Independent retailer Greaves Sports has moved back into profit helped by Commonwealth Games athletes who turned up without the right kit.
The family owned business also revealed Adidas is investing more than £500,000 in the Greaves Gordon Street store in Glasgow.
That will see a House of Adidas store-within-a-store created for the first time in the Scotland and the first in the UK outside of Harrods in London.
Managing director Sandy Greaves said: “The renders [of what it will look like] are fantastic and it is really exciting for us.”
Mr Greaves said the move will also see the shop stock exclusive produces across a wide variety of Adidas ranges once the venture opens in March next year.
The company is also adding around 2,000 square feet of floorspace in order to relocate its ski, outdoors and countrywear to a new environment.
That came as annual accounts filed at Companies House show Greaves, which employs around 90 and has its other store on Sauchiehall Street, booking a pre-tax profit of £35,565 for the 12 months to January 2015.
That was a substantial improvement from the £192,586 loss in the prior year and its first pre-tax profit since the £11,369 recorded in the 2011 financial year.
Mr Greaves said:” Last year you had a few things going for you with the Commonwealth Games, the World Cup, albeit Scotland weren’t in it, we had Ryder Cup and we had a good summer albeit curtailed by a mild winter which meant winter product was not as buoyant as it could have been.
“We are very cyclical. You have got World Cup and European Championships. Although Scotland might not be there the football fan tends to get engrossed in that and they buy into it and there is quite a dramatic increase in a championship year.”
During the Commonwealth Games athletes from more than 40 of the competing nations bought products from Greaves including judo suits, long jump spikes and swimwear.
Mr Greaves said: “A lot of teams came with not the right gear and we ended up selling to more than half of them.”
Asked whether the ongoing Rugby World Cup in England would help sales Mr Greaves said: “Yes there is a benefit but not as much as football.”
The return to profit came in spite of a small drop in turnover from £7.5 million to £7.23m.
Mr Greaves pointed out the company no longer acts as the retailer for Scottish Rugby and has also exited partnerships with Partick Thistle and the Scottish Football Association in recent years.
He said: “These were all good partnerships but they ran their course. We are now focusing on what we do best which is Gordon Street and Sauchiehall Street.”
Mr Greaves cited competition from out of town retailers and the internet but believes the investment his business makes in training and offering personalised services, in areas including golf club fitting and gait analysis, makes it stand out.
He said: We are a real sports shop. We get into the nitty gritty of what can make you hit a golf ball longer, how can you strike a football harder, how can you kick a rugby ball further, hit a tennis ball faster.
“A simple thing like a footbed in your golf shoe we know can give you seven miles per hour more club head speed in your swing which can give you 21 more yards in a drive.”
Mr Greaves said the cost of parking in central Glasgow is something he would like to see changed to help encourage more footfall.
He said: “We are surrounded by shopping centres from every angle when you come in to Glasgow and it is not the cheapest place to come and park. If the weather is against us then it makes it tougher.”
Asked about trading in the current financial year Mr Greaves said: “Compared to last year it has been tough. We are hoping we can still maintain a profit.”
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