Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Company returns to Coventry Mall
Schuylkill Valley Sports also closes Upland Square location
Schuylkill Valley Sports has reopened its Coventry Mall store on a full-time basis.
The sporting goods chain opened a store at Upland Square Shopping Center in November 2015, and transitioned its Coventry Mall store into a holiday fan shop that was open at certain times of the year.
“With Coventry Mall we never left, we never ended our lease,” said Schuylkill Valley Sports president Jerry Williams.
The Upland Square store closed Oct. 23, and throughout the remainder of that week, all of the store’s inventory was moved to the Coventry Mall location, which opened Oct. 27.
Williams said that when the company made the decision to relocate to Upland Square in 2015 — the mall had hit, “a downturn, like many malls over the past few years.”
Schuylkill Valley Sports made the move several months before the mall was acquired by Pennmark Management Co. of Plymouth Meeting for $49.5 million.
“We have seen a lot of progress with the new mall ownership. Coventry Mall really rolled Schuylkill Valley Sports has reopened its Coventry Mall store fulltime. Shown here, employee Logan Kasper works on a display of NFL Salute to Service apparel.
out the red carpet to get us back and now we have a new full-time store,” Williams said, adding that the store has been remodeled, including new floors and lighting. He said that after Christmas, the store front will be redone.
“With all the new stores coming and the community events being held at the mall, we think it will be a win-win,” he added.
The Coventry Mall store has 9,700-square-feet of space, versus 5,000-squarefeet in the Upland Square store. It’s the same amount of space the store had previously occupied in the mall. Williams said Coventry Mall management, “offered a favorable rent and helped us with the remodel.”
Schuylkill Valley Sports at Coventry Mall features a deeper selection of athletic footwear including cleated footwear and athletic specialty shoes, as well as an enhanced selection of sports equipment and apparel, according to Phil Baumgardner, marketing director and buyer
for Schuylkill Valley Sports.
In addition, the location features an updated team and group sales department for customized goods and group orders including team uniforms and equipment, spirit wear and apparel fundraisers, corporate apparel, promotional items and gifts.
One of the reasons cited in 2015 for opening the new, smaller location in the area, was because of a trend away from traditional malls and toward the outdoor or strip mall model.
But according to Baumgardner, Coventry Mall’s focus on being more community oriented appealed to the company.
“It creates a different dynamic
at the mall — and that’s something we wanted to be part of again. They are getting so creative — beyond just shopping,” he said.
Williams added that the mall allows Schuylkill Valley Sports to draw customers from a larger area.
“A lot of customers were unaware of the Upland location,” he said.
Schuylkill Valley Sports has 17 locations throughout the region.
For more information about Schuylkill Valley Sports visit https://www. svsports.com.
Email business story ideas to business writer drovins@21stcenturymedia.com.
“With all the new stores coming and the community events being held at the mall, we think it will be a win-win.” — Jerry Williams, president, Schuylkill Valley Sports