Founder & CEO Greg Tanaka talks with Craig Levra about retail trends and new technology in the retail field. In addition, Levra and Tanaka discuss the need for sales optimization tools.
Craig Levra led Sport Chalet from 1997 until May 2015 as the Company grew from 18 to 55 locations in California, Nevada, Arizona, and Utah generating over $400 million in annual revenue with 3,000 highly trained employee Experts and 1,000 product vendors. He served as Chairman and CEO from 2001 until the sale of Sport Chalet, Inc. in 2014, then served as CEO of Sport Chalet, LLC overseeing the integration of the company within a larger portfolio.
Mr. Levra led the transformation of a small family business to a successful publicly-traded specialty retailer focused on utilizing technology to create engagement with athletes while positioning its brand as a unique provider of high-end first to market merchandise and technical services, creating a clear and differentiated retail experience. Strategic initiatives executed by the Company included: the implementation of an enterprise-wide (ERP) IT platform-SAP; the opening of a new distribution center with a new (WMS) Warehouse Management System-HighJump; implementation of CRM, which led to micro merchandising execution, purchasing and integration of a full service team dealer serving collegiate and high school clients; creation and launch of award winning online and mobile websites; establishing comprehensive employee training; and rebranding the Company as the home of “The Experts."
Sport Chalet was twice named one of America’s Best 200 Small Companies by Forbes, and based on its ability to deliver against consumers needs and desires, was ranked as the nation’s “most desired retailer” in the US by Kanbay Research Institute. In addition, Sport Chalet earned MarketLive’s Best Customer Experience Award, and the ICSC Silver Award for outstanding customer facing store design with the opening of the Company’s NextGen concept.
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