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6 COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION & RENOVATION — MAY : JUNE 2016 Michael J. Pallerino is the editor of Commercial Construction & Renovation. You can reach him at 678.513.2397 or via email at mikep@ccr-mag.com. EDITOR'S NOTE EDITOR'S NOTE by Michael J. Pallerino We want to hear from you At Commercial Construction & Renovation, we're always looking to showcase the best of what our industry is doing. If you have a project profle or a fresh perspective on how to keep our industry positively moving forward, shoot me an email at mikep@ccr-mag.com. We'd love to take a look. A big dog says goodbye Walk into a Dick's Sporting Goods or Academy Sports today, and you can see the history – and legacy – that Sports Authority created. K eeping mostly to himself, Ed Stack was one of the most laid back (shy, really) sporting good executives in the room. In the late '80s, Dick's Sporting Goods, of which Stack serves as CEO, wasn't the mother-of-all sporting goods retailers that it is today. That honor belonged to The Sports Authority (TSA). During our Sporting Goods Retail Summits, everybody wanted to get in front of Sports Authority CEO Jack Smith, the former COO of Herman's World of Sports. Smith was a "dressed-to-the-nines," commanding fgure who demanded attention, even when he didn't say a word. As one of TSA's key founding exec- utives, Smith would help lead the retailer to heights other sporting goods executives could only dream about at the time – a super-sized sporting goods outlet known as the superstore. At the time, the concept boggled the mind. As an editor for Sports Trend magazine, I was lucky enough to be a part of retail history. Along with The Sports Authority, our Summits were flled with leaders from Modell's Sporting Goods, REI, Foot Locker, Champs, The Finish Line, Dunham's Sports, and the list went on. These innovate and enterprising minds charted the future of an industry that would change the way we viewed retailing. Founded in Lakes Mall in Lauderdale Lakes, Fla., The Sports Authority was created by a venture capital syndicate. In the fve years from the day it opened its frst store in 1987 in Fort Lau- derdale, Fla., TSA expanded to 136 stores in 26 states, eventually being spun off from parent Kmart. Later, it would merge with Gart Sports (2003) and Copeland Sports (2006), continuing its ascension into retail folklore. As with most trendsetters, It was a great ride – until it wasn't. One of Sports Authority's biggest problems was its debt. Ana- lysts blame, among other things, TSA's attempt to invest heavily in e-commerce and store remodels. In addition, it had to compete with Dick's, which has the liquidity and sales fgures to weather market fuctuations, and Amazon, which continues to steal market share from many big box stores. Retail differentiation also was an issue. Competition from omnichannel mer- chants, as well as brands themselves (Nike and Under Armour stores, for example), made it diffcult for Sports Authority to stand out in the marketplace. In the cruelest of ironies, Dick's is eyeing spaces from some of the 463 stores Sports Authority will close (along with sites from another bankrupt compet- itor, Sport Chalet). The closings will leave about 20 million square feet of sporting goods retail space. Back in the day, it's hard to say if any- body could have imagined the rise – and eventual fall – of The Sports Authority. Walk into a Dick's Sporting Goods or Academy Sports today, and you can see the history – and legacy – that Sports Authority created. And, as the commercial construction market continues its rebound from hard times that smacked every market around, you can plainly see the steps each brand takes to ensure that growth is measured – and quantifed. What are your memories and thoughts of the "superstore" approach to retailing? I'd love to hear them?