T-minus 1 hour before the newest pga tour superstore opens in Alatamonte Springs
On February 24th the PGA Tour Superstore opened its 2nd store in the Orlando market and its 32nd nationwide. The newest location is in Altamonte Springs, a northern suburb of Orlando and just happens to be in my neighborhood. As an avid golfer, I was ecstatic to learn of the store opening. In 2014, the PGA Tour Superstore opened its 1st store in Orlando on Turkey Lake Road. Unfortunately, that’s a little more than 25 miles away from my house, and worse yet, you have to drive through the heart of all the Disney/Universal traffic, oh and I forgot to mention the I-4 interstate is undergoing a major construction project so that 25 mile drive could easily take more than an hour each way.
Most golfers are already familiar with the PGA Tour Superstore, more simply put “it’s the ultimate golfer’s toy store”. They carry more brands and have more selection than any competitor. Their facilities are out this world and feature massive putting greens, a huge amount of hitting bays, and the latest in golf technology all while offering products at the lowest prices on the market.
T-Minus 30 minutes before opening; Dick is imparting some final words of wisdom as the store’s staff is gathered around
So instead of telling you what you already know, “The PGA Tour Superstore is the best place hands down to buy your golf equipment”; I wanted to take a closer look and see what’s made PGA Tour Superstore successful and how their stores are truly growing the game of golf. In order to do so, I sat down for an interview with PGA Tour Superstore President and CEO, Richard “Dick” Sullivan.
First, let me set the scene, its seven o’clock in the morning on Saturday, February 24th, just 2 hours before PGA Tour Superstore is set to open the doors on its newest location. Dick Sullivan isn’t at his home in Atlanta or out playing a round of golf, he’s in Altamonte Springs with his sleeves rolled up helping to launch the companies’ 32nd location. You see, Dick is at every store opening overseeing preparations, encouraging the staff, and giving last minute interviews to people like me.
You might think a grand opening would have the man in charge a little nervous or on edge, but not Dick Sullivan. Store openings are nothing new to Dick, his roots with the Arthur Blank family of businesses go back 26 years, starting at Home Depot. Joining Home Depot in 1992, Dick helped grow the home improvement superstore from about 150 stores to over 2000, at the peak Home Depot was opening a new location every 43 hours (4 stores a week), and so like I said, grand openings are nothing new for this CEO.
In talking with Dick, the biggest challenge in growing a business and expanding so quickly is trying to keep the culture alive. To that end, an inverted organization chart where the customers are at the top and the CEO is on the bottom is key in facilitating company growth and success. As CEO, he’s the master facilitator, the customer drives the business with what they want, the employees on the floor are empowered to make the decisions they need to, and management is there to help make it all happen.
Following a successful run at Home Depot, Dick moved over to Author Blank’s newest business, the Atlanta Falcons. Leaving Home Depot, a $60 billion company to help run one of the NFL’s most unsuccessful franchises was a huge change. In fact, when Dick took the position with the Atlanta Falcons he hadn’t been to an NFL game in over 5 years and was coming in as a complete outsider.
However, what he was bringing with him to the NFL was a proven strategy of listening to the customer, in this case, the fans. On his first day on the job in 2002, he remembers walking the stadium parking lot with team owner and mentor Arthur Blank, the biggest fan complaint at the time was that there wasn’t enough parking, fans didn’t have space to tailgate. Simply put, the traditional fan experience that had made the NFL so successful in other cities didn’t exist in Atlanta. Dick fixed the parking problem and in listening to the fans, helped break an 83-year-old record for ticket sales over the next 90 days and sold out the stadium! Looking forward, the Falcons just opened one the best Stadiums in all of sports and are rated #1 in fan friendly experience by the NFL.
Dick credits his success to listening to the customer. At the end of the day, it’s all about listening to the customer, that portable skillset was learned at Home Depot, refreshed in the NFL, and continues to flourish at PGA Tour Superstore.
T-Minus 10 Minutes Before Opening Rob Spellman (left) Richard “Dick” Sullivan (Right)
Asking about making the PGA Tour Superstore successful, Dick let me know “It’s not complicated, customers want an experience, they don’t just want to buy something off the rack and go home”.
The experience at the PGA Tour Superstore includes knowledgeable personnel on the floor, to that end PGA Tour Superstore invests time and money to properly train staff. Next the technology, PGA Tour Superstore is bringing millions of dollars of technology into every store and making it available to the general public. Next, a large number of assortments; when coming into a PGA Tour Superstore, they stock everything not just the basic colors but all of them. Going back to Home Depot days, Dick learned customers want a variety of assortments, the latest in technology, and knowledgeable salespeople. Other companies aren’t willing to make the investment in training associates, they look at them as an expense. At PGA Tour Superstore, they look at associates as an investment, and it’s what makes the company grow.
In addition, to being an extremely successful business, the PGA Tour Superstore is helping to grow the game of golf by attracting kids to the store. There is nobody that comes close to having the number of assortments available for juniors, each store is packed with a ton of equipment and apparel options that will meet the needs and fit the personality of any junior looking to learn the game. In fact, the stores have a dedicated putting green just for junior golfers. However, what might be helping grow the game the most are the free clinics for junior golfers. Taking a philosophy that was extremely successful at Home Depot, you know the one where kids come into the store on Saturday, wear an orange apron and build birdhouses. In similar fashion, PGA Tour Superstore have free clinics available for juniors every 3rd weekend of the month where they learn different aspects of the game!
We have lift off, the doors are open and the PGA Tour Superstore’s Altamonte Springs location is open for business
Dick Sullivan and the PGA Tour Superstore are dedicated to the game of golf and are doing as much as possible to grow the game of golf. PGA Tour Superstore is in the business of building relationships, not transactions, they don’t discriminate and every golfer from novice to avid are welcome and at the PGA Tour Superstore they will find the technology and personnel that will get them exactly what they need.
As PGA Tour Superstore continues to expand, by 2020 they plan to have 50 stores which means Dick will be busy opening a store every 45 days between now and then. If you already have a PGA Tour Superstore in your area, consider yourself lucky, it’s the ultimate golf store. For those of you that don’t, keep your fingers crossed that one of those new stores will be opened in your neck of the woods!
Rob Spellman, is an avid golfer and publisher of Golf Aficionado Magazine, he is a member of the Golf Writers Association of America and the Golf Travel Writers of America.