The sports store that grew

Two years, then 26-year-old Roberto Claudio, Jr. joined Quorum International, Inc. as operations manager of the chain of stores named after him–Toby’s Sports and Hobbies. The first thing he did was to put together a marketing strategy that would further increase Quorum’s 70% market share in the sports equipment business.

"The idea was to create a gym-like atmosphere where customers can not only shop but can also try out different sports of their choice, where the customer can experience something different from just shopping," said Claudio. The result: Toby’s Arena.

The Arena is about four to five times larger in floor area compared to the regular Toby’s store because there’s a basketball shootout right inside the store and a wall climbing section where outdoor enthusiasts can practice. The SM City North EDSA outlet, for example, is 580 square meters, put together at a total investment of between P10 million and P15 million.

Aside from SM City, there are four other Arena outlets–two in Glorietta, and one each at The Podium and Alabang Town Center.

The basketball shootout rents for P30 for 20 minutes but is offered free to customers with a minimum of P1,000 in purchases. With a dailyaverage of 100 customers, the shootout alone easily earns P3,000 a day. For the wall climbing, the rent is P120 for two hours, although Claudio is currently studying the rate.

Payback is expected between three to five years from start of operation. "More important, we hope the Arena will help introduce the chain to the mid-market. We have a lot of offer our customers in terms of value for money and a wide selection of goods," Claudio said.

Best year

Last year, Quorum posted a 30% growth in sales, its best ever. This could be traced in part to Toby’s Arena and in part to the opening of 10 franchisees outside Metro Manila in the past two years. Each franchisee paid a franchise fee of between P300,000 and P1 million and expects to get back his/her investment in two years’ time.

Quorum is targeting a 20% growth this year.

"We are already happy with the expansion. Still, we want to maintain our position as the number one one-stop sports and hobbies shop, where you can find what you want from head to toe," said Claudio.

Not bad for a company which started out as a 20-square meter toy store in Greenhills Shopping Center with a capitalization of P100,000.