Business View Magazine | June 2022

84 BUSINESS VIEW MAGAZINE VOLUME 9, ISSUE 6 pandemic meant that many companies were forced to shut up shop to reduce the spread of the virus. However, Hall’s Sport Center didn’t let that time go to waste, instead using it to complete a huge renovation and upgrade project. “Recently, we tore apart our parts building and put in all new air conditioning, heating, lighting, rack displays, and computers,” Harold explains. “We now have a hundred-foot service counter with eight people working there. Everything’s brand new and shiny. If we don’t hear a ‘wow’ when people walk in for the first time, we’ve failed. Around 18 months ago, we also built a new warehouse holding 517 boats. We’re the real deal. We’ll sell you the boat, we’ll take you to the lake, we have captains that’ll show you how to run the boat. If you have an accident, we have a body shop, a detail shop, and an upholstery shop. We can do it all.” As well as being a one-stop shop for boating, Hall’s is also well equipped to deal with real estate maintenance. Its Grand Haven store has recently reopened after being closed for 17 months due to Lake Michigan’s high water level. “The City of Grand Haven got a grant from the State of Michigan for $2 million to raise the road in front of our store by four feet,” Harold notes. “So we spent about $2.5 million gutting the building, taking everything out of the showroom, and essentially raising the entire building by four feet.” With maintenance complete on the Grand Haven store, Hall’s can start rapidly increasing its inventory again. Even though it only carries four lines of boats, anytime new products are released, Hall’s makes sure that its employees receive the necessary training. “Bennington probably provides better training than anybody,” Hayden says. “Bennington is now owned by Polaris, so we utilize a lot of the sales tactics that Polaris uses. There is extensive