I visit Hibbett Sports locations throughout the region, not as a consultant, but as a customer. I know many of the managers and the one consistent thing about Hibbett Sports is that basically many of the employees and managers that have gone through the system have either moved into higher positions or better stores. The only turnover and new managers happens because of store openings. I had a chance to speak with one of the best managers in this region and he’s extremely excited about the merger with City Gear and the opportunity to possibly add apparel. That manager is also one of the people that if I were consulting I would suggest as the bridge between Hibbett Sports and City Gear. For the sake of this post I will refrain from using his name because what I’m about to say no one is going to like that is involved in this merger.
It’s important to realize that in the process of Nike adding more of their own doors, some prominent chains are going to feel the pinch.
In my opinion City Gear is one of those chains. Locally, in Memphis, City Gear has opened a location in a part of town that is in complete contrast to their market. City Gear is like Jimmy Jazz, Shoe Palace and DTLR in that they cater to the urban market. City Gear recently opened a store in Collierville. City Gear carries clothing brands like Black Pyramid, Hustle Gang, Akoo and Grindhouse. Here is the breakdown of Collierville:
- The population density in Collierville is 770% higher than Tennessee.
- The median age in Collierville is 4% higher than Tennessee.
- In Collierville 76.32% of the population is Caucasian.
- In Collierville 12.90% of the population is African American.
- In Collierville 7.50% of the population is Asian.
Why am I comparing City Gear to Jimmy Jazz? In this region once you move beyond the major sportswear store chains like Foot Locker, Memphis only has one significant urban sneaker chain. The closer competitor is Jimmy Jazz which is currently operating in Mississippi but does not have any stores in Memphis. City Gear hasn’t refreshed any of their store locations. While they have updated some the stores look nothing like the Jimmy Jazz flagship location I visited last year. Every store is merchandised without direction or flow. There is nothing eye catching or compartmentalized. While Nike obviously dominates retail, City Gear’s shoe wall, is just a wall. None of the brands are given true real estate. The Collierville Carriage Crossing Mall is an open air mall across the street from a Mercedes Benz Dealership and with several upscale dining experiences as well as other options, but that mall is having problems. The mall recently signed a lease with H&M, but there are multiple empty spaces there. Collierville is literally one of the cities when you cross over into the area, you straighten up and fly right. They have movie night at Carriage Crossing outside on the lawns.
Think about it like the scene from 8 Mile when B. Rabbit (Eminem) destroys Papa Doc by saying, “You’re name is Clarence, and you have really good parents, and you went to private school.” These aren’t bad things, but for a guy who called himself Papa Doc and was the leader of a gang, this killed his entire persona. Carriage Crossing is Clarence. Unless City Gear is going to change their entire store system that store will become symptomatic of a larger issue in City Gear.
I built this entire discussion up because I’m stalling.
This post isn’t about the new City Gear location. When I was speaking with the Hibbett Sports manager I told him in so many words that after visiting over 15 City Gear locations, the one thing I haven’t run into are long term managers in any of the stores. In Foot Locker the same managers have been there for over ten years. At Hibbett Sports the same managers have been there for over ten years. The loss prevention leader for Hibbett Sports in this region is one of the best store managers I ever met who ran a smaller store in Brownsville, TN. The District Manager in this region is one of the All Stars who has been with the company for over ten years. Hibbett Sports and Foot Locker have consistency. Even Finish Line has consistency.
City Gear does not and under the surface they have a considerable problem that could really hurt the company, Unethical Workplace Practices.
I do not make this claim lightly and the reason I’m writing this post is because there is an opportunity here for Hibbett Sports to follow the lead of Foot Locker who has shown a serious desire to fix divertsity issues in the sneaker industry. Hibbett Sports has the ability to fix a problem with City Gear that contributes to an issue that will most definitely hurt the merger.
The high turnover in managers at City Gear shows a deep issue in sneaker retail; low wages for long hours.The problem for City Gear is that I’ve seen managers who are working 12 hour days without breaks because they don’t have the staff to operate the store. I’ve witnessed employees arrive at 6:30 to prepare for special release sneaker launches who stay until closing time. I’ve been told personally by employees that they’ve missed doctor’s appointments, but they are so afraid to lose their jobs that they don’t fight. Because City Gear is an urban chain and Memphis is a 70% Black population, the company risks claims of racism (the majority of positions in the C suite are held by White people) and mistreatment of employees that if the employees took the time to organize, an Employement Rights Attorney would have enough evidence to drag City Gear into a battle that they would lose. Do I see this happening? Possibly…
I’m not a reporter and I have never consulted City Gear or Hibbett Sports, but I have a strong grasp on this industry and just like when I called out Footwear News and discussed the problem with diversity for Nike and other footwear companies and it was picked up by actual journalists, it would be dismissive for me to ignore an issue that has an opportunity to gain a bigger audience around improving workplace conditions for employees.
City Gear has a really big issue and if Hibbett Sports is going to repair and lift the company it will take more than an investment in e-commerce, they need to build a team that will begin to visit each store and discuss workplace treatment and figure out how to improve that before moving forward.
Update
I made a trip out of town yesterday to follow up on this discussion and met a manager who has been with City Gear for over ten years. She won Manager of the Year in her district. She also explained that she doesn’t have any issues with the company. I also encountered a District Manager who expresses her support for City Gear via LinkedIn. I don’t expect the people who complained to come forward as retaliation is a constant fear of anyone who wants to speak in any situation.
I felt it was important to add this because the post can seem a bit one sided and confrontational. My observations are mine, but they are not gossip or opinion. I did not write this post lightly and I gain nothing from posting this. After inquiring and following up on statements, I presented my position. I am not being paid and I potentially damage any possible relationship with either company in the future by writing in this manner. My goal is to initiate the conversation around urban retail and to force a segment of footwear that is powered by the Black dollar to show hiring practices that include Black bodies.
