Hibbett Sports 2010 Annual Report Download - page 9

5
PART 1
Item 1. Business.
Our Company
Our Company was originally organized in 1945 under the name Dixie Supply Company in Florence,
Alabama, specializing primarily in the marine and small aircraft business. In 1951, the Company started targeting
school athletic programs in North Alabama and by the end of the 1950’s had developed a profitable team sales
business. In 1960, we sold the marine portion of our business and have been solely in the sporting goods business since
that time. In 1965, we opened Dyess & Hibbett Sporting Goods in Huntsville, Alabama, and hired Mickey Newsome,
our current Executive Chairman of the Board. The next year, we opened another sporting goods store in Birmingham
and by the end of 1980, we had 12 stores in central and northwest Alabama with a distribution center located in
Birmingham and our central accounting office in Florence. We went public in October 1996 when we had 79 stores
and were incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware as Hibbett Sporting Goods, Inc. We incorporated under
the laws of the State of Delaware as Hibbett Sports, Inc. in January 2007 and on February 10, 2007, Hibbett Sports,
Inc. became the successor holding company for Hibbett Sporting Goods, Inc., which is now our operating
subsidiary.
Today, we operate sporting goods stores in small to mid-sized markets predominantly in the Southeast,
Southwest, Mid-Atlantic and the lower Midwest. As of January 30, 2010, we operated 747 Hibbett Sports stores as
well as 16 smaller-format Sports Additions athletic shoe stores and 4 larger-format Sports & Co. superstores in 24
states. Over the past two fiscal years, we have increased the number of stores from 688 stores to 767 stores, an increase
in store base of approximately 11%. Our primary retail format and growth vehicle is Hibbett Sports, a 5,000 square
foot store located primarily in strip centers which are usually influenced by a Wal-Mart store. Approximately 75% of
our Hibbett Sports store base is located in strip centers, while approximately 25% of our Hibbett Sports store base is
located in enclosed malls.
Although competitors in some markets may carry similar product lines and national brands as our stores,
we believe that our stores are typically the primary sporting goods retailers in these markets due to the extensive
selection of quality brand-name merchandise, a high level of customer service and prime real estate locations. Our
merchandise assortment emphasizes team sports complemented by localized apparel and accessories designed to
appeal to a wide range of customers within each individual market.
Available Information
The Company maintains an Internet website at the following address: www.hibbett.com.
We make available free of charge on or through our website under the heading “Investor Information,”
certain reports that we file with or furnish to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in accordance with the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These include our annual reports on Form 10-K, our quarterly reports on Form
10-Q and our current reports on Form 8-K. We make this information available on our website as soon as
reasonably practicable after we electronically file the information with or furnish it to the SEC. In addition to
accessing copies of our reports online, you may request a copy of our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal
year ended January 30, 2010, at no charge, by writing to: Investor Relations, Hibbett Sports, Inc., 451 Industrial
Lane, Birmingham, Alabama 35211.
Reports filed with or furnished to the SEC are also available free of charge upon request by contacting our
corporate office at [phone].
The public may also read or copy any materials filed by us with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference
Room at 100F Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20549. Information may be obtained on the operation of the Public
Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-732-0330. The SEC also maintains a website that contains reports,
proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically at www.sec.gov.
Our Business Strategy
We target markets with county populations that range from 30,000 to 100,000. By targeting these smaller
markets, we believe that we achieve important strategic advantages, including expansion opportunities, comparatively
low operating costs and a more limited competitive environment than generally faced in larger markets. In addition, we
establish greater customer, vendor and landlord recognition as the leading sporting goods retailer in these local
communities.
We believe our ability to merchandise to local sporting and community interests differentiates us from our
national competitors. This strong regional focus also enables us to achieve significant cost benefits including lower
corporate expenses, reduced distribution costs and increased economies of scale from marketing activities.