There's a retail outlet called Sports Basement close by that's housed in what was previously a supermarket. What's fun is that the space has not been refurbished and all the supermarket signage remains. When I asked an assistant where I could find the running kit she replied 'It's over in Dairy'. The ski stuff is in Produce and so on. I like the idea that things can work well in unexpected circumstances. Maybe we're too quick to rip out and refurbish. There's probably value in new wine in old bottles as it were. Sports Basement is doing very well with it's distinctive culture and partnership structure. "Lots of places have rules about how stores are supposed to look, and scripts saying what employees are supposed to tell customers," said Tom Phillips, 40, a boyhood pal of Prosnitz, who brought sports, English and construction acumen to his status as a founding partner. "We want our people to use their brains on the floor, show some entrepreneurial spirit. We have very experienced artists and craft people working for us. It never stays flat. Our stores change around every week".
It's a good organization design that's working.
Naomi Stanford 