Sport Supply Groups mails first consumer book

Business-to-business athletic equipment cataloger Sport Supply Group has test-mailed its first consumer catalog. The 52-page baseball-products catalog, ThinkSportz, is arriving in homes this week.

Sport Supply, which sells to schools and other institutions, saw baseball as the natural starting point for a consumer business because it’s a sport that’s “equipment intensive,” says vice president of sales and marketing Mike Glassman. Baseball is also the company’s largest product category.

ThinkSportz mailed to 250,000 names, about 95% of them from rented lists. The remaining names were culled from the company’s Esportsonline Website, which targets athletic leagues and organizations, as well as from its affiliate marketing program. Through the affiliate program, Sport Supply operates Web catalogs for more than 600 organizations in exchange for a share of the sales generated.

The company is hoping for an average order of $125 from ThinkSportz, Glassman says. If the venture is successful, Sport Supply will roll out other consumer catalogs for sports such as football and women’s fast-pitch softball.