Business View Magazine | June 2022

81 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 6 HALL ’ S SPORT CENTER Hall’s Sport Center began in Muskegon, Michigan just across the street from one of the company’s current stores. “In Muskegon, we have approximately 250,000 square feet, around 18 acres,” Harold reports. “Even though inventory is difficult to get right now, there are probably between 700 to 900 boats on the property between storage, service, and RV boats.” Hall’s Sport Center’s inventory depends largely on the strong relationships the company has built up with manufacturers. Hayden Hall, Harold’s son, shares, “Unlike a lot of dealers, we only offer four lines of boats, whereas I would guess that the average in the marine industry is between six and ten. We really take care of our manufacturers and expect the same in return. So with Bennington, we receive about four boats every week. We are somewhere around the fifth or sixth dealer in the country for them.” The close connections that the company has with manufacturers means that it is always keeping an eye on potential turbulence in the market, and preparing appropriately. Last year, when a motor shortage occurred, Hall’s was able to secure roughly 100 loose outboard motors through various manufacturers. “We are also always looking ahead for the next major development,” Hayden confirms. “With our online presence, we have a web provider that nobody else has in the industry because they’re local and really pushing the envelope as far as marketing goes and viewing the boats. They’re really big into the RV side and they’ve translated this over into our marine website. We’re seeing a lot of success with the website because we’re doing a lot of things differently to the rest of the industry.” The quality of the website helps Hall’s Sport Center deliver a seamless sales process – even when buyers are based at some distance from the company’s stores. “If somebody sees a boat that they like online, the sale usually starts