Dallas, Texas: Emanuel Naaman, we are very glad to have Monkey Sports Inc. as our newest Business Member of Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce (SACC)– Texas. Please tell us the story of Monkey Sports, what is your business?
– The company started in a small pro shop in Costa Mesa, California. By focusing on exclusive deals, great customer service, amazing vendor relations, and being the first to enter the E-commerce space as a hockey retailer, the company grew to be what it is today. Spanning across the globe, Monkeysports now has eight stores located in the US, one in Montreal, and two in Sweden. Monkeysports has grown to be the biggest hockey retailer in the world, and has also expanded into two other sports, lacrosse and baseball. Our goal is to meet every need of our customers, and by being a one-stop-shop with the proper expertise, we are able to do that.
In short, can you please tell us about what you do at Monkey Sports?
– I am special project manager, and as such I have a plethora of responsibilities, some of which are: contract negotiations, inventory valuations, trend setting and analysis, various reporting, purchase order approvals, budgeting and various other responsibilities.
Monkey Sports decided to relocate their headquarters and distribution center from California to DFW area a few years back, can you tell us about this?
– The move happened in large because it was getting too expensive to have our headquarters be based out of California. By moving to Texas we dramatically cut our cost, and have become much more efficient in doing business. Infrastructure wise we upgraded to a much more robust operation, which has helped us tremendously from a distribution perspective. All in all, the move was always going to happen, Texas just made the most sense from an economical perspective as well as geographical.
What do you see as the biggest challenges and opportunities in the business you are in?
– The biggest challenges we foresee in the next coming years will be how to combat oversaturation of product, manufacturers entering the marketplace and selling direct to consumers, and the ever large threat that Amazon has on our industry.
We are curious to know, how did you get in contact with SACC-Texas?
– My wife actually attended a couple of networking events with SACC Dallas and told me all about it.
What are your expectations and hopes with the Business Membership?
– To grow and foster great business relations with our community and possible future peers.
Finally, what is Your favorite thing about Dallas and Texas?
– The people in Dallas are very kind and down to earth with excellent family values, which is what we at Monkeysports have always stood for. From an economical perspective, Texas in general is second to none, with Dallas being one of the central hubs for business in the US.