

@@str33tspirit cool thanks. Ill check them out.

[@vonbraun8051]

Tennis Spin failed to mention a very important aspect of the typical tennis customer---they are CHEAP. I don't necessarily mean that in a bad way, it's just the way life is in tennis. Also, just look at that wall of rackets. Thousands of dollars worth of frames on that wall and what the shop owner hopes is he can sell them (or most of them) before the companies bring out the "new" line of frames (new meaning new paint, mostly) where they make you buy thousands $$ more. Some companies like Babolat or Yonex aren't too bad because you will eventually sell--but Wilson makes you buy so many different types and then quickly they change to a new color or "technology". I love Head rackets, but you will get stuck with many of them that you can't even give away. He's right about the stringing. There's your money. And he's right about the clothing and shoes--that's what brings in a lot of customers. Why own a tennis shop? Well, it's fun, actually, if you have the right people working and a customer base that you like. You can make money and enjoy your job, but every year the local, state and federal government make it harder and harder to run a small business. Seems the bigger online guys are the ones that get the advantages (probably because they pay the most in taxes and political contributions-who knows). The days of all these little tennis shops may be over, sadly.

[@RobsTennisVids]

I disagree about smaller shops being over. Most of the ones that fail just don't run them correctly. I bought a shop 8 years ago. Business has more than doubled since then, and 3 years ago I took over another shop 30 miles away. That business has gone up about 30% since then. The people I bought the first shop from really showed me the ropes. They used to tell me "you string racquets to sell clothes". The idea is to offer excellent stringing at a good price to drive traffic into the shop. You need a good clothing buyer who understands your clientele. If you have the right clothing, and you string a ladies racquet while she waits, you can easily turn a $30 string job into a $300 clothing sale.

[@thomasmedeiros5722]

Great observations. You sound like someone who has been in the sporting goods industry. I have been in the ski business for 45 years. So many customers do not have any business experience and don’t understand overhead expenses. We use to deal in tennis in the summer but gave that up long ago. The rise of online sales of sporting goods has hurt small independent shops. You got to love it when people who are not regular customers come in with their online purchase only to learn they could or should have got your professional advice. Like Harry mentioned so many products sell at an established price in store or online. The only advantage is that the online sites do have large numbers of close out products in their inventory. But what good is a lower price if the product not the correct size or performance level for you. We have had people come into the shop looking to trade their online purchase for the correct size or performance level they could have bought at our shop in the first place. We suggest they return it or sell it on Facebook. You can’t place a price on good advice and professional experience and service.

[@vonbraun8051]

@@RobsTennisVids you make good points and I, too. Have seen a lot of mismanagedtennis shops. I was mainly referring to how it's becoming more and more difficult for a small business these days. Taxes, regulations, rent, maintenance, insurance, employees, crime (in some areas) and these days the government can shut you down at any moment (while leaving the big stores and online retailers alone).

[@Emanem64]

The best 👍🤓👌

[@otogigamer]

Hey you have any fxp tour and I see you have origin do you want to get rid of them.

[@johnnieblackwell]

Wow, 80% is surprisingly high for the folks who don't know how to put on an over grip. Were you talking grips or over grips? Grips I can see. This is a very interesting business lesson.

[@gregbad78]

very interesting video! what are the payment delays to providers? (i guess it has a big impact on your liquidity position)

[@nipponichi138]

it can range from net30 - 90 and can depend on your creditworthiness and relationship with the rep