In this monthly column, we'll share our sales goals and actual results. The hobby has experienced and continues to experience tremendous growth. Our aim is to shed some light on how that's impacting our local hobby shop.
We'll also share any shop stories we think are interesting, relevant or entertaining.
Regarding sales results: As a brick and mortar retailer, we tend to measure performance versus last year's results. And while that's helpful in creating sales projections, the sports card business is much different than other retail operations.
For example, new release products are a huge sales driver for most hobby shops. So, if the release calendars don't align from year to year, we might not be getting a perfect comparison. Our hobby shop is also a two-way market place. And it's impossible to plan for the next collection or single card we'll buy that will generate more top line revenue in a given month.
Other factors can impact a brick and mortar business from year to year. Weather, economic conditions, staffing, customer service, advertising and marketing, and many other factors can affect sales results. Having said all that, our results give us some indication about the overall interest and health of the hobby in our region.
So, how was February 2023, and how is 2023 going overall? In a nutshell, pretty decent. Here are the numbers:
Jan.2023 +56% vs. Jan 2022
Feb 2023 -2.4% vs. Feb 2022
YTD 2023 +24% vs, YTD 2023
Topps Series 1 Baseball was a huge, new release for the month of Feb. And it was supported by a comprehensive in-store hobby shop marketing blitz. The Sports Card Shop was 1 of 20 shops to launch Series 1 with in-store graphics, exterior window clings and Topps gifts with purchase. We also had a series 1 Rip party on Sunday, February 19.
Panini Donruss Football, arguably the flagship football product, was also a big sales driver for new releases. Panini Immaculate UFC and WWE also did very well.
Interest in Mahomes, Hurts, JRod, Wander Franco, and McClung singles was high last month. As we moved into the end of the month, we saw a lot of interest in 1st bowman cards of Elly De La Cruz, Jackson Holliday, and Jackson Chourio. Beyond that, Cubs and White Sox are always in high demand here.
In summary, we're very pleased with our February and YTD results. We anticipated a strong January and a softer February, based on the release calendar. And that's exactly what we saw.
That's a wrap for this month.
See ya at the end of March.
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