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Source for Sports
The city’s leading provider of equipment and
uniforms for teams of all kinds is itself the
product of tremendous teamwork, much of
it behind the scenes where customers never
see.
Right from the beginning, in the early
1970s, when it had a different name and
location, London’s Source for Sports has
always relied on teamwork to be successful.
That approach led not only to the creation
of several local businesses but also was
the impetus for the creation of the national
Source for Sports group of retailers, which
today totals more than 200.
“That was one of the most important things
we ever did as a company,” says Colin
Hopper – Hop to his friends – one of the
founding partners of the business. “In 1991,
we were starting to face more competition
from big box sports stores, so we started
working to create a national presence under
the Source for Sports banner.”
The local store was already working in
tandem with other independent sports
retailers across the country. They had formed
Sports Distributors of Canada, a buying
group to give its members more heft with
suppliers.
“In ’91 we took that concept further and
created the national Source for Sports
brand,” Hopper says. “We had about 125
stores then, and it has grown a lot since.”
Originally known as East London Sports,
London’s Source for Sports was created by
Lionel Douglas, Hopper’s hockey coach
when he was a young lad. In 1975, Douglas
sold the store to Big Jim McKaig, who
immediately asked Hopper to work with him
to build up the business.
“He couldn’t pay much, but he promised
when we turned the corner, I would become
a partner,” Hopper recalls fondly. “I was
going to Fanshawe College at the time, but I
spent a lot more time working than going to
school.”
Soon after, they welcomed two new
partners, Frank Wheatley and Jerry Henry,
both of whom had business degrees from
Western.
“That was in 1979, and that’s when we
really started to think of it as a business,”
Hopper says.
The four partners
were the original team
that spawned so many
more as the business
grew and launched
new ventures. Big
Jim has retired, but
Hopper, Wheatley
and Henry continue
to run a variety of
businesses under the
Source umbrella today.
There’s Athletics
International, a division
that manufactures
uniforms right here
in London and sells
them to independent
sports stores across the
country.
And there’s Source
Team Works, just
Colin Hopper, founding partner of Source for Sports London,
helps outfit teams - through his team’s own hard work.
down the road from
the main store,
that sells sports
apparel to leagues and
teams across North
America. Jerry Hartman,
a Beal arts student
and dedicated athlete,
is the driving force
behind the division and
recently oversaw a huge
investment in high-tech
sublimation printing
equipment to produce
professional-quality
jerseys.
The entire team at the main store is
supported by the work of Mike Wanlan,
whom Hopper calls the backbone of the
store. “He’s our head buyer and makes sure
we have all the right equipment at the right
time of year. It’s a huge job.”
Perhaps the best testament to the team
concept is Brad Hause. He worked at the
London store while earning his MBA
part-time. After several years working
in Wisconsin, he was recently hired as
president of the entire Source for Sports
group.
“He was a ski tuner here, and now he’s
president of our company,” Hopper says.
“It’s a great story.”
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